The International Center for Law and Religion Studies

Understanding our Vision, Mission, and Work

It is the mission of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies to help secure the blessings of freedom of religion and belief for all people …

It is the mission of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies to help secure the blessings of freedom of religion and belief for all people by expanding, deepening, and disseminating knowledge and expertise facilitating the growth of networks of scholars, experts, and policy makers contributing to law reform processes and broader implementation of principles of religious freedom worldwide

It is the mission of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies to help secure the blessings of freedom of religion and belief for all people by expanding, deepening, and disseminating knowledge and expertise facilitating the growth of networks of scholars, experts, and policy makers contributing to law reform processes and broader implementation of principles of religious freedom worldwide

It is the mission of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies to help secure the blessings of freedom of religion and belief for all people by expanding, deepening, and disseminating knowledge and expertise facilitating the growth of networks of scholars, experts, and policy makers contributing to law reform processes and broader implementation of principles of religious freedom worldwide

It is the mission of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies to help secure the blessings of freedom of religion and belief for all people by expanding, deepening, and disseminating knowledge and expertise facilitating the growth of networks of scholars, experts, and policy makers contributing to law reform processes and broader implementation of principles of religious freedom worldwide Vietnam Argentina Colombia Costa Rica Dominican Republic

Afghanistan Albania Argentina Armenia Australia Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Chile China Columbia Croatia Czech Republic Dominican Republic Estonia Ecuador France Georgia Honduras Hungary Indonesia Iraq Italy Japan Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Latvia Macedonia Moldova Nepal Nigeria Peru Romania Russia Rwanda Samoa Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Tajikistan Thailand Turkmenistan Ukraine United States Vietnam  Law Reform - Constitutional and Legal Impacts in more than 50 countries INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR LAW AND RELIGION STUDIES

Expert Testimony Indonesia Constitutional Court On International Religious Freedom United States Congress  Law Reform - Expert Testimony INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR LAW AND RELIGION STUDIES

The scope of our work is genuinely international in nature. Over the first 15 years of the Center’s existence, we have sponsored or participated in more than 300 conferences and more than 50 law reform efforts in more than 130 countries. Each year the Center helps sponsor conferences and participates in approximately 30 additional conferences, training programs, consultations, and workshops.

International Conferences 20–30 annually - more than 300 since the Center launch on January 1, 2000

The Annual International Law and Religion Symposium convenes at BYU each October Through 2015, more than 1100 Participants from 120 Countries

Symposium Participants’ Countries

UN Side Event NYC On the release of the Annual Report of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion or Belief With Parliamentarians in Oxford At Amity University in India Insubria University in Como, Italy Islam in the Mediterranean

As an academic center, we bring significant resources, in terms of people, academic expertise, and organizational ability, to the task of furthering the Center’s mission. INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR LAW AND RELIGION STUDIES

Our work is focused at the intersection of law (where practicable, workable, and enforceable solutions are sought to pressing social issues) and religion (which is one of the places where the deepest questions of life, meaning, brotherhood, and truth are examined and lived.

INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR LAW AND RELIGION STUDIES Our approach is primarily academic, although we occasionally engage in advocacy that clearly facilitates freedom of religion or belief for all people.

J. REUBEN CLARK LAW SCHOOL The Center benefits greatly from being located within one of the leading law schools in the United States, and one of the leading law schools in the world that has an explicit religious mission as part of its self-understanding.

J. REUBEN CLARK LAW SCHOOL J. Reuben Clark, Jr. was an attorney, a civil servant, a diplomat and a statesman, and an important leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints, who was known for his devotion to freedom, the rule of law, and concern for “those of the last wagon” who lacked the resources and strength of those who led the wagon trains that brought early pioneer settlers to Utah.

J. REUBEN CLARK LAW SCHOOL We strive to have an educational and student-centered component to all of our work, often including law students in the academic and organizational work of the Center. More than 1000 students have volunteered in Center-related activities over the 15-year history of the Center.

Student Involvement  Executive Committee and Volunteers for the Annual Law & Religion Symposium  Center Student Fellows – Study at home, externships abroad  Student Management Board

Brigham Young University is the largest privately affiliated university in the United States, with more than 31,000 students, including more than 2,000 international students. Nearly 80% of students speak at least one foreign language, and the University oversees 116 international study programs in 54 countries. BYU is well known for its mature and culturally experienced student body, its world-class teaching, and its majestic mountain location.

BYU is owned and shepherded by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and is the flagship educational institution of the Church. A deep commitment to religious freedom is not only a foundational principle, but quite literally an Article of Faith for members of the Church.

“We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.” – 11 th Article of Faith

“The Saints can testify whether I am willing to lay down my life for my brethren. If it has been demonstrated that I have been willing to die for a ‘Mormon,’ I am bold to declare before Heaven that I am just as ready to die in defending the rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist, or a good man of any other denomination; for the same principle which would trample upon the rights of the Latter-day Saints would trample upon the rights of the Roman Catholics, or of any other denomination who may be unpopular and too weak to defend themselves. It is a love of liberty which inspires my soul – civil and religious liberty to the whole of the human race.” – Joseph Smith

The International Center for Law and Religion Studies