This book examines the current law on the employment status of ministers of religion together with religious workers and volunteers and suggests reforms in this area of the law to meet the need for ministers to be given a degree of employment protection. It also considers the constant theme in Christian history that the clergy should not be subject to the ordinary courts and asks whether this is justified with the growth of areas such as employment law. The work questions whether it is possible to arrive at a satisfactory definition of who is a minister of religion and, along with this, who would be the employer of the minister if there was a contract of employment. Taking a comparative perspective, it evaluates the case law on the employment status of Christian and non-Christian clergy and assesses whether this shows any coherent theme or line of development. The work also considers the issue of ministerial employment status against the background of the autonomy of churches and other religious bodies from the State, together with their ecclesiology. The book will be of interest to academics and researchers working in the areas of law and religion, employment law and religious studies, together with both legal practitioners and human resources practitioners in these areas.

About the Author

John Duddington is a member of the Centre for Law and Religion, Cardiff University, UK, and editor of Law and Justice, the Christian Law Review. He was formerly Head of the Law School at Worcester College of Technology and is now a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Worcester.

Book Information
ISBN 9780367553173
Author John Duddington
Format Hardback
Page Count 300
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 740g