Conferences 2009
In 2009 the Center has sponsored, co-sponsored, and participated in a number of important law and religion conferences in Provo and in many other places around the world, including Milan, Moscow, Kathmandu, Santo Domingo, Budapest, Salt Lake City, Vienna, St. Petersburg, and most recently in Canberra, Australia, and Silver Spring, Maryland. Please visit the Conferences page of the ICLRS website for more information.
Law & Religion Conferences 2009
January 22-24, 2009 First ICLARS Congress, Relations Between States and Religions: Patterns in the 21st Century. University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
February 2-3, 2009 Religion in Contemporary Society. State Academy of Social Service Moscow, Russia.
February 13-15, 2009 International Conference on the Constitution Making of Nepal. Budhanilkantha, Kathmandu, Nepal.
March 12-14, 2009 Civil Religion in the United States and Europe: Four Comparative Perspectives. Sponsored by the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University and the Brigham Young University Law School Provo, Utah, USA.
May 14-16, 2009 Christianity in the East: Fostering Understanding. Sponsored by the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University, the Richard L. Evans Chair of Religious Understanding, the David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies, and the Wheatley Institution. Brigham Young University Provo, Utah, USA.
May 29-30 Religious Autonomy. Co-sponsored by the International Center for Law and Religion Studies and Central European University. Budapest, Hungary.
June 10-14, 2009 2009 International Conference of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), Mainstreaming and Marginalization of Religious Movements. Salt Lake City, Utah.
July 9-10, 2009 Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on Freedom of Religion or Belief. Organized by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Vienna, Austria.
August 3-9, 2009 Russia in the 21st Century: Freedom of Conscience, Religion, and the Church. Conference co-sponsored by ICLRS at St. Petersburg Christian University. St. Petersburg, Russia.
August 9-15, 2009 Young Lawyers Training Conference. ICLRS joined with the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, the TIFA Foundation, and the Oslo Coalition for Freedom of Religion or Belief in providing a Training Course for Lawyers on Freedom of Religion or Belief. Jakarta, Indonesia.
August 13-15, 2009 Cultural and Religious Freedom under a Bill of Rights. Conference co-sponsored by ICLRS, University of Adelaide Research Unit for the Study of Society, Law and Religion, and others. Canberra, Australia.
August 31 – September 4, 2009 Hate Speech and Religious Defamation: Part II. International Religious Liberty Association’s 11th Annual Meeting of Experts. Silver Spring, Maryland.
September 28-30, 2009 David M. Kirkham, ICLRS 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 in Amman. Co-sponsored by the Defence College and the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, the conference explored efforts by nations to delegitimize the culture of violence that often informs the thinking of ideological extremists. Conference participants included more than 100 academic, governmental, security, and religious leaders from the Middle East, Europe, Eurasia, and the United States. Amman, Jordan
October 4-6, 2009 Sixteenth Annual International Law and Religion Symposium. Connecting Communities of Discourse: How the Judiciary, Academia, Government, and International Institutions Further the Work of Religious Freedom. Provo, Utah.
October 14-15, 2009. Financing of Churches and Religious Societies in the 21st Century. ICLRS Associate Director Elizabeth Sewell presented a paper, “State Funding and Autonomy of Religious Groups,” in the opening session of the international conference, held under the auspices of the Minister of Culture of the Slovak Republic and designed in part to provide comparative experiences on financing of churches to assist Slovak government officials in drafting changes to that country’s system of financing of religious groups. The conference was attended by scholars, religious leaders, and government officials from Europe, Russia, Japan, South America, and the U.S. Bratislava, Slovakia.
October 20-23, 2009 Dialogue between the State and Religious Associations in Contemporary Culture. ICLRS director Cole Durham participated in an international 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 Researchers of Religion. Professor Durham participated in the plenary session, “Civil-Law Relations of Religious Organizations as Legal Persons.” Volgograd, Russia.
October 28, 2009 ICLRS Director Cole Durham, a 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 in the Delegates’ Dining Room at the United Nations Headquarters. The meeting was co-sponsored by NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief, The BYU International Center for Law and Religion Studies, and The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. New York City.
