Joel A. Nichols is Associate Professor of Law at the University of St Thomas, Minnesota and a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University. His scholarship explores the relationship of theology and religion to law - especially family law, constitutional law and international human rights. Professor Nichols holds degrees in both law and theology.

• 1. Multi-tiered marriage: reconsidering the boundaries of civil law and religion Joel A. Nichols; 2. Pluralism and decentralization in marriage regulation Brian H. Bix; 3. Marriage and the law: time for a divorce? Stephen B. Presser; 4. Unofficial family law Ann Laquer Estin; 5. Covenant marriage laws: a model for compromise Katherine Shaw Spaht; 6. New York's regulation of Jewish marriage: covenant, contract, or statute? Michael J. Broyde; 7. Political liberalism, Islamic family law, and family law pluralism Mohammad H. Fadel; 8. Multi-tiered marriages in South Africa Johan D. van der Vyver; 9. Ancient and modern boundary crossings between personal laws and civil law in composite India Werner Menski; 10. The perils of privatized marriage Robin Fretwell Wilson; 11. Canadian conjugal mosaic: from multiculturalism to multi-conjugalism? Daniel Cere; 12. Marriage pluralism in the United States: on civil and religious jurisdiction and the demands of equal citizenship Linda C. McClain; 13. Faith in law? Diffusing tensions between diversity and equality Ayelet Shachar; 14. The frontiers of marital pluralism: an afterword John Witte, Jr and Joel A. Nichols.

'It presents a scholarly discussion of the pros and cons of multi-tiered marriage with essays covering historical, legal, and religious dimensions of the issue. Nichols, and to some lesser extent his mentor John Witte, Jr, are advocates of hybrid legal approaches to marriage.' John Farina, Journal for the Study of Marriage and Spirituality