The annual Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA) Conference was hosted in 2007 by Kent Law School at the Canterbury Campus of the University of Kent. Russell Sandberg and Professor Norman Doe of the Centre for Law and Religion at Cardiff University organised a ‘Law and Religion’ stream at the conference, during which twelve papers were presented over two days. The papers presented not only explored a wide range of themes in the field of law and religion but also suggested a number of new research methods and questions.

The papers were organised into four sessions. The first session, entitled ‘Society, Law and Religion’ and chaired by Professor Mark Hill, sought to set the tone for the event by examining areas of general and theoretical importance in the field of law and religion. Professor Anthony Bradney (Keele) opened proceedings by examining the empirical and intellectual challenges posed to law scholars who seek to understand the place of religious minorities in what he described as a secular society which is in the process of becoming cosmopolitan. David Harte (Newcastle) continued the theme by addressing whether and how a coherent plural framework may be identified that is acceptable to those with religious convictions, with particular reference to section 13 of the Human Rights Act 1998 and the potential scope of conscience clauses. Russell Sandberg (Cardiff) examined the question of defining religion by reference to both legal and sociological materials, contending that this illustrated the need for an interdisciplinary approach: a ‘sociology of law on religion’.

The second session, chaired by Professor Bradney, focused on the relationship between Church and State. Dr Charlotte Smith (Reading) addressed the difficulties inherent in attempts to balance the presence of an Established Church and the modern human rights framework within the English constitution, by reference to the decisions of the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords in Aston Cantlow. Professor Mark Hill (Cardiff) also revisited the constitutional relationship between Church and State by looking at the effect of the Civil Partnership Act 2004. The last two papers in the session examined the relationship between law and religion at a sub-State level, suggesting that it was possible to speak of ‘regional ecclesiastical law’. David Lambert (Cardiff) examined the effect of further devolution in Wales, whilst Dr Javier Oliva (Bangor) described the effect of further decentralisation in Spain.

The third session, chaired by Javier Oliva, focussed upon religious law. Dr Augur Pearce (Cardiff) examined the changing polity of English dissenting protestant churches, elucidating a shift from independency to centralisation. Professor Norman Doe (Cardiff) questioned whether it is possible to speak of a ‘Christian law’ in the same way as it is common to speak of ‘Islamic law’, ‘Jewish law’ and ‘Hindu law’, and asked whether it was possible to induce common principles from the functional laws of separate churches to comprise such a distinctive body of law. The fourth and final session, chaired by Professor Doe, examined the interaction between religion, human rights and citizenship. Frank Cranmer (Cardiff) examined the origins and nature of human rights from a Quaker perspective. Alexandra Pimor (Liverpool John Moores) explored the possibility that the legally engineered European citizenship concept may have a spiritual/religious dimension, which could be a factor in the development of a sense of ownership of and belonging to the European project by its peoples. Dr Sylvie Langlaude (East London) considered critically the issue of the right of the child to religious freedom under article 14 of the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

All of the papers presented provoked animated conversation. The innovative style and quality of the research presented, together with the interest shown in the stream, clearly indicates the increasingly important position of law and religion within legal studies. The Centre for Law and Religion at Cardiff is currently negotiating the publication of papers from and inspired by the event.