Magna Carta, Religion and the Rule of Law

Description

Archbishop Stephen Langton hoped with Magna Carta to realise an Old Testament, covenantal kingship in England. At the Charter's 800th anniversary, distinguished jurists, theologians and historians from five faith-traditions and three continents ask how Magna Carta's biblical foundations have mattered and still matter now. A Lord Chief Justice, a Chief Rabbi, a Grand Mufti of Egypt, specialists in eight centuries of law, scholars and advocates committed to the rule of law and to the place of religion in public life all come together in this testimony to Magna Carta's iconic power. We follow the Charter's story in the religious life of the UK, America and now Continental Europe, and reflections on religio-legal traditions far from the Common Law enrich the story. Magna Carta, Religion and the Rule of Law invites all religions to ask what contribution they themselves should make to the rule of law in today's secular, democratic polities.

Robin Griffith-Jones is the Reverend and Valiant Master of the Temple Church at the Temple, London and Senior Lecturer in Theology at King's College London. Mark Hill QC is the UK's leading practitioner in the field of law and religion. He also teaches at Cardiff University's Centre for Law and Religion and as an Extraordinary Professor at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

'Robin Griffith-Jones and Mark Hill QC have assembled a magisterial line-up of thinkers to tease out critical issues around law and religion. Magna Carta, Religion and the Rule of Law is an important book bringing substantial intellectual resources to bear on a key subject for our time; it deserves thoughtful, questioning reading.' Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury 'This book brings together notable thinkers from a range of disciplines, focusing their thoughts on a topic that is of the moment in many ways ... it represents great value ... a useful introduction to areas as diverse as thirteenth-century English church history, Islamic concepts of justice, and the tracing of Judao-Christian thought through our social discourse and legal systems.' Stephen Farrell, Search