Does religious confession privilege exist at common law? Most evidence law texts answer ‘no’. This analysis shows that most of the cases relied upon for the ‘no religious confession privilege conclusion’ are not authority for that conclusion. The origin of the privilege in the canon law in the first millennium AD is traced and its reception into common law is documented. Proof that religious confession privilege continues unbroken at common law through to the present day is of obvious importance in jurisdictions where there is no relevant statute. A correct understanding of the common law extant before statutes were passed will influence whether those statutes are broadly or narrowly interpreted. The book also brings the reader up to date on the state of religious confession privilege in the United States, Canada, England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Contributions from: A. Keith Thompson, Robert Natanek, Patrick Parkinson, Monica Doumit, Mario Ferrante, Mark Hill QC, Christopher Grout, Andreas Henriksen Aarflot, Stephen Farrell, Gregory Zubacz, Giorgio Morelli and Eric Lieberman This collection by editors Mark Hill QC and Keith Thompson raises many questions about recent challenges to religious confession privilege whether through legislative enactment or otherwise. Is confessional practice protected by international human rights instruments and domestic constitutional norms? Is there a social benefit from sinners using confession as a means of reformation of character? How do we decide which confidences should be protected by law? Are children and the vulnerable any better protected by making inroads into the doctrinal practice of confession? While these questions are not all answered here, the different US, European and Australian contexts enable wider comparative insights not always considered within a single jurisdiction. While religious confession privilege law has evolved differently in countries with established churches, it seems that the need to accommodate other religions has led to increased tolerance of diverse belief and practice. There are also some surprises here - including the confessional nature of auditing practice in Scientology and that, until recently, it was a criminal offence in Norway and Sweden for a religious minister to disclose confidences. As former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams says in the Foreword, no community of faith can exist without a foundation of trust. That bond is shattered when religious authorities betray trust, such as by physical or mental abuse, but confession requires confidences to be maintained for the sacrament of penance to be meaningful. This volume seeks to stimulate discussion and to inform a deeper understanding of this tangled and urgent issue.

Contributions from: A. Keith Thompson, Robert Natanek, Patrick Parkinson, Monica Doumit, Mario Ferrante, Mark Hill QC, Christopher Grout, Andreas Henriksen Aarflot, Stephen Farrell, Gregory Zubacz, Giorgio Morelli and Eric Lieberman This collection by editors Mark Hill QC and Keith Thompson raises many questions about recent challenges to religious confession privilege whether through legislative enactment or otherwise. Is confessional practice protected by international human rights instruments and domestic constitutional norms? Is there a social benefit from sinners using confession as a means of reformation of character? How do we decide which confidences should be protected by law? Are children and the vulnerable any better protected by making inroads into the doctrinal practice of confession? While these questions are not all answered here, the different US, European and Australian contexts enable wider comparative insights not always considered within a single jurisdiction. While religious confession privilege law has evolved differently in countries with established churches, it seems that the need to accommodate other religions has led to increased tolerance of diverse belief and practice. There are also some surprises here - including the confessional nature of auditing practice in Scientology and that, until recently, it was a criminal offence in Norway and Sweden for a religious minister to disclose confidences. As former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams says in the Foreword, no community of faith can exist without a foundation of trust. That bond is shattered when religious authorities betray trust, such as by physical or mental abuse, but confession requires confidences to be maintained for the sacrament of penance to be meaningful. This volume seeks to stimulate discussion and to inform a deeper understanding of this tangled and urgent issue.

Offering an interdisciplinary, international and philosophical perspective, this comprehensive Research Handbook explores both perennial and recent legal issues that concern the modern state and its interaction with religious communities and individuals.