Learn about religious law and its rules. Identify what freedom of religion and secular law is, and learn about some examples of religious law systems.
Updated: 11/21/2023
Religious Laws Definition, Rules & Examples
Table of Contents
- What is Religious Law?
- Common Laws Based on Christianity
- Religious Law System Examples
- Lesson Summary
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the importance of religious law?
Religious law is considered important to only some countries. What is important about religious law, which differentiates it from secular law, is that it is supposed to directly originate from a deity or divine source. Religious law is also, therefore, considered eternal and unchanging.
What is religious law based on?
Religious law is based on the teachings and practices of a religion that are taught by a deity or divine source. Religious law is from a god. The law is, therefore, based on religious texts and teachings.
Table of Contents
- What is Religious Law?
- Common Laws Based on Christianity
- Religious Law System Examples
- Lesson Summary
Religious law is the morality, ethics, or rules that are taught by a given religious tradition or doctrine. Different cultures and systems of government have varying degrees of consideration or influence from religious law. Religious law is the same as secular laws except that the source of law originates from a deity or divine source rather than directly from the government. Coming from a divine source, religious law is more often interpreted as being unchanging or eternal. An example of religious law could be Sharia law, which is said to originate from the divine and is used to govern some middle-eastern and north African countries. The strictest Sharia law, called Hanbali, is practiced in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
What are Secular Laws?
In contrast to religious laws, secular laws are not claimed to come from a divine source. Instead, secular laws are created by people and the government. Governments that subscribe to secularism subscribe to a philosophical and political belief system that attempts to uphold laws that are based on considerations other than a divine source. Typically, secular laws philosophically rely on natural or religiously neutral arguments such as utilitarianism (or teleological ethics) or deontological ethics.
Utilitarianism is a type of consequentialism or teleological ethics where actions or even laws should be evaluated based on their consequences, and in opposition to the pursuit of self-interest. To a utilitarianist, if actions result in negative consequences, the action is immoral. If lawmakers are utilitarian, actions with negative consequences could be justifiably made illegal. On the other hand, a utilitarian philosopher may view certain laws that arguably lead to negative consequences to society as a whole as unjust.
Deontological ethics is a branch of ethical philosophy that focuses on the relationship between morality and duty. To a deontologist, an action is moral when the action itself has characteristics of moral goodness. Deontology does not weigh the action based on its consequences, but rather on the intent of the action or the goodwill behind it. A deontologist might say "actions should be treated as ends in themselves." Where a utilitarian might see someone or something as a means to a good end, the deontologist would ask that the thing be treated as an end in and of itself.
Religious philosophies may take into consideration the philosophies of deontology and teleology, and express them as ways of finding a reason behind the laws that were prescribed by a deity or divine source. However, religious laws are expressed as justifiably upholdable simply on the basis of coming from the divine; and human philosophies of morality are simply means of interpreting the reasoning or justification behind the deity's rules (which must be upheld regardless of one's own understanding of them).
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Within Christianity, there are several versions of religious law due to the various sects or denominations of the religion. For example, religious law from the Old Testament largely comes from the Ten Commandments passed to man in the story of Moses. Other versions of Christianity take from the teachings and instructions of Jesus Christ of Nazareth in the stories where he teaches his disciples. According to Christian and Jewish beliefs, the Ten Commandments are a literal list of laws from God and handed to Moses to be given to his people to obey:
- You shall have no other gods before me.
- You shall not worship false idols. (Only worship God).
- You shall not say the Lord's name in vain.
- Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy.
- Honor thy mother and father.
- You shall not murder.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (No lying, especially at the expense of others).
- You shall not covet your neighbor's house, wife, slave, ox, donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. (Do not give into envy).
Christianity also relies on the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth which aren't as straightforward as a list but must be interpreted through the recorded conversations Jesus had with his disciples. Different sects or denominations may place different meaning and value on some of these teachings. His lessons to followers generally include:
- Warnings about judging others;
- Teachings regarding forgiveness;
- Caring for one's neighbor;
- Loving even one's enemy;
- Warnings regarding treasuring material things;
- Warnings regarding pride and lust.
Often the teachings and parables of Jesus of Nazareth have to be discussed to decide how they can be applied to a given circumstance. Much of the Ten Commandments are easily applied in even secular laws and are present in most countries and even most other religions (e.g., no stealing and no murdering). No countries utilize Christian law or Christian rules outright. Christian law is only utilized in church law, such as the laws of the Catholic Church and the Vatican. Vatican City is the only governing entity that upholds Christian law.
What is the Freedom of Religion?
Freedom of religion is the right of citizens of a country to hold any religious beliefs they choose and the right to hold no religious beliefs. As well, citizens in a country that has freedom of religion are allowed to practice religion as long as it does not interfere with the civil and legal rights of other citizens and people. Citizens of a country that has freedom of religion tend to also have the right to live without fear of persecution, prosecution, or harm. Most countries have religious freedom or at least a higher degree of it. There are some other countries that have very little religious freedom or where certain religious groups are persecuted. The countries with the least amount of religious freedom include:
- Myanmar (Burma) - Most citizens are Theravada Buddhists. All other religious groups face obstacles and persecution.
- North Korea - All religious traditions are a threat to the state. Citizens face imprisonment, torture, and death.
- China - Only Buddhists, Muslims, Catholics, Protestants, and Taoists can legally hold services. All others must practice illegally. Some other sects and groups such as Tibetan Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners, and Uyghur Muslims face severe persecution including imprisonment, torture, forced conversion, and possibly even organ harvesting.
- Iran - The constitution of Iran offers some religious freedom to some sects of Islam, Christianity, Jewish, and Zoroastrianism. However, all other religions have limited freedom and most constitutional freedoms are not necessarily upheld. The state-controlled media explicitly encourages hostilities toward Jews and Baha'is.