October 29-30, 2009 ICLRS Advisors for Latin America, Gary B. Doxey and Scott R. Isaacson attended 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. Held at the Santiago Campus of the University of Talca, organized by the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, University of Talca; the Faculty of Law, Catholic University of Valparaiso School of Law; Catholic University of Chile Law School; and the University of the Andes; was sponsored by the Chilean Ministry of Justice National Bureau of Religions Affairs (SEGPES), the Latin American Consortium for Religious Freedom, and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Santiago, Chile.
November 5, 2009 The St. Thomas More Society of Utah presented its First Annual Religion and the Law Program: Reconciling Religious Values with Professionalism and Civility with a panel discussion focused on the blending of spiritual beliefs with professionalism, civility, and professional responsibility. The discussion was moderated by ICLRS Director Cole Durham. Panelists included Alan Bachman, Assistant Utah Attorney General; Michael Lee, partner at Howrey LLP; Father Mike Sciumbato, Parish Priest at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church; and Sensei Michael Zimmerman, partner at Snell and Wilmer, former Chief Justice, Utah State Supreme Court. Salt Lake City, Utah.
“Religion, Ethics, and Peace: Honoring the Career of Professor David Little,” Harvard Divinity School, 13-14 November 2009
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, and human rights, and international peace studies to pay tribute to a scholar of great distinction and abiding influence. A keynote lecture was delivered by John Witte, Jr., Jonas Robitscher Professor of Law and Director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory Law School, and four panels were anchored by David Little’s colleagues and former students. ICLRS Director Cole Durham, Jr. joined participants Barney Twiss of Florida State University, Abdulaziz Sachedina of the University of Virginia, and Grace Kao of Claremont School of Theology in the panel addressing “Human Rights and Religious Freedom,” moderated by Gerard Powers, University of Notre Dame, with response by Jeremy Gunn, Al Akhawayn University, Morocco.
“Religious Legal Theory: State of the Field,” Conference of Seton Hall University School of Law
12-13 November 2009 – Newark, New Jersey
Seton Hall University Law School is sponsoring a symposium to access the “state of the field” in religious legal theory, “consolidating the advances and charting new directions for religious perspectives on law and public policy.” The symposium, scheduled for Thursday and Friday, 12-13 November 2009, at Seton Hall University Law School in Newark, New Jersey, will bring together a number of law professors, theologians, political scientists, sociologists, and scholars in other disicplines, combining contributions from persons of various religious perspectives to “foster dialogue across the Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Easter religious traditions.” The Registration Fee for the conference, which includes the conference banquet on Thursday evening, is $75.
Interested persons may download a registration form from the link below, or contact
Religious Legal Theory Conference
Attn: Rosa Alves
Seton Hall University School of Law
One Newark Center
Newark, NJ 07102
(Quotations and image are from the Conference Brochure.)
First Annual St. Thomas More Society Meeting, 5 November 2009
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 Young University. Panelists included Alan Bachman, Assistant Utah Attorney General; Michael Lee, partner at Howrey LLP; Father Mike Sciumbato, Parish Priest at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church; and (Sensei) Michael Zimmerman, partner at Snell and Wilmer, former Chief Justice of the Utah State Supreme Court.
Roundtable at the UN: “Defamation of Religions,” 28 October 2009
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 for Law and Religion Studies, and The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. In addition to Professor Durham, the discussion featured Dr. Peter Petkoff of Oxford University, Nasser Weddady of the American Islamic Congress, Angela C. Wu of the Becket Fund, Suhail Khan of the Institute for Global Engagement, and Elizabeth Cassidy of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Summary from the Program Announcement: “For the first time since non-binding resolutions on ‘defamation of religions’ were passed at the UN starting in 1999, a binding treaty citing ‘defamation of religions’ is being considered by a UN body. This week, the Ad Hoc Committee on the elaboration of complementary international standards (established by the Durban Outcome Document) is debating an optional protocol to the ICERD incorporating ‘defamation of religions’ in Geneva. The issue also promises to be a high-profile matter at the General Assembly this year.
Critics of ‘defamation of religions’ say that the concept undermines the foundations of human rights law by protecting ideas instead of people, and empowering states instead of their citizens. Does the concept foster understanding and accomplish what its proponents say it does, or does it destabilize rights that international instruments currently protect?
