Details

Subject(s)

• Religious law and legislation [Browse]
• Religion and law [Browse]
• Comparative law [Browse]
• Church and state [Browse]

Editor

• Ferrari, Silvio [Browse]
• Bottoni, Rossella [Browse]

Series

Routledge international handbooks. [More in this series]

Summary note

Much has been written on specific religious legal systems, yet substantial comparative studies that strive to compare systems, identifying their analogies and differences, have been relatively few. This absence undermines the capacity to understand religions and becomes particularly serious when the faithful of these religions live together in the same geographical space, as happens today with increasing frequency. Both interreligious dialogue and dialogue between States and religions presuppose a set of data and information that only comparative research can provide. This book seeks to address this gap in the literature by presenting a comparative analysis of Christian, Jewish, Islamic and Hindu laws and traditions. Divided into five parts, the firstpart of the book offers the historical background for the legal analysis that is developed in the subsequent parts. Part II deals with the sources of law in the four religions under discussion. Part III addresses the dynamics of belonging and status, and Part IV looks at issues relating to the conclusion of marriage and its dissolution. The fifth and finalpart discusses how each religion views the legal other. Each part concludes with exploring what we can learn from a comparative examination of the topic that is dealt with in that part. Written by leading experts in the field, this book presents a clear and comprehensive picture of key religious legal systems along with a substantial bibliography. It provides a state of the art overview of scholarship in this area accompanied by a critical evaluation. As such, it will be an invaluable resource for all those concerned with religious legal systems, multiculturalism and comparative law.

Notes

• Description based upon print version of record.
• The duties and rights of the faithful

Source of description

Description based on print version record.

Contents

• Cover; Half Title; Title Page; Copyright Page; Table of Contents; Contributors; Introduction: religious laws and their comparison
• theoretical and methodological issues; The nature of religious laws; Comparative religious law; Further reading; Notes; References; PART I: History; Chapter 1: The Jewish tradition: a history; History; Jewish; Law; The Bible: a covenantal law; The Second Temple Period: an ethnic law; Late Antiquity: jurists' imagined law; The Middle Ages: divine law; The Modern era: law, religion and identity; The twentieth century: law, nationalism and politics; Conclusion
• NotesChapter 2: The Christian tradition: a history; Origins; Historical evolution; Further reading; References; Chapter 3: The Islamic tradition: a history; Origins; The development of the madhhabs; The basis for the law; The law, the scholars and the state; The modern period; Reintroduction of 'the Sharī?a'; References; Chapter 4: The Hindu tradition: a history; Introduction; Origins of Hindu law; Historical evolution; Central characteristics; Conclusion; Notes; References; Chapter 5: Comparative remarks: a history of religious laws; References; PART II: Sources of law
• Chapter 6: Jewish law: the sourcesVariations of meaning and function; 'Source' and 'resource'; The biblical paradigm: strong epiphanism; Grappling with the biblical model in Late Antiquity; Judeo-Hellenic parallelism; Rabbinic ambivalence: the human source celebrated and denied; Medieval Judaism: traditionalism and human reason; Perfect transmission; Reasoning and rationality; Notes; References; Chapter 7: Christian law: the sources; Various denominations and their legal concepts; Legislation on the international, national and local level; Instruments of regulation; Subject matters
• InterpretationRole of theology; Natural law and divine law; Mechanisms of legal change; Conclusions; Notes; References; Chapter 8: Islamic law: the sources; Formulation of the law from the sources; The legal literature; Natural law, human law and divine law in the Sharī?a; Opening the gates of ijtihād; Modernity and the sources of revelation; References; Chapter 9: Hindu law: the sources; Complexity of sources in Hindu law; The classical theory of sources; Interpretation and sources in practice; Modern sources; Conclusion; Notes; References
• Chapter 10: Comparative remarks: the sources of religious lawsIntroduction; Comparing Christian sources and other religious sources; Human agency and the sources of religious laws; Religious laws and the State; Conclusion; Notes; References; PART III: Dynamics of belonging and status; Chapter 11: Jewish law: dynamics of belonging and status; Introduction; Entering the religion; Leaving the religion; Rights and obligations of adherents; Further reading; Notes; References; Chapter 12: Christian law: dynamics of belonging and status; The people of God; The concept of church membership

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ISBN

• 1-315-51895-3
• 1-315-51897-X
• 1-315-51896-1

OCLC

1096536681

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