New Book: Reactions to the Law by Minority Religions

Reactions to the Law by Minority Religions
Eileen Barker and James T. Richardson (eds)

Routledge, http://bit.ly/3jlhGEA

Reactions to the Law by Minority Religions  book cover

Much has been written about the law as it affects new and minority religions, but relatively little has been written about how such religions react to the law. This book presents a wide variety of responses by minority religions to the legal environments within which they find themselves.

An international panel of experts offer examples from North America, Europe and Asia, demonstrating how religions with relatively little status may resort to violence or passive acceptance of the law; how they may change their beliefs or practices in order to be in compliance with the law; or how they may resort to the law itself in order to change their legal standing, sometimes by forging alliances with those with more power or authority to achieve their goals. The volume concludes by applying theoretical insights from sociological studies of law, religion and social movements to the variety of responses.

The first systematic collection focussing on how minority religions respond to efforts at social control by various governmental agents, this book provides a vital reference for scholars of religion and the law, new religious movements, minority religions and the sociology of religion.

Table of Contents

  1. Fight, Flight or Freeze? Reactions to the Law by Minority Religions — Eileen Barker
  2. Stand Up For Your Rights: (Minority) Religions’ Reactions to the Law in Estonia — Ringo Ringvee
  3. Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Law: “Caesar’s Things to Caesar, but God’s Things to God” — Tony Brace
  4. Scientology Behind the Scenes: The Law Changer — Eric Roux
  5. No Stranger to Litigation: Court Cases Involving the Unification Church/Family Federation in the United States —Michael L. Mickler
  6. Legal Challenges Posed to the Unification Church in Europe: Perspectives from a Unificationist Advocate for Religious Freedom — Peter Zoehrer
  7. The “Doukhobor Problem” in Canada: How a Russian Mystical Sect Responded to Law Enforcement in British Columbia, 1903–2013 — Susan Palmer and Shane Dussault
  8. Making Sense of the Institutional Demarcation: Tenrikyō’s Response to Legal Environments in France — Masato Kato
  9. Strategies in Context: The Essenes in France and Canada — Marie-Ève Melanson and Jennifer Guyver
  10. Reactions to Legal Challenges by Aum Shinrikyō and its Successor Organisations —Rin Ushiyama
  11. Religious Persecution and Refugees: Legal and Communication Strategies of the Church of Almighty God in Asylum Cases — Massimo Introvigne and Rosita Šorytė
  12. Minority Religion Reactions to the European Court Of Human Rights — Effie Fokas
  13. Minority Religions Respond to the Law: A Theoretical Excursus — James T. Richardson