How closely connected should church and state be? May a state endorse the role and meaning of religion at all? Can it treat distinct religious groups differently? This book addresses these questions and more through a portrayal and comparison of the legal systems of Germany, Israel, France, and the United States. This thought-provoking book brings the often opposing demands of religious and secular freedoms into clear focus.

In this new collection of essays, Paul van Seters brings together an international group of scholars from diverse academic backgrounds to reflect upon the remarkable rise of communitarianism in contemporary studies of law and society. Taking account of the intricate relationship between law and communitarianism, these essays critically assess the communitarian perspective in order to gain a more systematic insight into its distinctive constraints and the special opportunities it provides. At its core, this work contends that law necessarily presupposes community, but also essentially extends it. Arguing that communitarianism must be understood as an effort to reconstruct liberalism, and not just debunk it, Communitarianism in Law and Society explores what good is to come of this movement for legal theory and practice.

In this new collection of essays, Paul van Seters brings together an international group of scholars from diverse academic backgrounds to reflect upon the remarkable rise of communitarianism in contemporary studies of law and society. Taking account of the intricate relationship between law and communitarianism, these essays critically assess the communitarian perspective in order to gain a more systematic insight into its distinctive constraints and the special opportunities it provides. At its core, this work contends that law necessarily presupposes community, but also essentially extends it. Arguing that communitarianism must be understood as an effort to reconstruct liberalism, and not just debunk it, Communitarianism in Law and Society explores what good is to come of this movement for legal theory and practice.

How closely connected should church and state be? May a state endorse the role and meaning of religion at all? Can it treat distinct religious groups differently? This book addresses these questions and more through a portrayal and comparison of the legal systems of Germany, Israel, France, and the United States. This thought-provoking book brings the often opposing demands of religious and secular freedoms into clear focus.

This volume presents the lectures and discussions held at the conference of the "Vereinigung der deutschen Staatsrechtslehrer" (the association of german professors for public law), October 1st - Ocober 3rd, 2003, Hamburg.