Emory Law and Religion Program

Whether it's religious persecution or the problems of proselytism, Emory's Law and Religion Program has brought students and faculty together with scholars from around the globe to explore the connections and tensions between the legal world and the world's religions.

Law and Religion at Emory encompasses a joint graduate degree, cross-listed courses, clinical programs, colloquia and lectures, a visiting fellows program, two book series and a variety of international research projects tackling some of the society's most pressing issues.

The program's international research projects over the past decade range from Christianity and democracy to religious human rights, from religious proselytism to Islamic family law. The projects have been capped by public conferences featuring former President Jimmy Carter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and renowned scholars such as Martin Marty, James Cone, Jean Bethke Elshtain, John Noonan, Steven Carter, Rajmohan Gandhi, Alan Boesak and many others.

The Law and Religion Program's latest research effort is a $600,000 six-year grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts to complete a two-phase study on Christian jurisprudence titled, "Human Nature and Law: The Teachings of Modern Christianity." The research will result in two conferences over the next three years and will produce two books.

Based on the successful model of the Law and Religion Program, Emory recently established a new Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Religion. Funded with a $3.2 million grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts, the center will provide research support, public education and collaborative ventures for Emory faculty and students working on interdisciplinary religious scholarship. It will bring a steady stream of world-class scholars of religion to Emory, and deliver to the world a steady diet of premier scholarship on religion.

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