Religion as a Source of Laws – Importance of Religion to Society (Senior 4 General and Religious Studies) | Ganzaa

Importance of Religion to Society

Lessons

Senior 4 · General and Religious Studies

Importance of Religion to Society

4 lessons

Lesson 3 of 4

Religion as a Source of Laws

40 min

Three rule books in one week

Read this illustrative case. In one week, Aisha keeps the fast of Ramadan, as her faith requires. At her school, run by a Catholic diocese, she signs the school's code of conduct. On the way home, her uncle is stopped by the police for driving a motorcycle without a helmet. Three sets of rules: the law of her religion, the rules of a faith-based school, and the law of the State.

Which of them is "law"? Where did each come from, and what happens when two of them disagree? Religion has shaped law for thousands of years: three of the Ten Commandments (do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony) are also crimes in Rwanda today. Yet Rwanda's Constitution calls the country a secular republic. This lesson explains both facts.

Definition

Law: in Thomas Aquinas's classic definition, "an ordinance of reason for the common good, made by him who has care of the community, and promulgated" (made known).

Divine law: law believed to be revealed by God, for example in the Torah, the Gospels or the Qur'an.

Natural law: moral principles that human reason can discover from human nature, such as "do good and avoid evil" and "protect life".

Human (positive) law: law made by a human authority such as a parliament. Customary law: rules that come from a community's long-standing customs.

Canon law: the internal law of a church, especially the Catholic Church's Code of Canon Law (1983).

Sharia: "the way", the law of God in Islam as a whole. Fiqh: the human science of understanding and applying Sharia.

Secular state: a state that has no official religion and makes its laws by civil processes, while protecting the freedom of every religion. Theocracy: a state ruled in the name of God by religious leaders or religious law.

Christian thought: four kinds of law

The thirteenth-century theologian Thomas Aquinas placed all law in one order, flowing from God.

Kind of law	What it is	Example
Eternal law	God's wise plan for all creation	The order of nature
Natural law	"The rational creature's participation of the eternal law": what reason can know of it	Protect innocent life
Divine law	What God has revealed in scripture	"You shall not murder." (Exodus 20:13)
Human law	Laws made by rulers, which should apply natural law to a society's needs	A penal code; traffic rules

For Aquinas, a human law that contradicts natural law is not truly law. This idea later supported the belief that every human being has rights that no government may take away. Christians also follow the internal law of their churches: the Catholic Church's Code of Canon Law governs its sacraments, clergy and property.

The green cover of the 1983 edition of the Code of Canon Law, the Catholic Church's book of law, printed in Latin (Codex Iuris Canonici) by the Vatican's publishing house. Image: public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Islamic law: Sharia and its sources

In Islam, Sharia covers worship, family life, trade, crime and ethics. Sunni scholars name four sources, used in order.

Source	Meaning	How it is used
Qur'an	The word of God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad	The first and highest source
Sunnah	The words and actions of the Prophet, recorded in the hadith	Explains and applies the Qur'an
Ijma	Consensus of qualified scholars	Settles questions the texts do not answer directly
Qiyas	Analogy	Extends a ruling to a similar new case: the ban on wine is applied to other drinks and drugs that intoxicate, because the reason (loss of reason) is the same

The Qur'an itself points to the first two sources and to obedience to rulers: "O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the messenger and those of you who are in authority; and if ye have a dispute concerning any matter, refer it to Allah and the messenger" (Surah 4:59, Pickthall).

Religion and the law of the State

Both faiths teach respect for lawful authority. Jesus said: "Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" (Matthew 22:21), and Paul wrote: "Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities" (Romans 13:1). Yet when a ruler commands what God forbids, the apostles answered: "We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29). Religious law can therefore support state law, add to it, or, in rare cases, resist it in the name of conscience.

Rwanda: a secular state with freedom of religion

Article 4 of the Constitution: "The Rwandan State is an independent, sovereign, democratic, social and secular Republic." Parliament, not any religious body, makes the law.
Article 37: "Freedom of thought, conscience, religion, worship and public manifestation thereof is guaranteed by the State in accordance with the law."
Article 17: "A civil monogamous marriage between a man and a woman is the only recognised marital union." Religious weddings are celebrated by faith communities, but the State recognises only the civil marriage.
Law N° 72 of 2018 on faith-based organisations, Article 16: in their "faith, practices and preaching", religious organisations may not jeopardise "the unity of Rwandans, peace and security, public order and health, good morals, good conduct, freedom and fundamental rights of others", and may not cause noise pollution. The Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) registers them; the legal representative must hold a bachelor's degree in religious studies, or a bachelor's degree with a certificate in religious studies.

