African Consortium for Law and Religion Studies

As a major event of the Second Conference on Law and Religion in Africa, held at Stellenbosch University in May 2014, the African Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ACLARS) was officially launched, with Prof dr Pieter Coertzen as President.

The folllowing ACLARS members have been named to governing committees:

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Law and Religion in Africa 2014: The Quest for the Common Good in Pluralistic Societies

Law and Religion in Africa 2014: [MEDIA]

Keynote Speakers at Law and Religion in Africa Conference 2014

Emeritus Justice Albie Sachs and Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng Speak at Law and Religion Conference

From the Website of Stellenbosch University

Infusing law with religion could help turn around crime, corruption, maladministration, the lackadaisical attitude of government functionaries, dishonesty and injustice, said Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng on Tuesday, 27 May 2014. He delivered the keynote address at the second annual conference on Law and Religion in Africa hosted jointly by the Faculties of Law and Theology at Stellenbosch University (SU). 

Chief Justice Mogoeng said corruption and many other social ills are largely due to a failure to infuse law with a measure of religion and morality. “People steal and boast about what they have been able to buy through the process of theft and corruption.”

He highlighted the importance of morality and said “we need to develop a moral code of shorts and the values of our Constitution could be used as a sound basis for the development of such a code.”

He said law and religion can play a vital role in the moral generation we so desperately need. “Law and religion can help shape a peaceful and prosperous society.”

Chief Justice Mogoeng added that there is a strong correlation between law and religion in South Africa. He said we should take advantage of “the potency of religion to make a profound difference in sharpening the teeth of our legal instruments”.

While highlighting the prominence of religion, he pointed to its abuse and distortion by many people in the oppression of others. He advocated religious tolerance in South Africa, and said the hallmark of an open and democratic society is its ability to accommodate different views and lifestyles.

Earlier, former Constitutional Court Judge Albie Sachs, who was also a keynote speaker at the conference, called for the co-existence of different worldviews in a pluralistic society. We need to manage our differences, he said. Sachs also highlighted the important role of religion in society, saying it is not just a private matter.

In welcoming the guests, Prof Nico Koopman and Prof Sonia Human, Dean of SU’s Faculties of Theology and Law respectively, emphasised the need to respect the relation between law and religion since the practice of both can and should be in service of a society that affords dignity of all.

Law and Religion in Africa: The Quest for the Common Good in Pluralistic Societies

The Second Conference on Law and Religion in Africa was held at Stellenbosch University (South Africa) from 26 to 28 May 2014. Some 60 scholars, legal professionals, and religious leaders from 15 countries particpated in this conference, focusing on the theme  “Law and Religion in Africa: The Quest for the Common Good in Pluralistic Societies.” Published papers from the First Conference on Law and Religion in Africa, “Comparative Practices, Experiences, and Prospects”—which was held in Legon, Ghana, in 2013—were made available, and the new African Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ACLARS) was officially launched on the last day of the conference.

The conference was opened on Monday with welcome addresses by conference organizers Pieter Coertzen and W. Cole Durham, Jr.  Monday closed with a Conference Reception featuring a keynote address by Justice Albie Sachs, Emeritus Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. An additional keynote address was given by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng of the…