Author Archive for michaelhelfand

Oklahoma’s Ban of Sharia Law

by michaelhelfand

By now, I suspect many of you have seen the text of the new Oklahoma amendment to its state constitution – an amendment that received 70% of the vote in a recent referendum – which states, in part, that “The Courts . . . when exercising their judicial authority . . . shall not consider [...]

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The Challenge of Religious Arbitration

by michaelhelfand

A recent article in the Economist (“Whose Law Counts Most“) has sparked another round of controversy regarding religious arbitration in the United States.  On the heels of the article, a number of thoughtful blog posts have also grappled with the issue (see, e.g., Volokh, Volokh, and CoOp).  Abroad, religious arbitration has frequently faced significant opposition (best [...]

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