Christianity and the Laws of Conscience
An Introduction
Will be published approx. on 1. October 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
469 pages
978-1-108-79331-5 (ISBN)
Description
Conscience has long been a foundational theme in Christian ethics, but it is a notoriously slippery and contested term. This volume works to define conscience and reveal the similarities and differences between different Christian traditions' thinking on the subject. In a thorough and scholarly manner, the authors explore Christian theological, legal, constitutional, historical, and philosophical meanings of conscience. Covering a range of historical periods, major figures in the development of conscience, and contemporary applications, this book is a vital source for scholars from a wide variety of disciplines seeking to understand conscience from a range of perspectives.
Reviews / Votes
'This engaging collection of beautifully written essays provides the reader with a broad array of topics relating to Christian understandings of conscience.' Angela C. Carmella, Journal of Church and StateMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
ISBN-13
978-1-108-79331-5 (9781108793315)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Jeffrey B. Hammond is Associate Professor of Law at Thomas Goode Jones School of Law, Faulkner University. He is also a Fellow of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University. He writes in the fields of law and Christian theology, religion clauses, health law, and law and bioethics and teaches in the fields of constitutional law and health law. Helen M. Alvare is Professor of Law at Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University. She has taught law and religion for 20 years and has published over 30 scholarly articles. Her previously published books include Putting Children's Interests First in U.S. Family Law and Policy (2017) and The Conscience of the Institution (2014).
Content
Part I. Themes in Understandings of Conscience in Christianity: 1. New Testament on conscience Wendell Willis; 2. Conscience and natural law in scripture David VanDrunen; 3. Conscience in early Christian thought John Anthony McGuckin; 4. Sensus Fidei, the magisterium, and the formation of conscience E. Christian Brugger; Part II. Conscience According to Major Figures and Traditions: 5. Conscience in the early church fathers Alexis Torrance; 6. St Thomas Aquinas on conscience Cajetan Cuddy, OP; 7. Reforming the conscience: magisterial reformers on the theory and practice of conscience John L. Thompson; 8. Toward a theology of a redeemed conscience Jeffrey B. Hammond; 9. Pierre Bayle: an enlightened alternative to John Locke Edward Andrew; 10. Freedom of conscience and its right to constitutional protection: the contribution of Roger Williams David Little; 11. Jonathan Edwards on conscience Michael McClymond; 12. Obeying God rather than men: uneasy evangelicals, conscience, and politics Micah Watson; 13. Mormonism and conscience Rosalynde Welch and Nathan B. Oman; 14. Culture and conscience in the thought of Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI Peter J. Casarella; Part III. Applied Topics in Law and Conscience: 15. Liberty of conscience, free exercise of religion, and the U.S. constitution Nathan S. Chapman; 16. Religious conscience protections in American state constitutions Michael J. DeBoer; 17. Forced conformity or accommodation? How to reconcile conscience and difference in a pluralistic democracy Mark Rienzi; 18. Christian conscience and sexual expression rights Helen M. Alvare; 19. Conscience and war Joseph Capizzi; 20. Institutional conscience, corporate persons, and Hobby Lobby Christopher Tollefsen; 21. Religion, conscience, and the law: reasons, bases, and limits for exemptions R. Kent Greenawalt; Index.