This roundtable discussion [sought to] foster philosophical, sociological, and legal understanding of a timely and important issue.”
“Dialogue between the State and Religious Associations in Contemporary Culture,” Volgograd, 20-23 October 2009
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 Researchers of Religion. Along with Andrei E. Sebentzov, Executive Secretary of the Commission on Religious Associations of the Government of the Russian…
“Financing of Churches and Religious Societies,” Bratislava, 15-25 October 2009
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 financing of churches to assist Slovak government officials in drafting changes to that country’s system of financing…
“Exploring Dimensions in Countering Ideological Support for Terrorism” Conference, Amman, Jordan, 28-30 September 2009
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 to delegitimize the culture of violence that often informs the thinking of ideological extremists. Dr. Kirkham addressed, among other things…
International Religious Liberty Association Holds 11th Annual Meeting of Experts: “Hate Speech and Religious Defamation, Part II,” 1-4 September 2009
ICLRS Director Cole Durham has participated in the International Religious Liberty Association’s 11th Annual Meeting of Experts in Silver Spring, Maryland. This international “Think Tank of Experts” met 1- 4 September 2009 in the Seventh-day Adventist Church World Headquarters to continue its discussions, begun last year at the 10th Annual Meeting held 7-10 September in Bucharest, Romania, concerning the scope of proposed legislation against hate speech. The result was a Statement of Concern about Proposals Regarding Defamation of Religions, expressing the conclusion that specific defamation of religions laws are unnecessary and can indeed be counterproductive in protecting faith groups against hate speech, discrimination, and violence. Advocating international adherence to human rights laws already in place, the statement urges government, educational and religious leaders to encourage “understanding, tolerance, respect…
Center Co-sponsors “Cultural and Religious Freedom under a Bill of Rights,” Canberra, Australia, 13-15 August 2009
As the government of Australia ponders the introduction of an Australian charter or bill of rights, the Center, led by Associate Director Brett G. Scharffs, participated in a conference held 13-15 August 2009 at the Old Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, discussing “Cultural and Religious Freedom under a Bill of Rights.” The Center joined in sponsoring the conference with the University of Adelaide Research Unit for the Study of Society, Law and Religion (RUSSLR), Dr. Paul Babie, director. “RUSSLR,” notes Professor Scharffs, “is the first center or institute in Australia to study the relationship between society, law and religion – putting it at the leading edge in Australia of what is already a major research area worldwide. RUSSLR’s primary objective is directed at understanding the place and role of religion and law in contemporary society.” Other sponsors…
Papers of the 2009 Australia Conference
Welcoming Remarks
Brett G. Scharffs
“Human Rights and the Courts”
Address by the Hon Sir Anthony Mason AC KBE
“Protecting Religious Freedom: Two Counterintuitive Dialectics in U.S. Free Exercise Jurisprudence”
Brett G. Scarffs
“Political Culture and Freedom of Conscience: A Case Study of Austria”
David M. Kirkham
“Religious Freedom in the Bill of Rights Era: The New Zealand Experience”…
Professors Cole Durham and Tore Lindholm Assist in Human Rights Advocates Training, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 9-15 August 2009
During 9-15 August 2009, ICLRS had the opportunity of joining with two Indonesian organizations, the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation and the TIFA Foundation, and the Oslo Coalition for Freedom of Religion or Belief in providing a Training Course for Lawyers on Freedom of Religion or Belief that was held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. ICLRS Director Cole Durham served as one of the trainers along with ICLRS Academic Advisory Board Member Tore Lindholm, Project Group Chair for the Oslo Coalition. Professors Durham and Lindholm joined Indonesian experts Adam Pantouw, Renata Arianingtyas, Zainal Abidin, and Asfinawati in helping with the development of Indonesia-focused training materials and leading the actual training sessions. The Training Course attracted a remarkable group of 28 young Indonesian lawyers from 14 provinces who have already had significant experience defending religious communities that have suffered discrimination and persecution.
