Law and Theology in the Western Legal Tradition

Abstract

This article traces the interaction of law and religion and church-state relations in the Western tradition. It focuses on four watershed periods: (1) the Roman Empire; (2) the High Middle Ages; (3) the Protestant Reformation; (4) and the Enlightenment era. It then summarizes a few main law and theology themes today within and beyond the Western tradition.

Keywords: Law, religion, law and religion, church law, state law, civil law, canon law, common law, rights, jurisdiction, church-state relations, Roman Empire, medieval Catholicism, Protestant Reformation, Enlightenment, modernity, liberalism