August 07, 2012
On June 22, 2012, leading American and European scholars, judges
and politicians gathered in Rome, Italy for a conference on
“State-Sponsored Religious Displays in the U.S. and Europe,” the
latest in a series of events on timely and important topics in law
and religion sponsored by the Law School’s
Center for Law and Religion (CLR). Co-hosted by CLR and the
Department of Law at Rome’s Libera
Università Maria SS. Assunta (LUMSA), the conference took place
at LUMSA’s main campus, near the Vatican. Proceedings were in
English and Italian with simultaneous translation.
Photo Gallery 1
Photo Gallery 2
Conference Video 1
Conference Video 2
Conference Video 3
Conference Video 4
Conference Program
State-sponsored religious displays have been the subject of much
recent litigation in the United States and in Europe. American
courts have heard challenges to the constitutionality of public
Christmas crèches, Ten Commandments monuments and Latin crosses on
war memorials. Across the Atlantic, last year, the European Court
of Human Rights handed down a major decision on Italy’s practice of
placing crucifixes in all public school classrooms. Speakers at the
conference addressed these cases from a variety of perspectives:
historical, jurisprudential and sociological. Panels included:
- Cultural or Religious? Understanding Symbols in Public
Places
- The Lautsi Case and the Margin of Appreciation
- State-Sponsored Religious Displays in Comparative
Perspective
Papers presented at the Rome conference will appear in a
forthcoming issue of the Journal of Catholic Legal
Studies.
“Partnering with LUMSA on this conference was a wonderful
opportunity for us,” said CLR Director
Mark L. Movsesian. “We were able to combine our resources and
expertise in very effective ways. A comparative approach to law and
religion is increasingly important, both for scholars and
practicing lawyers. Actually, it was an American lawyer who argued
the Italian crucifix case before the European Court of Human
Rights. Because St. John’s has campuses in Rome and Paris, we’re in
a great position to contribute to the growing global dialogue on
these issues.”
Exploring the law’s global reach is a cornerstone of a St.
John’s legal education. “We are proud to be a diverse community of
students, scholars and educators and very much value the different
cultural and religious perspectives that inform the law in the U.S.
and abroad,” said Dean
Michael A. Simons, who moderated one of the panels at the Rome
conference. “The Rome conference and other CLR initiatives reflect
our commitment to fostering a robust, global conversation about the
relationship between religion and the state.” Dean Simons added
that St. John’s is “pleased to partner with LUMSA, one of Italy’s
top private universities and, like St. John’s, a Catholic
institution.”
Established in 2010, the Center for Law and Religion at St.
John’s School of 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, it also coordinates the Law School’s law
and religion curriculum and promotes dialogue among scholars with
different viewpoints, both religious and non-religious.
For more information on the CLR, its Fall 2012 programs and
other activities, please
contact us.