Law and Religion (Dr. utr. iur.)

Program Overview

The Doctor Utriusque Iuris (Dr. utr. iur.) in Law and Religion is a research doctorate on the place of religion in law, studied through both the civil-law and the canonical traditions. Questions of religious freedom are usually studied only from the side of the state. A doctor of both laws can also see them from the side of the churches, whose own law — on conscience, on the freedom of the act of faith, and on the relation between spiritual and temporal power — has shaped the modern law of religious liberty and continues to engage it. Doctoral students study Roman law and the civil-law tradition; the sources and method of canon law; the historical relations of spiritual and temporal power, from the Investiture Controversy and the doctrine of the two swords to the confessional states and the Peace of Westphalia; the development of religious freedom in constitutional and international law; the Second Vatican Council's declaration Dignitatis humanae and its reception in canon law; and the case law of national courts and of the European Court of Human Rights on freedom of religion or belief. Graduates teach and research in law and religion, advise governments, churches, and international bodies, and contribute to the scholarly debate on religious liberty. The dissertation makes an original contribution to the study of law and religion across the two legal traditions. The Dr. utr. iur. is a research doctorate; it is not a professional qualification for admission to the bar or for the practice of law in any jurisdiction.

Core Courses

• IUR 801 — Roman Law and the Civil-Law Tradition (6 credits)
• IUR 812 — Canon Law: Sources, Codes, and Method (6 credits)
• IUR 826 — Spiritual and Temporal Power in Western Law (6 credits)
• IUR 838 — Religious Freedom in Constitutional and International Law (6 credits)
• IUR 850 — Seminar in Canon Law and Religious Liberty (5 credits)
• IUR 860 — Doctoral Research Design in Both Laws (4 credits)
• IUR 899 — Doctoral Dissertation in Law and Religion (24 credits)

Admission Requirements

• Master's degree, licentiate, or professional degree in law, canon law, theology, or a related field
• Reading knowledge of Latin, or willingness to develop it during the first year of study
• Research proposal identifying a question in civil law, canon law, or both
• Scholarly writing sample
• Current curriculum vitae
• Official transcripts from prior institutions when available
• Signed acknowledgment that the degree is a research doctorate and not a qualification for bar admission