This practical guide summarizes the principles of working with dying patients and their families as influenced by the commoner world religions and secular philosophies. It also outlines the main legal requirements to be followed by those who care for the dying following the death of the patient. The first part of the book provides a reflective introduction to the general influences of world religions on matters to do with dying, death and grief. It considers the sometimes conflicting relationships between ethics, religion, culture and personal philosophies and how these differences impact on individual cases of dying, death and loss. The second part describes the general customs and beliefs of the major religions that are encountered in hospitals, hospices, care homes and home care settings. It also includes discussion of non-religious spirituality, humanism, agnosticism and atheism. The final part outlines key socio-legal aspects of death across the UK. Death, Religion and Law provides key knowledge, discussion and reflection for dealing with the diversity of the everyday care of dying and death in different religious, secular and cultural contexts. It is an important reference for practitioners working with dying patients, their families and the bereaved.

This book explores the critical role of law in protecting - and protecting against - religious beliefs in American health care.

This book considers how the termination of life might be accepted in the view of a general obligation to protect life. It features more than 10 papers written by scholars from 14 countries that offer international comparative empirical research. Inside, readers will find case studies from such areas as: India, Chile, Germany, Italy, England, Palestine, Lithuania, Nigeria, and Poland. The papers focus on three limitations of the right to life: the death penalty, abortion, and euthanasia. The contributors explore how young people understand and evaluate the right to life and its limitations. The book presents unique empirical research among today's youth and reveals that, among other concepts, religiosity matters. It provides insight into the acceptance, perception, and legitimation of human rights by people from different religious and cultural backgrounds. This investigation rigorously tests for inter-individual differences regarding political and judicial rights on religious grounds, while controlling for other characteristics. It will help readers better understand the many facets of this fundamental, yet controversial, philosophical question. The volume will be of interest to students, researchers, as well as general readers searching for answers.

This book compiles recent research into the intersection between law and religion within the common law tradition. Working across jurisdictions, it will be of interest to religious studies and law students and researchers.

This volume offers a nuanced picture with specific instances of religion and politics in Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, and Hindu contexts, broadly presenting the phenomenon of religion and politics via country and thematic case studies. Qualitative, quantitative, material, philosophical, and theological analyses draw upon social theory to show how (and why) religion matters deeply in each time and place. The authors and contributors demonstrate that religion is a significant force that drives societies and polities around the world, and that a radical change in the Western understanding of value-driven global politics is needed. Beyond the Death of God offers new, local voices to Western audiences—through essays that suggest the need for an appreciation of Divinity as a quintessence holding a significant place in the hearts, minds, social orders, and political organization of polities around the world.

This text on the field of bioethics and the law is designed for readers with little or no legal background. Detailing how the legal analysis of an issue in bioethics often differs from the "ethical" analysis, it covers such topics as abortion, surrogacy, cloning, informed consent, malpractice, refusal of care and organ transplantation. Structured like a legal casebook, it includes the text of almost all the landmark cases that have shaped bioethics. It offers commentary on each of these cases, as well as an introduction to the US legal system, explaining federalism and underlying common law concepts. Students and professionals in medicine and public health, as well as specialists in bioethics, should find this book a useful resource.

Examines the historical, legal, and religious reasons that underlie harsh legal penalties and discrimination against sexual minority communities in certain countries. Bringing together theoretical perspectives from both comparative politics and public law, this book examines the reasons why certain countries criminalize same-sex activities while others have carved into law the requirement that sexual minority communities be protected. The authors break new ground by using cross-national yearly data over decades—focusing on sodomy laws, death penalty provisions for same-sex sexual relations, and sexual discrimination practices—to develop a Gay Rights Index comparing treatment of such groups in various parts of the world. The book includes legal and large-N analyses, historical examples, and case studies underscoring important changes and key trends during the last several decades. Also highlighted are the significant human rights violations still being committed in various parts of the world against sexual minorities, and the continuing role religion plays.