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Abstract
This J.S.D. dissertation presents Law & Religious Market as an alternative critical perspective to examine the normative considerations that are associated with laws/policies affecting religion. The current legal discourse on religious liberty posits the proper role of the law and other state instruments in relation to religious matters as a neutral arbitrator that avoids making normative claims as to the merits or shortcomings of any particular religion. Drawing from sociological research on religions, the foundational premise of Law & Religious Market perspective is the recognition that the impact of law (and other state instruments) on religion extends beyond circumstances where there are conscious and/or explicit support/suppression of particular religions or religion in general. Law continues to exert a far-reaching influence on prevailing religions and religious practices within jurisdictions through shaping the permissible competitive interaction between religions and the consequent effects on the identities and characteristics of the religions that emerge victorious over their religious rivals. Thus, Law & Religious Market perspective argues that legal discourse cannot hide behind a veil of religious neutrality and must confront the conversation regarding what sort of religious competition—and the consequent winner in the religious market—should be fostered by the state.