Beyond the Scientology case : towards a better definition of what constitutes a religion for legal purposes in Australia having regard to salient judicial authorities from the United States of America as well as important non-judicial authorities
xvi
The Purpose of Ritual
THE one man who is never consulted as to the theory of ritual is the one who performs that ritual. Is he not likely to know better what he intends than the man who has never carried it out, and who probably scorns it in his heart ? " That is all very well," I may be told, " but if you ask a savage why he baptizes or is baptized, marries or is married, buries or is buried, he will either be completely nonplussed or else give you some rationalization which is quite worthless." I leave aside the question whether any rationalization is worthless. I think most psychologists would be very careful to note rationalizations as clues to the motive which is rationalized. But let that be. What I object to is the suggestion that the savage (if there is such a thing) stands quite apart in his inability to answer a difficult question fired at him without warning, or in his tendency to invent an explanation when he has not got one on the tip of his tongue. Put the same sort of question to any intelligent European, ask him why he goes to church, why he had his children christened, and he will either have no answer, or else invent some reason which we can show is not the right
Religion, Law and Society
Issues concerning religion in the public sphere are rarely far from the headlines. As a result, scholars have paid increasing attention to religion. These scholars, however, have generally stayed within the confines of their own respective disciplines. To date there has been little contact between lawyers and sociologists. Religion, Law and Society explores whether, how and why law and religion should interact with the sociology of religion. It examines sociological and legal materials concerning religion in order to find out what lawyers and sociologists can learn from each other. A groundbreaking, provocative and thought-provoking book, it is essential reading for lawyers, sociologists and all who are interested in the relationship between religion, law and society in the twenty-first century.