Center for Law and Religion Receives Grant to Study Tradition in Law and Politics

The Center for Law and Religion at St. John’s Law has received a major grant from the Bradley Foundation for the creation of the Tradition Project, a new initiative exploring the value of tradition for contemporary citizens and the relationship of tradition and change in today’s world.

Conceived and co-directed by Professors Marc O. DeGirolami and Mark L. Movsesian, the Tradition Project seeks to develop a broad and rich understanding of what tradition—the received wisdom of the past—might continue to offer in cultivating virtuous, responsible, self-governing citizens. “The Tradition Project, which studies issues of intellectual and religious concern, furthers our mission as a Vincentian institution,” said Dean Michael A. Simons. “We’re grateful to the Bradley Foundation for its support of this important initiative.”

Launching in 2016, the Tradition Project will bring together leading public figures, scholars, judges, and journalists for lectures, workshops, and sponsored research. Work related to the project will include book manuscripts, journal articles, and curricular development.

“Through the generosity of the Bradley Foundation, the Tradition Project will foster a greater understanding of the ways in which traditions now affect, or might affect, legal doctrine, as well as cultural perceptions about law and other institutions,” said Center for Law and Religion Director Mark L. Movsesian. “It’s a natural subject for our center. Across the globe, tradition and religion are closely linked. Here in the West, many traditions in law and politics have religious roots. In cultivating a better understanding of the relationship among traditions, religion, and contemporary culture, this initiative will help transform thinking about law and politics in the United States and across the globe.”

About the Center for Law and Religion
Established in 2010, the Center for Law and Religion at St. John’s Law provides a forum for the study of law and religion from domestic, international, and comparative perspectives. In addition to hosting academic conferences and speakers from academia and public life, the Center coordinates the Law School’s law and religion curriculum and promotes dialogue among scholars with different viewpoints, both religious and non-religious. That dialogue continues with regular posts at the Center’s award-winning blog, CLR Forum.