Business, Religion and the Law

Book excerpt: This book investigates the intersection between business and religion from a legal perspective. Taking a fresh look at some of the most compelling literature in law and religion, it proposes a rethinking of what scholars on both sides of the Atlantic have dubbed “church autonomy” or, more recently, “corporate religious freedom”. The volume explores how, in the wake of a decade of US Supreme Court case law, corporate religious freedom is now increasingly being extended to protect the religious liberty of another corporate entity: the for-profit corporation. By exposing this shift from church to business autonomy in American law, it is argued that a similar narrative has also begun to take place in Europe. Through a comparative and interdisciplinary approach to corporate religious freedom, the work provides the reader with a new, comprehensive, and easily accessible history of the genesis and evolution of this legal category in American and European law. The book combines material that straddles international law and religion, corporate law, and economic theory. The diversity of views contained within it makes it a valuable resource for scholars and students in law and religion, corporate social responsibility, and law and economics.