By Edward A. David McDonald Postdoctoral Fellow in Christian Ethics and Public Life, University of Oxford 24 February 2023. A short paper for the Centre for Theology, Law, and Culture at Pusey House, Oxford Churches can be forgiven for describing themselves, like any other civil society organization, as “voluntary.” This Lockean portrayal, after all, dominatesContinue reading “Church Autonomy and the Corpus Mysticum Tradition”
Tag Archives: Religious Liberty
Religious Liberty and Corporate Metaphysics
By Edward A. David McDonald Postdoctoral Fellow in Christian Ethics and Public Life, University of Oxford 23 February 2023, Recollection Lecture, Pusey House, Oxford Introduction Thank you to the Centre for Theology, Law, and Culture for the kind invitation to speak today, ahead of a symposium dedicated to the topic of corporate persons. The aimContinue reading “Religious Liberty and Corporate Metaphysics”
Church, State, and Virtue in Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo (2020)
To curb the spread of COVID-19, houses of worship in the State of New York were legally required to limit attendance at religious ceremonies. Two religious communities—the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and the Orthodox Jewish organization, Agudath Israel of America—asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene. This article provides a theological interpretation of theContinue reading “Church, State, and Virtue in Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo (2020)”
Updates from the Conference Circuit
It’s that time of year: summer conferences! Since May, I’ve presented at four conferences. The first two focused on law and religion, the second two on virtue in business and in general. I am now preparing for three more conferences, which will round out not just the summer but the 2021/22 academic year as well.Continue reading “Updates from the Conference Circuit”
More reviews of A Christian Approach to Corporate Religious Liberty
Reviews of my book can now be found in Studies in Christian Ethics and the Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social Theory. My sincere thanks to Allen Calhoun and David Hodge for their generous words and insights. Their reviews can be found through the links above—though, journal subscriptions may be necessary. TheContinue reading “More reviews of A Christian Approach to Corporate Religious Liberty”
Article: Religious Deviance and Psychological Medicine in the Second Great Awakening
In our first co-authored publication, Mark W. Lee (Crandall University, Canada) and I examine asylum narratives to explore tensions between the religious self and society in nineteenth-century Massachusetts. “Religious Deviance and Psychological Medicine in the Second Great Awakening: the Asylum Narratives of Elizabeth T. Stone (b. 1811)” is an open access article in the JournalContinue reading “Article: Religious Deviance and Psychological Medicine in the Second Great Awakening”
Updates: Journal of Church and State, and Developing a Christian Mind
Two exciting updates. My friend and co-author (Prof. Mark Lee) and I have a forthcoming article in OUP’s Journal of Church and State. “Religious Deviance and Asylum Medicine in the Second Great Awakening” explores the life and writings of Elizabeth T. Stone (b. 1811), a New England evangelical who was incarcerated by her family andContinue reading “Updates: Journal of Church and State, and Developing a Christian Mind”
Reviews of A Christian Approach to Corporate Religious Liberty
Two reviews of my book are now available online. My sincere thanks to the reviewers for their time and thoughtful engagement with the text. You can download the reviews through the links below. ‘A notable contribution of the book is its attentiveness to the “anatomy of group agency” … Instead of pitting the rights ofContinue reading “Reviews of A Christian Approach to Corporate Religious Liberty”
Essay: Church autonomy and the corpus mysticum tradition
Today, the Canopy Forum at Emory University published my essay on church autonomy and the corpus mysticum tradition. I argue that church communities should reflect on the extent to which they’ve ‘bought into’ individual rights-talk, especially when describing themselves as religious groups. This individualist (or voluntarist) tendency can skew their ecclesiological self-understanding and contribute toContinue reading “Essay: Church autonomy and the corpus mysticum tradition”
Essay: Why do restrictions on public worship cause “irreparable harm”?
My latest essay for the Canopy Forum elaborates upon two points raised by the U.S. Supreme Court in Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo (2020): that New York’s COVID restrictions on religious attendance would cause “irreparable injury” to Catholics, and that relaxing the restrictions “would not harm the public interest.” The Court doesn’t explain the theologyContinue reading “Essay: Why do restrictions on public worship cause “irreparable harm”?”
Edward A. David 