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The state is legally required to be neutral towards religion, but in many countries it is increasingly anything but. This book conducts a comparative legal analysis of the church-state relationship within and between western countries - including the USA, France and Israel - that are key players in international and domestic dynamics in which religion and religious conflict take centre stage. It analyses how government accommodates diversity, how policies of multiculturalism and pluralism translate into legislation, the extent to which they address matters of religion and belief and what pattern of related issues then come before the courts. Finally, it considers how civil society and democracy in general can maintain a balance between the interests of those of different religions and beliefs and those of none. In this illuminating study, Kerry O'Halloran shows how the relationship between religion and government affects civil society and the functioning of democracy in North America and Europe.

Part 1: Adoption, Society and the Law: the Common Law Context -- Chapter 1. Adoption: Concept, Principles and Social Construct -- Chapter 2. The Changing Face of Adoption -- Part 2: Developing International Benchmarks for Modern Adoption Law -- Chapter 3. The Legal Functions of Adoption -- Chapter 4. Adoption and the European Court of Human Rights -- Chapter 5. Intercountry Adoption and the Hague Convention -- Part 3: Contemporary Law, Policy and Practice in a Common Law Context -- Chapter 6. The Adoption Process in England & Wales -- Chapter 7. The Adoption Process in Ireland -- Chapter 8. The Adoption Process in the US -- Chapter 9. The Adoption Process in Canada -- Chapter 10 -- The Adoption Process in Australia -- Chapter 11. The Adoption Process in New Zealand -- Part 4: Contemporary Law, Policy and Practice in a European Civil Law Context -- Chapter 12. The Adoption Process in Sweden -- Chapter 13. The Adoption Process in France -- Chapter 14. The Adoption Process in Germany -- Chapter 15. The Adoption Process in Romania -- Part 5: Contemporary Law, Policy and Practice in Asia -- Chapter 16. The Adoption Process in an Islamic Context -- Chapter 17. The Adoption Process in Korea -- Chapter 18. The Adoption Process in Japan -- Chapter 19. The Adoption Process in China -- Chapter 20. The Adoption Process in Russia -- Part 6: Contemporary Law, Policy and Practice in an Indigenous Peoples Context -- Chapter 21. Intraculture Adoption -- Part 7: The Influence of Politics -- Chapter 22. Politics and a Regulatory Regime for Adoption -- Chapter 23. Politics and a Contemporary Social Role for Adoption -- Conclusions.

"considers the similarities and differences in the relationship between Church and State, on a range of contemporary matters, in six countries. These - the Part II jurisdictions - are chosen on the basis of the contrasts they offer: the US and Canada, built on the contribution of immigrants but with sizeable indigenous populations, have distinctively different constitutional interpretations of that relationship; England and Wales and its five centuries of an 'established Church'; France where laïcité resolutely dictates the place of religion; Germany which struggles to overcome its Nazi past and re-integrate its eastern Communist citizens; and the outlier, Israel "a Jewish State for a Jewish people", established and maintained to provide a distinctly non-neutral protection to a specific religion and one where Judaism and the State are, seemingly, moving ever closer to a theocratic relationship. All six jurisdictions are modern democracies and all are signatory nations to international treaties that require States to adopt a neutral approach to religion"--

"This book identifies, analyses and discusses the nexus of legal issues that have emerged in recent years around sexuality and gender. It audits these against specific human rights requirements, and evaluates the outcomes as evidenced in the legislation and caselaw of six leading common law jurisdictions. Beginning with a snapshot of legal definitions and sanctions associated with the traditional marital family unit, the book examines the subsequently evolving key concepts and constructs, before outlining the contemporary international framework of human rights as it relates to matters of sexuality and gender. It proceeds by identifying a set of themes, including rights to identity, to form a family, to privacy, to equality and non-discrimination, and undertakes a comparative evaluation of how these and other themes indicate areas of commonality and difference in the approach adopted in those common law jurisdictions as illustrated by the associated legislation and caselaw. It then considers why this should be and assesses the implications"--

Generations of festering culture wars, compounded by actual wars in predominantly Muslim countries, the terrorism of Isis, and the ongoing migrant crisis have all combined to make religious discrimination the most pressing challenge now facing many governments. For the leading common law nations, with their shared Christian cultural heritage balanced by a growing secularism, the threat presented by this toxic mix has the potential to destabilise civil society. This book suggests that the instances of religious discrimination, as currently legally defined, are constrained by that cultural context, exacerbated by a policy of multiculturalism, and in practice, conflated with racial, ethnic or other forms of discrimination. Kerry O'Halloran argues that many culture war issues - such as those that surround the pro-choice/pro-life debate and the rights of the LGBT community - can be viewed as rooted in the same Christian morality that underpins the law relating to religious discrimination.--

This book examines the interface between religion, charity law and human rights. It does so by treating the Church of England and its current circumstances as a timely case study providing an opportunity to examine the tensions that have now become such a characteristic feature of that interface. Firstly, it suggests that the Church is the primary source of canon law principles that have played a formative role in shaping civic morality throughout the common law jurisdictions: the history of their emergence and enforcement by the State in post-Reformation England is recorded and assessed. Secondly, it reveals that of such principles those of greatest weight were associated with matters of sexuality: in particular, for centuries, family law was formulated and applied with regard for the sanctity of the heterosexual marital family which provided the only legally permissible context for any form of sexual relationship. Thirdly, given that history, it identifies and assesses the particular implications that now arise for the Church as a consequence of recent charity law reform outcomes and human rights case law developments: a comparative analysis of religion related case law is provided. Finally, following an outline of the structure and organizational functions of the Church, a detailed analysis is undertaken of its success in engaging with these issues in the context of the Lambeth Conferences, the wider Anglican Communion and in the ill-fated Covenant initiative. From the perspective of the dilemmas currently challenging the moral authority of the Church of England, this book identifies and explores the contemporary 'moral imperatives' or red line issues that now threaten the coherence of Christian religions in most leading common law nations. Gay marriage and abortion are among the host of morally charged and deeply divisive topics demanding a reasoned response and leadership from religious bodies. Attention is given to the judicial interpretation and evaluation of these and other issues that now undermine the traditional role of the Church of England. As the interface between religion, charity law and human rights becomes steadily more fractious, with religious fundamentalism and discrimination acquiring a higher profile, there is now a pressing need for a more balanced relationship between those with and those without religious beliefs. This book will be an invaluable aid in starting the process of achieving a triangulated relationship between the p ...

"For the first time in 400 years a number of leading common law nations have, fairly simultaneously, embarked on charity law reform leading to an encoding of key definitional matters in charity legislation. This book provides an analysis of international case law developments on the ever growing range of issues now being generated by clashes between human rights, religion and charity law. Kerry O'Halloran identifies and assesses the agenda of 'moral imperatives', such as abortion and gay marriage that delineate the legal interface and considers their significance for those with and those without religious belief. By assessing jurisdictional differences in the law relating to religion/human rights/charity the author provides a picture of the evolving 'culture wars' that now typify and differentiates societies in western nations including the USA, England and Wales, Ireland, Australia, Canada and New Zealand"--