Maintaining a Faith Community: The Role of the Law

Concern about the relationship between faith communities and the wider secular community have been prominent since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and 7/7. Much media attention, as well as academic research, has focused on the Muslim community and has examined the attachment of the community to norms and customs that are different from, and in part incompatible with, those of the wider secular community. Interest in the interaction between religious and secular laws was further heightened as a result of the statement by the Archbishop of Canterbury that it was "inevitable" that elements of the Muslim law, such as divorce proceedings, would be incorporated into British legislation (Williams, 2008)

The proposed project will offer an overview of the current state of the debate in the UK on the relationship between religious law and state law, with reference to both the Muslim and Jewish communities. It will then compare selected aspects of that relationship with the position in France. The aspects to be compared are:
1. the identification of representatives who can negotiate on behalf of the community with the state, and the identification of religious legal authorities
2. the relationship between religious and state law in the context of marriage and divorce; and
3. the role of religious courts in the process of dispute resolution, with particular reference to divorce.

There is already a significant body of information on the relationship between religious and state law in the context of marriage and divorce, including material written by the Principal Investigator and the Research Associate (see Publications lists). The proposed project will place this work in the context of other UK studies, and develop a comparative dimension. It will also lay the groundwork for further comparative research by establishing a network of scholars in this field from the US, Canada and Israel as well as other EU States with significant Muslim and Jewish populations.

The proposed project will be based within the Women in Society Research Centre (WISRC) at the University of Wales, Newport with the support of colleagues working in related fields at Cardiff University, who have the necessary contacts with religion and law researchers in France and elsewhere. The Principal Investigator is a family law specialist and expert in particular in the areas of forced marriage, polygamy and the human rights dimension of family relationships. The Research Associate has a part-time teaching post at Cardiff University, is currently conducting research on religious law and the law of arbitration and has extensive experience of comparative law research - notably with reference to French law. Dissemination of the project findings will be facilitated by the activities of WISRC (see "Academic Beneficiaries"). The Research Associate is an associate member of the Cardiff University Centre for Law and Religion (CUCLR) and so further dissemination will be possible through networks organised under the aegis of CUCLR, or in which members of that Centre are active (see "Impact Summary")

By providing comparative insights, the project will benefit a range of scholars who research, inter alia, law and religion, family law and the sociology of religion. It will also benefit religious courts and institutions and a range of policy-makers.

Issues concerning the interaction of religious and civil law are of importance to a great range of people, from policy makers to the individuals within faith communities whose status and rights are affected by that interaction (Shachar, 2001). The aforementioned speech by the Archbishop of Canterbury in February 2008 concerning the relationship between civil and religious law provoked furious debate, which demonstrated a low level of knowledge of religious laws and courts . Since that time significant work has been done to inform the debate. The proposed review will take stock of that work and will thus provide a useful resource for academics, policy makers and the media.

One element of the debate is the extent to which the British response to Shariah law is appropriate and how it compares with the responses of other jurisdictions. The proposed project will contribute in particular to this question. It is expected to highlight tensions in the French principle of laicité, and to indicate how far the contrasting French response to the desire of faith communities to apply their own religious laws may offer any lessons for the UK (and vice versa). The networking element in the project will initiate an extension of that comparison to other jurisdictions.

The comparative findings will provide an evidence base for critique of the approach adopted in the UK and inform future policy making by both secular and religious leaders. They have the potential to be of use to charities and pressure groups - approaching the issues in terms of women's rights or religious rights and obligations - to religious courts, legal advisers, policy makers and others.

Dissemination of the results will be facilitated in particular through the facilities afforded by the Women in Society Research Centre (see "Academic Beneficiaries") and by access to two networks run by Centre for Law and Religion at Cardiff. The networks link a growing number of religious and legal personnel from many jurisdictions:

- The Interfaith Legal Advisors Network (ILAN), which was established by Cardiff Centre for Law and Religion in 2007. ILAN is wide-ranging in its academic and professional concerns: it includes representatives from over 15 different faith groups and the British Humanist Association. .

- The Law and Religion Scholars Network (LARSN), established in 2008 which has just under a hundred academics from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as well as a number of members from across the globe (chiefly Australia and the United States).

The research findings will also be disseminated to women's organisations with an interest in religious law issues, such as "Women Living under Muslim Laws (WLUML)".