Religious law includes ethical and moral codes taught by religious traditions. Examples of religiously derived legal codes include Christian canon law (applicable within a wider theological conception in the church, but in modern times distinct from secular state lawLadislas Orsy, "Towards a Theological Conception of Canon Law" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., & Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Materials in Canon Law: A Textbook for Ministerial Students, Revised Edition" (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1990), pg. 11), Jewish halakha, Islamic sharia, and Hindu law.Gad Barzilai, Law and Religion, Ashgate, 2007 In some jurisdictions, religious law may apply only to that religion's adherents; in others, it may be enforced by civil authorities for all residents.
Established religions and religious institutions A state religion (or established church) is a religious body officially endorsed by the state. A theocracy is a form of government in which a God or a deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler.
In both theocracies and some religious jurisdictions, conscientious objectors may cause religious offense. The contrary legal systems are secular states or multicultural societies in which the government does not formally adopt a particular religion, but may either repress all religious activity or enforce tolerance of religious diversity.
Baháʼí Faith
Baháʼí laws are laws and ordinances used in the Baháʼí Faith and are a fundamental part of Baháʼí practice.* The laws are based on authenticated texts from Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, subsequent interpretations from `Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi and legislation by the Universal House of Justice. Baháʼí law is presented as a set of general principles and guidelines and individuals must apply them as they best seem fit. While some social laws are enforced by Baháʼí institutions, emphasis is placed on individuals following the laws based on their conscience, understanding, and reasoning. Baháʼís are expected to observe these laws out of love for Bahá'u'lláh. The laws are seen as the method of the maintenance of order and security in the world.
A few examples of laws and basic religious observances of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas which are considered obligatory for Baháʼís include: Recite an obligatory prayer each day. There are three such prayers among which one can be chosen each day. Observe a Nineteen Day Fast from sunrise to sunset from March 2 through March 20. During this time Baháʼís in good health between the ages of 15 and 70 abstain from eating and drinking. Gossip and backbiting are prohibited and viewed as particularly damaging to the individual and their relationships.
Buddhism
In Buddhism, Patimokkha is a code of 227 rules and principles followed by Buddhist monks and nuns.
Christianity
Within the framework of Christianity, there are several possible definitions for religious law. One is the Mosaic Law (from what Christians consider to be the Old Testament), also called divine law or biblical law; the most famous example is the Ten Commandments. Another is the instructions of Jesus of Nazareth to his disciples in the Gospel (often referred to as the Law of Christ or the New Commandment or the New Covenant, in contrast to the Old Covenant). Another is the Apostolic Decree of Acts 15, which is still observed by the Greek Orthodox Church.Karl Josef von Hefele's commentary on canon II of Gangra notes: "We further see that, at the time of the Synod of Gangra, the rule of the Apostolic Synod with regard to blood and things strangled was still in force. With the Greeks, indeed, it continued always in force as their Euchologies still show. Balsamon also, the well-known commentator on the canons of the Middle Ages, in his commentary on the sixty-third Apostolic Canon, expressly blames the Latins because they had ceased to observe this command. What the Latin Church, however, thought on this subject about the year 400, is shown by St. Augustine in his work Contra Faustum, where he states that the Apostles had given this command in order to unite the heathens and Jews in the one ark of Noah; but that then, when the barrier between Jewish and heathen converts had fallen, this command concerning things strangled and blood had lost its meaning, and was only observed by few. But still, as late as the eighth century, Pope Gregory the Third (731) forbade the eating of blood or things strangled under threat of a penance of forty days. No one will pretend that the disciplinary enactments of any council, even though it be one of the undisputed Ecumenical Synods, can be of greater and more unchanging force than the decree of that first council, held by the Holy Apostles at Jerusalem, and the fact that its decree has been obsolete for centuries in the West is proof that even Ecumenical canons may be of only temporary utility and may be repealed by disuse, like other laws." Another is canon law in the Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox churches.
In some Christian denominations, law is often contrasted with grace (see also Law and Gospel and Antithesis of the Law): the contrast here speaks to an attempt to gain salvation by obedience to a code of laws as opposed to seeking salvation through faith in the atonement made by Jesus on the cross. From the Gospel of John:
Biblical/Mosaic law
Christian views of the Old Covenant vary and are to be distinguished from Christian theology, ethics, and practice. The term "Old Covenant", also referred to as the Mosaic covenant and the Law of Moses, refers to the statements or principles of religious law and religious ethics codified in the first five books or Pentateuch of the Old Testament. Views of the Old Covenant are expressed in the New Testament, such as Jesus' antitheses of the law, the circumcision controversy in Early Christianity, and the Incident at Antioch and position of Paul the Apostle and Judaism. Most Christians hold that only parts are applicable, while some Protestants have the view that none is applicable. Dual-covenant theologians have the view that only Noahide Laws apply to Gentiles. The Jewish Christianity movement is virtually extinct. According to the New Testament Christians are no longer regarded as Gentiles (Romans 8: 28–29)
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws and regulations made by or adopted by ecclesiastical authority for the governance of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches, and the Anglican Communion of churches. The way that such church law is legislated, interpreted and at times adjudicated varies widely among these three bodies of churches. In all three traditions, a canon was initially a rule adopted by a church council (From Greek kanon / κανών, Hebrew / , for rule, standard, or measure); these canons formed the foundation of canon law.
