The utility of legal pluralism as a conceptual approach in the field of law and religion

Al-Astewani, Amin (2025) The utility of legal pluralism as a conceptual approach in the field of law and religion. In: Comparative Approaches to Law and Religion : Methods and Epistemologies of Comparative Legal Analysis. Routledge, London, pp. 52-73. ISBN 9781032478883

Abstract

In the field of Law and Religion, legal pluralism has been consistently invoked in the literature as a conceptual framework to assess the legal status of religious tribunals. This chapter will explore the particular case study of British Shariah tribunals within law and religion literature as a microcosm to reflect upon and assess the utility of legal pluralism as a conceptual approach for researchers working in these fields. The chapter begins by assessing the political and legal setting in which legal pluralism was born and how it ultimately emerged as a fully-fledged conceptual framework. The utility of legal pluralism in determining the legal status of religious tribunals, and consequently its broader utility as a conceptual approach to law and religion, will then be evaluated.