Foundations of a Sociology of Canon Law

Judith Hahn is a theologian and canon lawyer (Dipl theol, 2002, Frankfurt am Main; JCL, 2004, Dr theol, 2008, Habilitation, 2016, University of Münster). She is currently serving as University Professor of Canon Law at the Faculty of Catholic Theology, University of Bonn. Judith was a Visiting Scholar at Thomas More Law School, Australian Catholic University in 2019–20 and at the Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Oxford, in 2016, and a Fellow at the Käte Hamburger Center for Advanced Study “Law as Culture”, University of Bonn, 2015–16. She is also a pro bono judge at the Ecclesiastical Labour Court, Bonn. Judith has published extensively on the theory and sociology of canon law and on the status of religious law in secular law, the liberal state, and modern society, including the books Grundlegung der Kirchenrechtssoziologie (Springer 2019), and Church Law in Modernity (Cambridge University Press, 2019).

• Introduction: Why Write a Sociology of Canon Law?.- Canon Law Studies—A Theological Discipline.- Employing Juridical Methodology.- Employing Sociological Methodology.- How to Approach a Sociology of Canon Law.- The Sociological View of the Law.- The Law through a Sociological Lens.- A Sociological Focus on Canon Law.- The Functions of the Law.- Law and the Order of the Social.- Law and the Resolution of Conflicts.- The Validity of Positive Law.- Modern Law as Positive Law.- Law Derived from Power, Power Derived from the Law.- Characteristics of Positive Law.- The Validity of the Law and the Issue of Legitimacy.- A Sociological View on Validity Issues.- Accepting Canon Law?.- The Effectiveness of the Law.- Effectiveness and Compliance.- Preconditions of Compliance.- The Connection of the Effectiveness and Validity of the Law.- Résumé.- An Outlook for Further Studies.- Summary of the Book (in Theses).