Canons of the Apostles
The Canons of the Apostles or Ecclesiastical Canons of the Same Holy Apostles is a collection of ancient ecclesiastical decrees (eighty-five in the Eastern, fifty in the Western Church) concerning the government and discipline of the Early Christian Church, incorporated with the Apostolic Constitutions which are part of the Ante-Nicene Fathers
Catholic Church
The canon law of the Catholic Church ()Black's Law Dictionary, 5th Edition, pg. 771: "Jus canonicum" is the system of laws and legal principles made and enforced by the hierarchical authorities of the Church to regulate its external organization and government and to order and direct the activities of Catholics toward the mission of the Church.Della Rocca, Manual of Canon Law, pg. 3 It was the first modern Western legal systemBerman, Harold J. Law and Revolution, pg. 86 & pg. 115 and is the oldest continuously functioning legal system in the West,Dr. Edward N. Peters, CanonLaw.info Home Page, accessed November-07-2024 predating the European common law and civil law traditions. What began with rules ("canons") adopted by the Apostles at the Council of Jerusalem in the 1st century has blossomed into a highly complex and original legal system encapsulating not just norms of the New Testament, but some elements of the Hebrew (Old Testament), Roman, Visigothic, Saxon, and Celtic legal traditions spanning thousands of years of human experience. while the unique traditions of Eastern Catholic canon law govern the 23 Eastern Catholic particular churches sui iuris.
Positive ecclesiastical laws derive formal authority in the case of universal laws from promulgation by the supreme legislator—the Supreme Pontiff—who possesses the totality of legislative, executive, and judicial power in his person,Canon 331, 1983 Code of Canon Law while particular laws derive formal authority from promulgation by a legislator inferior to the supreme legislator, whether an ordinary or a delegated legislator. The actual subject material of the canons is not just doctrinal or moral in nature, but all-encompassing of the human condition.
It has all the ordinary elements of a mature legal system: laws, courts, lawyers, judges,Edward N. Peters, "A Catechist's Introduction to Canon Law" , CanonLaw.info, accessed June-11-2013 a fully articulated legal code for the Latin Church as well as a code for the Eastern Catholic Churches,Manual of Canon Law, pg. 49 principles of legal interpretation, and coercive penalties.St. Joseph Foundation newsletter, Vol. 30 No. 7 , pg. 3 It lacks civilly binding force in most secular jurisdictions. Those who are versed and skilled in canon law, and professors of canon law, are called canonistsBlack's Law Dictionary, 5th Edition, pg. 187: "Canonist" (or colloquially, canon lawyers).Berman, Law and Revolution, pg. 288 Canon law as a sacred science is called canonistics.
The jurisprudence of Catholic canon law is the complex of legal principles and traditions within which canon law operates, while the philosophy, theology, and fundamental theory of Catholic canon law are the areas of philosophical, theological, and legal scholarship dedicated to providing a theoretical basis for canon law as a legal system and as true law.
In the early Church, the first canons were decreed by bishops united in "Ecumenical" councils (the Emperor summoning all of the known world's bishops to attend with at least the acknowledgement of the Bishop of Rome) or "local" councils (bishops of a region or territory). Over time, these canons were supplemented with decretals of the Bishops of Rome, which were responses to doubts or problems according to the maxim, Roma locuta est, causa finita est ("Rome has spoken, case is closed").
Later, they were gathered together into collections, both unofficial and official. The first truly systematic collection was assembled by the Camaldolese monk Gratian in the 11th century, commonly known as the Decretum Gratiani ("Gratian's Decree"). Pope Gregory IX is credited with promulgating the first official collection of canons called the Decretalia Gregorii Noni or Liber Extra (1234). This was followed by the Liber Sextus (1298) of Boniface VIII, the Clementines (1317) of Clement V, the Extravagantes Joannis XXII and the Extravagantes Communes, all of which followed the same structure as the Liber Extra. All these collections, with the Decretum Gratiani, are together referred to as the Corpus Juris Canonici. After the completion of the Corpus Juris Canonici, subsequent papal legislation was published in periodic volumes called Bullaria.