April 28, 2012
Professor Mark L. Movsesian, Director of the School of Law’s Center for Law and Religion, recently served as a delegate at the Forum 2000 Conference, an annual gathering of academics and policymakers hosted by Vaclav Havel in Prague. His fellow delegates included:
- Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz
- Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan
- Economist Hernando de Soto,
- Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili
- Carnegie Corporation President Vartan Gregorian
An audience of over 3000 observers from around the world gathered to hear expert panelists and speakers present on this year’s conference theme,“Democracy and Law.”
Professor Movsesian participated in two panels on law and religion. The first, “Religion, Ethics, and Law,” asked whether secularization had led to a separation of law from morality. Drawing an example from American legal ethics, Movsesian noted that, 100 years ago, a lawyer had a duty to counsel clients on the need for “strict compliance” with “moral law.” By contrast, nowadays, a lawyer’s duty is to provide strictly legal advice; moral advice is optional. He argued that the change could be understood, at least in part, as an effect of secularization.
The second panel, “Religious and Secular Law,” dealt with potential conflicts between religious and civil legal codes. Professor Movsesian argued that the relationship between religious and secular law will be a crucial issue in coming years. Religion is resurging around the world, he observed, and there will likely be many occasions of conflict between secular and religious law. He discussed two doctrinal examples from the United States: the ministerial exception, currently before the Supreme Court in the Hosanna-Tabor case, and restrictions on religious practice under Employment Division v. Smith.
“I was honored to be in such august company,” Professor Movsesian said. “It was a wonderful opportunity to hear diverse perspectives on law-and-religion controversies around the world.” “Professor Movsesian’s participation in the Forum 2000 Conference exemplifies St. John’s commitment to advancing the global conversation about the important relationship of law and religion,” said Dean Michael A. Simons. “This same commitment is the cornerstone of our Center for Law and Religion and the St. John’s Center for International and Comparative Law.”
You can read Professor Movsesian’s posts about the conference at the Center for Law and religion’s blog, CLR Forum.