Foundations of a Sociology of Canon Law [electronic resource] / by Judith Hahn.

Introduction: Why Write a Sociology of Canon Law? -- Canon Law Studies—A Theological Discipline -- Employing Juridical Methodology -- Employing Sociological Methodology -- How to Approach a Sociology of Canon Law -- The Sociological View of the Law -- The Law through a Sociological Lens -- A Sociological Focus on Canon Law -- The Functions of the Law -- Law and the Order of the Social -- Law and the Resolution of Conflicts -- The Validity of Positive Law -- Modern Law as Positive Law -- Law Derived from Power, Power Derived from the Law -- Characteristics of Positive Law -- The Validity of the Law and the Issue of Legitimacy -- A Sociological View on Validity Issues -- Accepting Canon Law? -- The Effectiveness of the Law -- Effectiveness and Compliance -- Preconditions of Compliance -- The Connection of the Effectiveness and Validity of the Law -- Résumé -- An Outlook for Further Studies -- Summary of the Book (in Theses).

Open Access

This "Open Access" book investigates the legal reality of the church through a sociological lens and from the perspective of canon law studies, the discipline which researches the law and the legal structure of the Catholic Church. It introduces readers from various backgrounds to the sociology of canon law, which is both a legal and a theological field of study, and is the first step towards introducing a new subdiscipline of the sociology of canon law. As a theoretical approach to mapping out this field, it asks what theology and canon law may learn from sociology; it discusses the understanding of “law” in religious contexts; studies the preconditions of legal validity and effectiveness; and based on these findings it asks in what sense it is possible to speak of canon “law”. By studying a religious order as its struggles to find a balance between continuity and change, this book also contributes to the debates on religious law in modernity and the challenges it faces from secular states and plural societies. This book is of interest to researchers and students of the sociology of law, legal studies, law and religion, the sociology of religion, theology, and religious studies.