International Center for Law and Religion Studies

The International Center for Law and Religion Studies has announced the 2010 Annual International Law and Religion Symposium, to be held 3-6 October at Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School in Provo, Utah. This year's Symposium will be devoted to discussion of "Religion in Contemporary Legal Systems." Participants will be invited to address the following topics:

• Islam in Contemporary Legal Systems 
• Religion, Law, and the Encounter with Secularism
• The Challenge of Protecting Religious Sensitivities

Please note that again this year some events, including the opening session on Sunday evening, 3 October, will be streamed live over the Internet from the Moot Court Room on BYU campus.

Registration information and other details about this year's program will be available soon under links from the Symposium 2010 section of this website.

Professor W. Cole Durham, Jr. Director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University and Professor Javier Martinez-Torrón of the Law Faculty of Complutense University in Madrid and member of the ICLRS Academic Advisory Board participated in The XVIIIth International Congress of Comparative Law, held 25 July - 1 August 2010 in Washington, D.C. The Congress, which is organized by the International Academy of Comparative Law, an 86-year-old organization of 333 members from more than 44 countries, is held once every four years in different parts of the world. The first Congress was held in 1932 in The Hague; this is the first year the Congress was held in the United States, where it was co-sponsored by the American Society of Comparative Law and hosted by American University Washington College of Law, George Washington University Law School, and Georgetown University Law Center.

Professors Martinez-Torrón and Durham acted as General Reporters for the topic "Religion and ... [more]

Professor W. Cole Durham, Jr. and Professor Elizabeth A. Sewell, Director and Associate Director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University, joined a large number of scholars from across Ukraine and Russia, regional religious affairs officials from Ukraine, and scholars from Western Europe for a conference "Democracy and Religious Freedom: Old and New Challenges," held in Kyiv on 5 & 6 August 2010.  The conference was co-sponsored by the Center in association with the Department of ... [more]

ICLRS Director Cole Durham and Associate Director Elizabeth Sewell, along with ICLRS Academic Advisory Board Member Tore Lindholm of the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo, participated in the launch of the Russian translation of Facilitating Freedom of Religion or Belief: A Deskbook during events in Moscow and Kyiv on 3 and 5 August 2010.  As main speakers at the Moscow event, held at the Slavic Legal Center, Professors Durham, Sewell, and Lindholm were joined in the presentation by discussion moderator Roman Lunkin, director of the Institute of ... [more]

The Center is pleased to welcome the 2010 Summer Research Externs, who have come to Provo from nine U.S. law schools. We are grateful for the work of these outstanding students, who are providing invaluable assistance with our many research and writing projects. 

       ... [more]

The Student Research Fellows Program of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies provides an opportunity for law students to combine an international externship with significant research and writing in the area of freedom of religion or belief. The Center very much appreciates the outstanding students who have been selected this year, and we look forward to the continuing contributions of these fine scholars to ... [more]

Professor Rik Torfs, member of the Academic Advisory Board of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies, was on 13 June 2010 elected to the Belgian Senate, obtaining 143,603 votes, which is the ninth position of the 40 members elected directly. As reported in the online publication Flanders Today, Professor Torfs, "a professor in church law, who became a celebrity in spite of that," was a "white rabbit" in the election, one chosen for fame ... [more]

ICLRS Associate Director Professor Brett Scharffs participated in a roundtable conference, "Laïcité in Comparative Perspective," held at the Paris campus of St. John's University on 11 June 2010. The conference focused on contemporary issues of laïcité in France and comparative perspectives on religion-state relationships. The Conference, organized by Professor Mark Movsesian and including scholars from France, the United States, Italy, and Spain, was the inaugural conference of St. John's University's Center for Law and Religion. Conference proceedings will be published in the St. John's Journal of Catholic Legal Studies.

Dr. David M. Kirkham, ICLRS Senior Fellow and Regional Advisor for the European Union and the Council of Europe, represented the Center at four major conferences in Europe in May and June 2010.  

Dr. Kirkham presented a paper, "Religious Intolerance and Discrimination: Reflections on Causes and Contermeasures," at the conference "Religious Discrimination in Selected European States," held 27-28 May 2010 at Karl-Franzens University in Graz, Austria. Organizers of the ... [more]

The International Center for Law and Religion Studies was among the institutional members of Strasbourg Consortium to participate in a meeting of the Consortium held in conjunction with the Oxford Conference on Law and Religion, which took place 7-9 June 2010 at Balliol College, Oxford.  The Reverend Dr. Ralph Waller, Principal of Harris Manchester College, invited sixteen member representatives and ... [more]

