Coleman, Stephen and Doe, Norman  ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1464-3130
2024.
Natural law and human law: The reformation legacy—an ecumenical approach.
Duddington, John, ed.
The Legal Legacy of the Reformation: Catholic and Protestant Approaches to Law,
London:
Routledge,
pp. 143-153.
(10.4324/9780429264115-10)
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Abstract
The concept of natural law has played a major role historically in the evolution of Christian thought about universal values, the nature and scope of law in the church, and the approach of church law to secular law which conflicts with morality. However, a comparative account of the approaches of Christian traditions since the Reformation to the concept of natural law has to-date been somewhat neglected as a subject of study. This chapter describes, explains and evaluates the principal similarities and differences between five ecclesial traditions associated with and beyond the Reformation of the sixteenth century: Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian and Methodist. Within these traditions, three basic sources are examined: the works of theologians, the official teaching of churches and the juridical instruments of churches within those traditions. What follows deals with the understandings of natural law in these sources—its provenance, nature and its content—as well as its role within ecclesial regulatory instruments, and how these see and regulate the external relations of a church with the state and its law. Whilst there are important differences in the various approaches studied, the chapter reveals profound similarities between their basic elements which suggests a fundamental agreement between Christians as to the role of natural law in church laws and their approach to and treatment of the secular law of the state.
| Item Type: | Book Section |
|---|---|
| Date Type: | Publication |
| Status: | Published |
| Schools: | Schools > Cardiff Law & Politics |
| Publisher: | Routledge |
| ISBN: | 9780367209087 |
| Last Modified: | 11 Dec 2025 16:00 |
| URI: | https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/183155 |
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