Religious Organizations and the Law
William W. Bassett, W. Cole Durham, Jr., Robert T. Smith
Thomson-West, 2007 - 2012 (4 volumes 2012)
Religious Organizations and the Law is a comprehensive analysis of the laws, decisions, statutes, ordinances, and regulations affecting the operation of religious entities in the United States. The 4000-page work also offers practical advice on entering and terminating transactions with churches, discussing current case law by jurisdiction. Chapter contents are cross-indexed to speed research, and the work provides extensive references to additional materials, directories of organizations of all denominations, and extensive tables of statutes and cases.
The 2011-2012 edition of the Treatise, which has expanded to four volumes, features input by a distinguished interdenominational Advisory Board and considerable updating of cases and other material in the work's nineteen chapters:
- Introduction to Religious Organizations and the Law
- The First Freedom: Religious Freedom Guaranteed under the Constitution and Church Autonomy Doctrines
- Organizational Choices of Churches and Religious Organizations
- Formation of Religious Organizations: Corporations, Associations, and Trusts
- Fiduciary and Management Duties of Directors, Officers, and Trustees
- Risk Management
- Organizational Transformations: Mergers, Divisions, and Dissolutions
- Bankruptcy
- Employment Standards and Policies
- The Churches in Court: Fundamentals of Litigation
- Modern Liability Claims Facing Churches
- Religious Influence in Public and Private Education
- Church Sponsorship of Social Services and Health Care
- Marriage and Family Life
- Religious Land Use
- Immigration
- Taxation and Exemptions
- Financing the Churches
- Intellectual Property