The International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University was among the institutional organizers of the Oxford Conference on Law and Religion, held from 7-9 June 2010 on the historic grounds of Balliol College, Oxford. Under the organizational leadership of Dr. Peter Petkoff, the three-day event was sponsored by the Oxford Society for Law and Religion, the University of Bristol School of Law, the International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies at Milan, and the Strasbourg Consortium. Other institutional supporters included Focus on FORB, ... [more]

ICLRS Associate Director Brett G. Scharffs was a lead participant in the Freedom of Religion or Belief session of the Rothermere conference "US Constitutionalism in Decline?: An International Perspective" in Oxford, United Kingdom, on 28 April 2010. The Rothermere American Institute of Oxford University is an international center dedicated to interdisciplinary and comparative study of the United States. With "finest library of American Politics, History and Literature to be found outside the USA," the Institute promotes understanding of U.S. history, culture, and politics. Rothermere's conference of 26-28 April 2010 brought together constitutional law and political theorists as well as ... [more]

The X international academic conference "Freedom of Conscience: International Standards and Experience in National Implementation," with emphasis upon the Russian Far East and Countries of the Asia-Pacific Region, was held in Blagoveshchensk, Russia, 19-21 April 2010. Bringing together government officials, scholars, journalists, and religious leaders from across Russia, predominantly from the Russian Far East, the conference raised issues of national and international religious freedom ... [more]

In keeping with its ongoing Islamic initiatives, the International Center for Law and Religion Studies co-sponsored with the Università degli Studi dell’Insubria the international workshop "Law and Religion in Mediterranean Islam" in Como, Italy, from 6-8 April 2010. An important outcome of the workshop will be a book on the conference topic. Attending the conference were Center directors W. Cole Durham, Jr., and Gary B. Doxey, as well as International Advisory Council members Duane and Erlyn Madsen and David and Linda Nearon. Delegates, who were selected for their expertise, delivered reports on law and religion in their countries, and each will contribute a chapter to the book. Experts presenting were Abu ... [more]

The DC Chapter of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society, in association with the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University, has announced a writing contest open to all student members of the Clark Society. The purpose of the writing competition is to promote quality research and writing by the student members of the Society on the important topic of religious freedom. Winning papers will receive cash awards, and one or more will be published online and possibly in print. Papers must be 2000-3000 words, submitted no later than 1 August 2010. Winners will be announced the first week of September, and awards will be presented in Washington, D.C., in early October. For details please see the Contest Flyer and direct questions to papers@iclrsdc.org.

Participating via teleconference from the United States, Professor W. Cole Durham, Jr. testified concerning Indonesia's blasphemy law at a session of the Indonesia Constitutional Court (Mahkamah Konstitusi) in Jakarta on 24 March 2010. Recognized as a world expert in this matter, Professor Durham - who is Director of the International Center for Law and Religion ... [more]

The International Center for Law and Religion Studies and Aspen Publishers / Wolters Kluwer Law & Business are pleased to announce the release of the casebook Law and Religion: National, International, and Comparative Perspectives, co-authored by ICLRS Director W. Cole Durham, Jr. and Associate Director Brett G. Scharffs, with contributions from many others at the Center, especially Coordinating Editor Suzanne Sitthichai Disparte. Developed for use in English-speaking law-school courses, the work is dynamic combination of international and domestic materials, designed to stimulate discussion of familiar and sensitive issues of conflict and debate in a global context. This unique work offers a new paradigm for studying law and religion in response to the forces of globalization and an increased international focus on ... [more]

International Law and Religion Center Director and member of the OSCE Panel of Experts on Religion or Belief W. Cole Durham, Jr. participated in a panel discussion during the Geneva Summit for Human Rights, Tolerance and Democracy, held 8-9 March 2010 in Geneva, Switzerland. Organized by an international coalition of human rights NGOs, the Summit was designed to coincide with annual meetings of the United Nations Human Rights ... [more]

The 16th Annual Conference of the International Society for African Philosophy and Studies (ISPAS) took place in The Great Hall of the University of Ghana in Legon on 17-19 March 2010.  The conference, "Culture and Justice in the Contemporary World," was organized in collaboration with the University of Ghana’s Philosophy Department and its Faculty of Law under the co-chairmanship of Professors Kofi Quashigah (Law) ... [more]

The International Center for Law and Religion Studies enthusiastically welcomes the assistance of Marshall Morrise, who has been engaged by the Center to advise the technology team. On board since January 2010, Marshall brings expertise, experience, and dedication that are proving invaluable assets to the Center's work. Born in Provo, Utah, to parents who were both graduates of Brigham Young University, Marshall grew up primarily in Roy, Utah. He entered BYU in 1974, and after serving an LDS mission to Pusan, Korea, he graduated from BYU with a B.S. in computer science and a minor in Asian languages. Marshall began working at the BYU Law School as a student in January 1979. Upon ... [more]