Over the last five years, Indonesia has experienced an increasing number of religious freedom and religious intolerance cases across the country. The Wahid Institute (www.wahidinstitute.org) reported that the number reached more than five cases monthly, with seven cases brought to court. Through the Belief Monitoring Body (Bakorpakem) under the attorney general’s office and Law No. 1/PnPs/1965, the government of Indonesia recognizes six religions and has the authority to monitor any beliefs existant in society. The body can recommend that the government of Indonesia dissolve belief groups by providing instructional religious teachings to them and by legally dissolving an association. The most controversial case was Ahmadiyya, which was followed by attacks on Ahmadiyya communities across the country by the other Islamic radical groups. In view of this situation, it is important to train lawyers to represent and defend victims of religious intolerance cases in any stages as well as to educate victims as to their constitutional rights to protect their freedom of religion.
Center Co-sponsors “Russia in the 21st Century: Freedom of Conscience, Religion, and the Church,” St. Petersburg, Russia
The ICLRS co-sponsored the conference “Russia in the 21st Century: Freedom of Conscience, Religion, and the Church,” which took place 3-6 August 2009 at the Saint Petersburg Christian University in St. Petersburg, Russia. Participants included prominent academics, lawyers, government officials, and religious leaders from Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. International experts from Spain, Slovakia, Hungary, and the United States were also in attendance. Participants discussed the current state of affairs in Russia, including the recent establishment of an Expert Council on religious affairs, implementation and application of legislation, and challenges facing new religious movements in the region. Recent international resolutions and European Court cases, and their relevance within Russia, were also discussed. The ICLRS was represented at the conference by Director W. Cole Durham, Jr., who presented a paper on freedom of religion and belief as it relates to places of worship, burial grounds, and other sacred space, and by Russian-speaking Center Summer Intern Sean Loosli.
Center Co-sponsors “Russia in the 21st Century: Freedom of Conscience, Religion, and the Church,” St. Petersburg, Russia, 3-6 August 2009
The International Center for Law and Religion Studies (ICLRS) joined with The Center for Religious Study, Russian State Humanitarian University; the State Museum of Religious History; the Russian Social Organization for the Protection of Freedom of Conscience; and Youth for Human Rights to sponsor the VIII International Scientific Practitioner’s Conference, “Russia in the 21st Century: Freedom of Conscience, Religion, and the Church.” Held 3-6 August at the Saint Petersburg Christian University in St. Petersburg, Russia, the conference featured more than 100 prominent academics, lawyers, government officials, and religious leaders from Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. International experts from Spain, Slovakia, Hungary…
Cole Durham Participates in OSCE Meetings in Vienna, Austria, 9-10 July 2009
Professor W. Cole Durham, Jr. was one of the principal theme introducers at the Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on Freedom of Religion or Belief organized by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) held in Vienna, Austria on 9-10 July 2009. Virtually all of the member states of the OSCE (“Vancouver to Vladivostok moving east”) were represented at the event. Professor…
Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), The 2009 International Conference, Salt Lake City, 11-13 June 2009
The 2009 International Conference of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), “Mainstreaming and Marginalization of Religious Movements,” was held 11-13 June in Salt Lake City, Utah. The conference was organized by CESNUR and The J. Willard Marriott Library of the University of Utah, in association with ISAR, The Office of Mayor – Salt Lake City Corporation, and The Suitter Axland Foundation. ICLRS was represented at the conference by Christine Scott, ICLRS Director of Publications, who delivered a paper, “Religion and Politics in the U.S.: The Fluid Wall of Separation” and chaired a Center-sponsored panel, “The Impact of Recent European Court of Human Rights Decisions on Majority and Minority Religions in Eastern Europe.” Participating on the panel were W. Cole Durham…
Center Co-sponsors “Religious Autonomy” Conference, Budapest, 29-30 May 2009
In conjunction with Central European University, the International Center for Law and Religion Studies (ICLRS) sponsored a conference entitled “Religious Autonomy” held 29-30 May 2009 in Budapest, Hungary. Conference topics focused on theological and jurisprudential perspectives on religious autonomy. The assembled experts also discussed autonomy issues that are currently under consideration by the European Court of Human Rights, specifically, religious employment and the resolution of religious disputes. Finally, the participants identified and discussed emerging religious autonomy issues and trends for the future.
