The Legal Legacy of the Reformation

This book argues that Christianity has something of value to say about various issues of direct relevance to contemporary society, such as the place of human rights and individual claims of conscience. It shows that, in many cases, Catholic and Protestant thinking on areas such as natural law is not as divergent as it is often thought.

The growing interest in the relationship between religion and law is, in the case of Christianity, often viewed in monolithic terms. Moreover, the debate is often seen in terms of the relationship of Christianity to the state along with discussions about, for example, religious freedom. Christianity is often seen as responding to claims made on it by the state and by the growth of secularism.

This book takes a different approach. First, it makes the claim that Christianity has something of value to say about various pressing issues which are of direct relevance to contemporary society. Amongst these are the place of human rights and that of individual claims of conscience. Second, it does not regard Christianity as a monolithic whole but takes as its starting point the sundering of Christendom at the Reformation, which, it claims, led in many cases to divergent patterns of thought between Catholics and Protestants about law and its place in society. However, as this book shows, in many cases, Catholic and Protestant thinking on areas such as natural law is not as divergent as it is often thought.

Five hundred years after the Reformation, the work presents a reflection on the roots of Catholic and Protestant thinking on law and its place in society. It will be of interest to canon lawyers as well as academics and students of law and religion.

Autorentext

John Duddington is the editor of Law and Justice: The Christian Law Review and a former head of the Law School at Worcester College of Technology.

Inhalt

Part One: Church law and the Reformation*; 1. 2. How the English and Scots Reformations shaped Ecclesiastical and Secular law in Great Britain; 3. The Reformation and Legal Change: The Persistence of Medieval Canon Law; *Part Two:4. Legislative Authority in the Anglican Communion; 5. The Theology of Canon Law: a Catholic Perspective on the Fundamentals; 6. Conscience and Natural Law: a Calvinist perspective; Part Three: 7. Natural Law and Secular Law: the Reformation Legacy - an Ecumenical Approach; 8. Catholic and Protestant Approaches to Church - State Relations; Part Four: Catholic and Protestant Approaches to Particular Areas of Law;9. Marriage Law and Education Law; 10. Equity and Conscience; 11. The Reformation and Human Rights; 12. The Reformation and the Birth of Criminal Law; 13. The Reformation and its impact on the Law of Charites and Social Welfare