- Eritrea - The government recognizes the religious groups of Sunni Islam, Eritrean Orthodox Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and the Roman Catholic Church. However, these groups still have limited freedom. Other groups face harsh harassment, imprisonment, and limitations within society.
- Saudi Arabia - Sunni Islam is the only religion accepted by the government and legal to practice. Blasphemy and apostasy against Sunni Islam and Sharia law is punishable by death.
- Sudan - The constitution of Sudan confusingly contains protections for religious freedom, but also punishes blasphemy and apostasy against Islam.
- Uzbekistan - The government allows registered religions to have religious freedom. However, both registered and unregistered religious groups are subject to raids, book burnings, imprisonment, torture, and sometimes death.
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Most countries do not have religious-based legal systems. Most are either vague or secular, such as the UK and United States, and some can even have a dual religious-secular legal system, such as Israel and the Maldives. Religious law is only upheld in a tiny fraction of countries and the legal systems of these few countries are exclusively Islamic.
Islamic law is also called Sharia law. Sharia in Arabic translates to ''the clear, well-trodden path to water.'' This is interpreted as the true way or true path. The strictest of Sharia law is practiced in Qatar and Saudi Arabia where insulting Islam or the prophet Muhammad is punishable by death. Other countries which have governments that endorse a version of Islamic Sharia law include Afghanistan, Yemen, Oman, Mauritania, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, etc.
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Religious law is a legal system that has a central deity or divine entity as the main source of law. Secular law is a legal system that has its laws originate from people in government and certain legislative systems and processes. Secular laws tend to come from philosophies surrounding ethics such as deontological ethics and teleological ethics. Unlike secular laws, religious laws are regarded as eternal and unchanging.
Not all countries are either secular or religious. Some countries, such as Israel and the Maldives, have dual religious-secular legal systems. Most countries do not have a purely religious-based system; most countries tend to be secular. Almost all countries that uphold religious laws uphold laws that stem from Islam. The strictest legal systems are those that uphold certain sects of Sharia law, such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
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Video Transcript
Defining Religious Law
There are dozens of religions that exist in our world today. Each of them has a set of rules that govern how we should behave. For example, an important set of rules that Catholics and other Christian religions follow include something known as the Ten Commandments. These commandments cover serious things, such as not killing, and other serious things, such as not lying or feeling greedy. While these laws are meant to try and produce a good individual, the end game is to please a higher power, so the consequences for not following these rules may not be seen most distinctly in this life.
Unlike in the past, today there is a distinct division between secular laws and religious laws. The source of religious law is the deity, legislating through prophets, whereas secular law is made by human beings. It also then follows that religious laws are perceived to be eternal and non-changing, while secular rules can be changed by their makers.
Furthermore, religious law tells people what to believe as well as how to behave, whereas secular law deals with our external actions as they affect others. Oftentimes, these can intersect. For example, many religions teach that life is sacred and that we should not kill. Secular law also believes that we should not kill but bases that belief in how killing would negatively affect others rather than bringing displeasure to a higher power.
In a religious legal system, disputes are usually overseen by an officer of that religion, so the same person is both judge and priest. In a secular system, by contrast, the office of judge is separate. So in a secular system, disputes are overseen only by a judge with no influence from religious leaders.
I also mentioned that there's a stark difference in the enforcement of the laws. In a secular system, punishments are imposed in this world, and the most severe (death) amounts to forcible removal from a society. On the other hand, the sanctions and rewards of a religious system may also occur in this world but are often to be felt most keenly in the next.
Religious Law System Examples
Today there are few countries whose legal systems are exclusively religious. Some countries would prefer that they hardly intersect at all. In fact, our very own legal system puts strict limits on how much church law can intersect with state law. However, some countries, mainly highly Muslim countries, like Iran, allow for much more co-mingling of church and state.
There are also countries that are somewhere in the middle. Some countries that still have strong ties to religious law systems may have a dual system where religious rules govern some areas of their everyday life, such as family issues of marriage and divorce, and where the state covers other secular matters that cover a wider array of issues. Today, countries such as Israel, India, and Pakistan have some degree of these dual type systems, but that degree can vary widely.
In the case of Israel where Judaism is widely practiced, their religious law, known as the Halakha, takes an important role. While the Halakha is not the primary source of law in Israel, it is possible for two Jewish individuals to agree to take a matter to a Jewish court to be heard and solved. So in these cases, people agree to be governed by religious law.
Those countries that have large Muslim populations often tend to have legal systems that rely much more heavily on the religious beliefs of the Islamic faith. This can be seen most clearly in countries such as the Maldives and Iran. The Islamic law known as the Sharia is based on the Islamic holy books of the Koran and the Sunnah. Like any type of secular legal system, Islamic law is still evolving, and there are often disagreements of how to interpret the Koran and Sunnah, namely if they should be interpreted literally and in the same ways they were followed hundreds of years ago or if they should be interpreted within the spirit of the times. For example, there are still differences in how women are treated under the law versus how men are.
Lesson Summary
Religious law is a system whose rules come from a central deity and are enforced by prophets. A secular system of law, however, is developed by humans for humans. Both systems of law have a main purpose of dictating certain behavior. A religious system may want to affect behavior in order to gain the favor of a central deity, whereas a secular system may dictate behavior so as not to negatively affect the lives of other people.
It is rare for a country to have a legal system that is strictly based in religion, however, countries that are based on the Islamic holy law, known as the Sharia, come the closest. Some countries opt instead for legal systems that have a mixture of secular and religious laws as their basis. Still, the majority of countries place a strict separation between religious and secular laws.
Learning Outcomes
After completing this lesson, you should be able to:
- Define religious law
- Describe the differences between religious law and secular law
- Identify examples of religious law systems
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