Last week we held the Religious Legal Theory: The State of the Field conference at the law school. I’m incredibly gratified at how the conference went. Organizing this conference was, in fact, one of the most satisfying projects of my professional career.
This was a unique conference in that we focused on legal theory from an ecumenically religious perspective. The keynote speakers included Christian, Jewish, and Muslim scholars, and presenters included Catholics, Evangelicals, Presbyterians, Mormons, Buddhists, and others. None of the speakers or presenters minimized their own faith distinctives — indeed, many of the presentations were explicitly theological — and yet we found common ground in the desire to develop legal theory that acknowledges, celebrates, and integrates religious distinctives. It was a thrill to see all these diverse scholars interacting with each other in peace. This mood was summarized nicely by a scripture I read at the start of the conference’s second day: And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.” (Zech. 7:8-10).