Center Co-sponsors “Christianity in the East: Fostering Understanding” Conference, in Provo, Utah, 14-16 May 2009
Approximately thirty scholars and religious authorities, primarily from Eastern Europe and the Levant, with a few high-level experts from the diaspora communities of these denominations, met at the J. Reuben Clark Law School in Provo, Utah, for three days, 14-16 May 2009, to discuss the role of religion in bringing harmony to troubled regions. Participants have immediate experience with the problem of religion in its relation to the wider context of state and society. Some, such as those in Eastern Europe before the collapse of the communist regimes, have experienced the difficulty of working with a hostile state and processes of transition. Others have had to confront the questions of how those of different religions can work together to create harmony within and between their respective communities and their countries. Our question was: “Based on your experience and on your religious tradition, what are the problems which Christians face living with others in the world and…
Conference on “Civil Religion in the United States and Europe: Four Comparative Perspectives,” Provo, Utah, 12-14 March 2009
Bulletin April 2011: The proceedings of this conference have been published in Volume 41, Number 4 of the George Washington International Law Review.
Frederick M. Gedicks, Guy Anderson Chair and Professor of Law, J. Reuben Clark Law School, organized a conference on the topic “Civil Religion in the United States and Europe: Four Comparative Perspectives.” sponsored by the International Center for Law and Religion Studies and held at the Law School in Provo, Utah, on 12-14 March 2009….
The International Conference on Constitution Making of Nepal, 13-15 February 2009
The “International Conference on the Constitution Making of Nepal” was held 13-15 February 2009, in Budhanilkantha, Kathmandu, Nepal. This conference was convened to discuss the many issues facing Nepal as it seeks to write and adopt a new constitution. Experts from Nepal and other countries met to discuss the principles of federalism, the judiciary, human rights and secularism, and human rights and gender. Speakers at the Inaugural Session on 13 February included Former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala; C.P. Mainali, General Secretary, Nepal Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist) and member of the Constituent Assembly; Khim Lal Devkota, Member, United Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) and Member of the Constituent Assembly and of its Constitutional Drafting Committee; and Brijesh Kumar Gupta, Tarai Maesh Loktantric Party. These leaders of major political parties discussed major positions of their respective parties on the desired contents of the constitution. Professor Kanak Bikram Thapa, former Dean of the Faculty of Law of Tribhuvan University, gave introductory remarks. Sujata Koirala, Former Minister, Central Committee Member of Nepali Congress and Head of Foreign Department of the Nepali Congress Party chaired the session. Foreign participants at the conference included Professor Tahir Mahmood, Member of the Law Commission of India; and Professor W. Cole Durham, Jr., J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, USA.
Conference on “Law and Religion in the 21st Century: Relations Between States and Religious Communities,” in Milan, Italy, 22 January 2009
Members of the Center participated in a conference during 22-24 January 2009, entitled “Law and Religion in the 21st Century: Relations Between States and Religious Communities.” Cole Durham, Center Director, presented on religious freedom in the United States and Canada. Brett Scharffs, Associate Director of the Center, was also in attendance. The International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies sponsored the conference, which was held at the University of Milan, in Milan, Italy. Cole Durham, Center Director, is Vice President of the ICLARS, and Robert Smith, Managing Director of the Center, is a member of the Secretariat of ICLARS. The conference included regional sessions dealing with the state and religion in Africa, Asia, America and Europe. Additionally, the conference included workshops on transnational issues, such as freedom of religion and freedom of expression, proselytism and the right to change religion, and religious symbols. Other speakers included Professor Frederick Mark Gedicks, J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University; Juan N. Floria, Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina, Bs As, Argentina; Lourens M. du Plessis, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa; and Giuseppe Casuscelli, Università di Milano, Italy.
First ICLARS Congress Held, 22-24 January 2009
The International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ICLARS) is an “international association of scholars and experts of law and religion” which seeks to “become the reference point and liaison for all who are interested in the international and comparative dimensions of the relations between states and religions.” ICLARS works to organize conferences, publish newsletters, and run a website to provide up-to-date information about the Consortium. The First ICLARS Congress was held on January 22-24, 2009, at the University of Milan, Italy. The Congress addressed “Law and Religion in the 21st Century: Relations Between States and Religious Communities.”