The 18th Annual International Law and Religion Symposium of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies of the J. Reuben Clark Law School took place on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, from October 2 through 4, 2011. This year's conference, "Religious Freedom in a Pluralistic Age: Trends, Challenges, and Practices," welcomed more than 75 participants, representing 37 countries.
The Symposium opened in the Law School's Moot Court Room on Sunday evening, October 2, with an address by this year's distinguished keynote speaker, Zakeria Mohammed Yacoob of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. Sessions continued through Monday and Tuesday and concluded with remarks by ICLRS Director Professor W. Cole Durham, Jr. and a number of other Symposium delegates.
Summaries of some presentations, prepared by volunteers in attendance, are available on this site's Annual Symposium page. Delgates' presentations, including video... more
An album of photographs from the 18th Annual International Law and Religion Symposium is now available here.
The faculty and staff of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies, as well as the 75 delegates and members of their families who attended the Symposium in Provo, Utah in October 2011, are most grateful to the Symposium hosts and benefactors who took these photos.
In particular, we thank Erlyn and Duane Madsen, Linda Nearon, Lynn Anderson, and David Westerby, for their assistance with the photography, and many other aspects of the Symposium, once again this year.
Jordan Pendergrass, ICLRS Research Advisor
Sunday evening, October 2, 2011, Justice Zakeria Mohammed Yacoob of the Constitutional Court of South Africa delivered the keynote address at the opening session of the Eighteenth Annual International Law and Religion Symposium. Citing both South African and international examples, Justice Yacoob demonstrated that religious freedom is a critical right that can and must be preserved.
"There is religious oppression in many parts of the world," explained Justice Yacoob, "and that oppression is aimed... more
The Eighteenth Annual International Law and Religion came to a close in a plenary session on Tuesday afternoon, October 4, 2011. Center Director Professor W. Cole Durham, Jr. invited seven Symposium delegates and one audience member to join him in summarizing the event for all assembled in the Law School's Moot Court Room and listening in via live Internet stream. Joining Professor Durham during this hour were
- David Rodearmel – U.S. Foreign Services Officer, currently assigned to Stuttgart, Germany, former Symposium delegate, this year an audience member;
- Mariatu Bangura – Senior Executive, Gender and Children's Affairs, Ministry of Social Welfare, Sierra Leone;
- Justice Anthony Penrose Randerson – Justice, Court of Appeals
Dr. Rachael Kohn, host of the Australia ABC radio program The Spirit of Things, was a delegate to the Eighteenth Annual International Law and Religion Symposium. For her program of 23 October, Dr. Kohn broadcast an interview with fellow Symposium participants from Malaysia, conducted during her stay in Provo.
Religious pluralism marks the history of Malaysia, notes Dr. Kohn, but riots in 1969 fostered tensions between religious groups that have had lasting effects. Recently-retired Chief Justice of Malaysia, Zaki bin Tun Azmi, says religious pluralism is very well managed in his country, which is officially Muslim. But 40% of the country is not Muslim, and the Rev'd Thomas Philips... more