Representatives from the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at BYU, including International Advisory Council Chair Duane Madsen, ICLRS Historian Erlyn Madsen, IAC member Linda Nearon, and ICLRS Managing Director Robert T. Smith, participated in a very successful conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, during 29-31 January 2010. Addressing "Religion, Law and Governance in Southeast Asia: Comparative Legal Perspectives," the conference was co-sponsored by the Center in ... [more]

ICLRS Associate Director Professor Brett G. Scharffs served as panel chair and moderator of the Section on Law and Religion on the fifth day of the annual meeting of the Association of American Law Schools, the largest gathering of law faculty in the world, held in 2010 in New Orleans from 6-10 January. Co-Sponsored by Sections on Islamic Law, and Jewish Law, the session addressed the topic "The Freedom of Religion and Belief Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights: Legal, Moral, Political and Religious Perspectives." Also participating in the session were Center Director Professor W. Cole Durham, Jr.; ICLRS Academic Advisory Board Member Professor Gerhard Robbers of the University of Trier, Germany; Professor Zachary Calo of the Valparaiso University School of Law; and Professor Peter Danchin of the University of Maryland School of ... [more]

Ten years ago, on January 1 of 2000, Brigham Young University established the International Center for Law and Religion Studies. The formal establishment of the Center built on years of work we had done at the law school and abroad and was undertaken to promote scholarship and further knowledge in the field of law and religion. Growing from small beginnings, the Center has emerged as a recognized leader in the field of religious freedom, both at the national level in the United States and internationally. Center faculty have provided testimony before the U.S. ... [more]

The "Conference on Religion, Ethics, and Peace: Honoring the Career of Professor David Little," co-sponsored by Harvard Divinity School and the Kroc Institute for International Peace at the University of Notre Dame, was held on November 13-14, 2009 at the Harvard Divinity School in Boston.  The conference, organized in honor of David Little, retiring Professor of the Practice in Religion, Ethnicity, and International Conflict, brought together leading scholars in the fields of religious ethics, religion, ... [more]

The St. Thomas More Society of Utah presented its First Annual Religion and the Law Program: "Reconciling Religious Values with Professionalism and Civility" on Thursday, November 5, 2009, at 12:00 p.m. (noon) at the Law and Justice Center, 645 South 200 East, Salt Lake City, Utah. The program focused on the blending of spiritual beliefs with professionalism, civility, and professional responsibility. The panel discussion was moderated by Professor W. Cole Durham, Jr., Director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham ... [more]

ICLRS Advisors for Latin America, Gary B. Doxey (Center Associate Director) and Scott R. Isaacson (Senior Fellow and Executive Director for Latin America) traveled to Santiago, Chile, to attend an International Seminar, "Right to Freedom of Belief 10 Years after the Enactment of Law No. 19.638 [The 'Chilean Law of Worship'] on Legal Constitution of Religious Entities." The seminar, held 29-30 October 2009 at the Santiago Campus of the ... [more]

Professor W. Cole Durham, Jr., ICLRS Director and member of the OSCE Advisory Panel of Experts on Freedom of Religion or Belief, moderated a roundtable discussion—"Defamation of Religions:The Relationship between freedom of expression and freedom of religion"—held at the United Nations Headquarters on 28 October 2009. The meeting was co-sponsored by NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief, The BYU International Center ... [more]

ICLRS Director W. Cole Durham, Jr. traveled to Volgograd, Russia, to participate in a "Dialogue between the State and Religious Associations in Contemporary Culture," an international conference held 20-23 October 2009 and sponsored by the Expert Council under the Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia, the Administration of Volgograd Region, Volgograd State University, The "Knowledge" Society of Russia (an All-Russia Public Organization), The Volgograd Branch of the Scientific and Educational Cultural Society, and the Association of ... [more]

ICLRS Associate Director Elizabeth Sewell presented a paper, "State Funding and Autonomy of Religious Groups," in the opening session of the international conference "Financing of Churches and Religious Societies in the 21st Century," held under the auspices of the Minister of Culture of the Slovak Republic, on 14-15 October 2009 in Bratislava, Slovakia. The conference was designed in part to provide comparative experiences on ... [more]

This year's Symposium brought together in Provo, Utah, more than 80 scholars, judges, and government and religious leaders from 44 countries to discuss challenges and successes in implementing principles of freedom of religion or belief worldwide. The Symposium convened Sunday evening, 4 October 2009, at Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School, where delegates and other participants in the Moot Court Room as well as those accessing the live stream of the session available through this website, were pleased to witness the bestowal of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies' Distinguished Service Award for Religious Freedom upon Senior Judge J. Clifford Wallace, Chief Judge Emeritus of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Keynote addresses were delivered by Anastasia Crickley, Chairperson of the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency, and The Honourable Pius Nkonzo Langa, Chief Justice of the South Africa Constitutional Court. After two days of memorable presentations by the visiting delegates, concluding remarks at the closing session on Tuesday, 6 October, were delivered by Michael K. Young, President of the University of Utah, and ICLRS Director W. Cole Durham, Jr.

