Religious Organizations and the Law

Religious Organizations and the Law
William W. Bassett, W. Cole Durham, Jr., Robert T. Smith 
Thomson-West, 2007 – 2012 (4 volumes 2012)

Religious Organizations and the Law is a comprehensive analysis of the laws, decisions, statutes, ordinances, and regulations affecting the operation of religious entities in the United States. The 4000-page work also offers practical advice on entering and terminating transactions with churches, discussing current case law by jurisdiction. Chapter contents are cross-indexed to speed research, and the work provides extensive references to additional materials, directories of organizations of all denominations, and extensive tables of statutes and cases. 

The 2011-2012 edition of the Treatise, which has expanded to four volumes, features input by a distinguished interdenominational Advisory Board and considerable updating of cases and other material in the work’s nineteen chapters: 

  1. Introduction to Religious Organizations and the Law 
  2. The First Freedom: Religious Freedom Guaranteed under the Constitution and Church Autonomy Doctrines
  3. Organizational Choices of Churches and Religious Organizations
  4. Formation of Religious Organizations: Corporations, Associations, and Trusts
  5. Fiduciary and Management Duties of Directors, Officers, and Trustees
  6. Risk Management
  7. Organizational Transformations: Mergers, Divisions, and Dissolutions
  8. Bankruptcy
  9. Employment Standards and Policies
  10. The Churches in Court: Fundamentals of Litigation
  11. Modern Liability Claims Facing Churches
  12. Religious Influence in Public and Private Education
  13. Church Sponsorship of Social Services and Health Care
  14. Marriage and Family Life
  15. Religious Land Use
  16. Immigration
  17. Taxation and Exemptions
  18. Financing the Churches
  19. Intellectual Property