Call for Papers

Christianity and the Rule of Law in Chinese Societies

Dates: March 29-31, 2019 (arriving on 28th and departing on April 1st)

Place: Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA

The Center on Religion and Chinese Society at Purdue University invites papers that examine the relationship between Christianity and the rule of law in a Chinese society. We welcome both scholarly research papers of empirical, historical, or case studies, and personal reflection papers by Christian practitioners of the law (lawyers, judges, legislators, law enforcement agents, etc.).  A personal reflection paper by a law practitioner should reflect on one’s own conversion, Christian beliefs, and the impacts of faith on the practice of the law. A scholarly paper may address any of these topics below and the analysis may be at the micro, meso, or macro levels, but they must be on Christianity in one of the Chinese societies.  We particularly welcome papers on the following topics:

  • Christian roles in the making or remaking of the constitution in the ROC or PRC, or the Basic Law in Hong Kong or Macau
  • Christian roles in the development of the modern judiciary system
  • Christian roles in the making of some particular law or regulation
  • Christian roles in the defense of civil rights or human rights
  • Christian perceptions of the rule of law
  • Christian organizations and civil society
  • Christianity and the legal culture in Chinese societies
  • Christianity and public theology regarding the rule of law
  • Faith and law practice among Christian lawyers, legislators, judges, or enforcement agents (such as police)

Based on submitted abstracts, we will select 20 participants to make presentations. Hotel expenses of the presenters will be covered. A limited number of travel funds is available to subsidize transportation costs for those who apply.

Deadline to submit abstracts: October 31, 2018. The abstract should be between 500 and 1,000 words. Please include a brief c.v. and a note about whether or not applying for a travel subsidy and if so, how much. We will notify the selected participants of acceptance and travel funds by November 30, 2018.

Deadline to submit draft full paper: February 28, 2019. The paper should be no less than 5,000 words, with proper footnotes and referenced bibliography. We plan to publish a volume of the edited papers.

Please submit your abstract, c.v., note about travel subsidy, and full paper to Lily Szeto lszeto@purdue.edu.