The Program on Faith, Values, and the Rule of Law at Seton Hall University School of Law is pleased to announce its inaugural academic conference to occur on February 4-5, 2026 at the Law School’s Newark, New Jersey campus. The American Bar Association defines the “rule of law” as a set of principles under which “no one is above the law, everyone is treated equally under the law, everyone is held accountable to the same laws, there are clear and fair processes for enforcing laws, there is an independent judiciary, and human rights are guaranteed for all.” (ABA Rule of Law page.) In the United States and around the world these principles are now under serious threat. The conference will examine how the world’s great religious, theological, and philosophical traditions have all contributed to the understanding of justice and human dignity that underpins modern rule of law principles. The program is designed to bring together a diverse community of religious faiths focusing on the intersection of how religious, moral and spiritual systems have impacted the rule of law and legal systems, and how faith practices over the course of history have confronted issues like love, justice, and ethical leadership. Perhaps a recovery of these often-buried perspectives is what our present moment of crisis requires. At the same time, any such recovery must proceed critically, with proper concern for the ways in which religious traditions have also contributed to systemic injustices, and with attention to the requirements of peaceable community in a multi-religious world. The following themes and more will be discussed.
Check out the conference website where you can submit an abstract by November 1, 2025 to present at the conference or register if you would like to attend. We seek abstracts from scholars in law, theology, religious studies, philosophy, political science, international affairs, history, literature, ethics, and related disciplines for a robust conversation on these themes. We are looking for broad conceptual engagement along with proposals for practical interventions. Contributions relating to legal issues surrounding religious liberty and religious establishment or non-establishment will be considered, but interpretation of the U.S. Constitution’s religion clauses is not the focus of the conference.
Throughout the semester, the Program holds in-person convivium dinners with the program participants as a way to promote its community-based learning model. The second of these dinners was held on Thursday, October 23, 2025 in the Paula A. Franzese Faculty Library at Seton Hall Law School. Excerpts from Greek and Roman authors such as Plato, Aristotle, Cicero and Justinian and more were discussed over dinner. The themes of common law, the role of lawyers, legal governance, justice, happiness, virtue were robustly discussed and debated around the table.
