The series of articles will trace the theological justifications for religious freedom from their theoretical and historical origins, show their predominance during America's colonial and founding periods, and explain why they must provide the principal intellectual and rhetorical underpinnings of modern Religion Clause jurisprudence. The first article, "Justifying Religious Freedom: The Western Tradition," sketches the origins, loss, and recovery of these justifications in Western thought through the sixteenth century.

 

Two future articles will complete the series. One will examine the influence of the religious justifications in developing America's constitutional commitment to religious freedom. The other will examine the weaknesses of modern secular justifications for religious freedom, especially as they appear in Supreme Court decisions, and will argue for recovering the religious justifications as the best defense for a Religion Clause jurisprudence threatened by both religious majoritarianism and skeptical secularism. Professor Wallace intends to have each of the three articles published in different scholarly journals.

 

“We are so proud that Professor Wallace is being properly recognized within the legal academy for his efforts,” said Dean Melissa Essary. “It is further proof that, not only are faculty members at Campbell Law devoted to rigorous teaching and instruction, they are equally committed to pursuing relevant scholarship about issues that impact modern interpretation of the law.”

 

About Campbell Law School: Since its founding in 1976, the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University has developed lawyers who possess moral conviction, social compassion and professional competence, and who view the law as a calling to serve others and create a more just society. The School has been recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) as having the nation’s top Professionalism Program and by the American Academy of Trial Lawyers for having the nation’s best Trial Advocacy Program. The Law School’s Moot Court Program has recently been ranked in the top ten nationally by the University of Houston’s Blakely Advocacy Institute among 196 ABA accredited law schools. Campbell Law boasts more than 3,000 alumni, including 2,000 who reside and work in North Carolina. For the past 20 years, Campbell Law’s record of success on the North Carolina bar exam is unsurpassed by any other North Carolina law school. In the fall of 2009, Campbell Law School will relocate from the main Campbell University campus to a new location in downtown Raleigh. For more information, visit www.law.campbell.edu.

 

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