The Center was pleased to receive and hear from the 2009  distinguished experts, whose contributions created a truly exceptional Sixteenth Annual International Law and Religion Symposium. We extend our deepest appreciation to the more than 80 esteemed scholars, judges, legal experts, and government and religious leaders from more than 44 countries who were willing to travel to Utah to be with us, and who now join a prestigious group of more than 800 past Symposium participants in our continuing dialogue about matters most urgent to freedom of religion and belief worldwide. The Center also expresses gratitude to this year's Student Executive Committee and many other students of Brigham Young University who provided invaluable help in organization, transportation, and translation. And we thank our colleagues at the Law School, the Law School's excellent technical staff, and our many friends, some of whom traveled long distances to be with us during the Symposium to act as hosts for the delegates and in many other ways to provide invaluable assistance to the success of this year's conference.

The Keynote speakers at the opening session of 16th Annual International Law and Religion Symposium, 4 October 2009, have devoted their careers to the cause of human rights. Anastasia Crickley, Chair of the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency, is Head of the Department of Applied Social Studies at National University of Ireland Maynooth, which plays a leading role in education and training for social justice and rights work. The Honourable Mr Justice Pius Nkonzo Langa has just concluded his term as Chief Justice of the South Africa Constitutional Court.
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The International Center for Law and Religion Studies was pleased to honor Senior Judge J. Clifford Wallace of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit with the 2009 Distinguished Service Award for Religious Freedom, presented Sunday, October 4, during the opening session of the 16th Annual International Law and Religion Symposium. "Judge Wallace has contributed to the growth of strong judiciaries in many parts of the world, particularly in Asia," notes ICLRS Director, Professor W. Cole Durham, Jr. "He has been a remarkable judge, a remarkable friend of democracy and democratization, and a great friend of human liberty. And this is part of a much broader pattern in his life. We are grateful that we have been able to work for so many years with such a devoted friend and supporter of the Center."
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The Center was pleased to hear during the closing plenary session of the 16th Annual International Law and Religion Symposium in Provo on 6 October 2009 remarks by Michael K. Young, President of the University of Utah.  President Young is a graduate of Harvard Law School and was clerk to Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist. Before coming to the University of Utah, he was Dean of the George Washington Law School, Director of Columbia ... [more]

Each year in preparing for and carrying out the International Law and Religion Symposium, the Center relies upon a great number of student volunteers, most of them from the J. Reuben Clark Law School. This year approximately 100 students, supervised by ICLRS Director of Publications Christine Scott and organized under a student Executive Committee, have assumed responsibility for coordinating such aspects of the Symposium as transportation, informal translation, and ... [more]

Representing the International Center for Law and Religion Studies, David M. Kirkham, Senior Fellow for Comparative Law and International Policy and Regional Advisor for the European Union, addressed freedom of conscience concerns at the conference "Exploring Dimensions in Countering Ideological Support for Terrorism" at the Royal Jordanian National Defence College, Amman, Jordan, 28-30 September 2009. Co-sponsored by the Defence College and the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, the conference explored efforts by nations ... [more]

Dear Friends,

Autumn 2009 signals for the International Center for Law and Religion Studies the beginning of a new era in communication with our colleagues around the world. This year, for the first time, we offered a live stream of the opening addresses of our Annual International Law and Religion Symposium.  We also announce improvements in our written communication.  For more than a year the Center has been updating and modernizing its websites and developing a new proprietary software that permits electronic ... [more]

The Center is pleased once again to enjoy the association of former Managing Director Gary B. Doxey, recently released as President of the Mexico City South Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Professor Doxey will be be affiliated with both the Law School and the Department of History at Brigham Young University and will assume a role with the Center as an Associate Director and Regional Advisor for Latin America.  Before coming to work at the Center, Professor Doxey served under Governor Olene S. Walker of Utah as chief ... [more]

The Center is grateful for its association with Gayla Sorenson and Donlu Thayer, who have accepted roles as volunteer Senior Fellows. Gayla will be extensively involved in the design and recruitment of a volunteer network to identify and address freedom of religion issues on a country-by-country basis, with particular emphasis on a new Center project involving constitutional issues in Nepal. Donlu will ... [more]

On March 4, 2009, the Center and the family of Wayne C. Durham hosted a recognition dinner in honor of Professor W. Cole Durham, Jr.'s receiving the International First Freedom Award from the First Freedom Center in Richmond, Virginia. Professor Durham joins former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former President of the Czech Republic Václav Havel, and then-Prime Minister Tony Blair in receiving this prestigious award. "This event was intended to thank all of those who have contributed so significantly to the success of the Center. It is ... [more]