Religion and Law

'Complex ideas are made readily intelligible... The intended readership of this work is unlikely to be disappointed. It is informative and well researched. The style is lively and unstuffy. It raises difficult questions, and avoids oversimplification... it is provocative and challenging. It fills a gap in the market for a work that provides a critical description of the landscape in which religion and law seek peaceably to co-exist.' Church Times '...a very useful introduction to the relationship of law and religion. ... aims at a nonlegal reader, including students, but offers much of use to those who are legally trained as well. ... a thoughtful analysis of why law is important to religion... He develops a taxonomy of religious interests that scholars will find useful. ... For scholars and others interested in this arena of study, the volume will be a welcome addition to available resources. The volume has a useful list of recommended readings and a substantial bibliography of other sources.' Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion '... very accessibly written (a precious and rare quality which cannot be overestimated among legal scholars) and - probably its strongest point - loaded with a wide and representative selection of legal cases and pivotal decisions which take account of religious plurality.' Marburg Journal of Religion 'It is a readable and useful introduction to the subject... this book is a useful part of a student's library.' Theological Book Review '...this book is a valuable, well-researched, and wide-ranging contribution to our understanding of the relationship between religion and law in contemporary Western societies... Edge has begun an important line of inquiry from which scholars of a number of fields, including law, political science, history, and religion, can benefit.' Law and Politics Book Review 'Peter Hedge has written a detailed and informative book on the interface between religion and law. It is full of interesting examples demonstrating the difficulty of defining religion and the problems this causes when the law has to be applied... The reader's attention is held by Hedge's grasp of detail and his ability to render the complex subject matter in an interesting and often entertaining manner... Overall the book is useful and informative...' Culture and Religion '... this book is a most welcome contribution to what is now a field in which there is a growing interest. The author is well known as a teacher and writer in this discipline and he covers a vast compass with erudition and clarity... There could be no better recommendation.' Law & Justice 'The book is easy to read and very clear in explaining legal principles and how the chosen examples illustrate these... Religion and Law provides an excellent introduction to its subject and an encouragement to read further...' Interreligious Insight '... Religion and Law is a clear, accurate, and stimulating introduction to the field, and Edge does a commendable job of taking complex issues and making them accessible, intelligible and, most importantly, interesting.' Journal of Church and State '... an original and serious reflection on issues deriving from the interaction between law and religion...This book will be an extremely helpful tool for lawyers, journalists, human rights advocates, policy makers and scholars with backgrounds in humanities and social sciences who wish to learn about the interaction between religion and law and its impact on their own disciplines.' Ecclesiastical Law Journal '... an interesting and useful book.' Journal of Contemporary Religion