Figure 3 shows how the two kinds of law overlap.

Figure 3: where religious law and Rwandan state law overlap. Drawn by Ganzaa.

Worked example: applying the four sources

A Muslim student asks whether a new energy drink containing a strong stimulant is permitted. No verse or hadith names the drink. A scholar reasons by qiyas: the Qur'an forbids wine; the Sunnah explains the reason as intoxication; if the drink intoxicates in the same way, the same ruling applies; if it does not, it is not forbidden for that reason. If the scholars of a time agree, their ijma settles the matter for the community. The method shows that religious law is not only a list of old rules: it has a reasoned way of facing new questions.

Warning

Common mistakes

"Secular means anti-religious." Rwanda's secular Constitution protects freedom of religion (Article 37); it means the State takes no side between faiths.
"Sharia is only about punishments." Most of it concerns prayer, fasting, charity, family and trade.
"Religious law and state law are always in conflict." Figure 3 shows a large overlap: murder, theft and false testimony are forbidden by both.
Mixing up Sharia and fiqh. Sharia is God's law; fiqh is the human effort to understand it, which is why scholars can differ.

Important

Discuss. Law N° 72 of 2018 forbids religious organisations to cause noise pollution and requires their legal representatives to hold a degree. Is this a fair limit on religious freedom, or too much control? Use Article 37 ("in accordance with the law") and Romans 13:1 or Surah 4:59 in your answer.

CrashCourse Philosophy #34: "Natural Law Theory", about 10 minutes. Note Aquinas's idea of basic human goods and how it links God, reason and law.

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Practice

Give Aquinas's definition of law and explain each of its four parts.
Distinguish divine law, natural law and human law, with one example of each.
List the four sources of Islamic law in order and explain qiyas with an example.
Explain the difference between Sharia and fiqh.
Quote Article 4 and Article 37 of Rwanda's Constitution and explain how they work together.
Place each in Figure 3: (a) fasting in Ramadan; (b) paying income tax; (c) not stealing; (d) a church wedding; (e) registering a new church with RGB.
"In a country where 97% of people are religious, laws should be made by religious leaders." Evaluate this statement.

Show answersHide answers

"An ordinance of reason for the common good, made by him who has care of the community, and promulgated." Reason: law must be rational; common good: it serves everyone, not a few; made by a legitimate authority; promulgated: made known to those who must obey it.
Divine law is revealed by God (Exodus 20:13); natural law is known by reason (protect innocent life); human law is made by a human authority (a traffic code).
Qur'an, Sunnah, ijma, qiyas. Qiyas is analogy: the ban on wine extends to other intoxicating drinks and drugs because the reason, intoxication, is the same.
Sharia is God's law itself; fiqh is the human understanding and application of it, so scholars' fiqh can differ.
Article 4: Rwanda is a "secular Republic". Article 37: freedom of thought, conscience, religion and worship is guaranteed "in accordance with the law". Together: the State has no official religion and makes the law, and it protects every person's freedom to believe and worship within that law.
(a) religious law only; (b) state law only; (c) both; (d) religious practice, while the State recognises only the civil marriage; (e) state law only.
Mostly disagree. Religious values already shape many laws (Figure 3), but Rwanda is a secular state (Article 4) and must protect the 3% with no religion and the freedom of every faith (Article 37); religious leaders differ among themselves; laws made by elected representatives are accountable to all citizens. A strong answer notes that religious leaders can still advise and that believers take part in law-making as citizens.

Quick check

Put the four sources of Sunni Islamic law in the order in which they are used.

Tap the cards in the right order.

Key points

Aquinas defined law as "an ordinance of reason for the common good, made by him who has care of the community, and promulgated", and ranked eternal, natural, divine and human law.
Sunni Islamic law draws on the Qur'an, the Sunnah, ijma and qiyas; Sharia is God's law, fiqh the human understanding of it.
Both faiths teach respect for lawful authority (Matthew 22:21; Romans 13:1; Surah 4:59) and the priority of God when a ruler commands evil (Acts 5:29).
Rwanda is a secular state that guarantees freedom of religion (Articles 4 and 37); Law N° 72 of 2018 sets limits on religious organisations; much of state law overlaps with religious moral law.

Sources and credits

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, I–II, question 90, article 4 and question 91, translated by the Fathers of the English Dominican Province (1920), New Advent: quoted.
Sources of sharia, Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0: the Sunni sources of law, summarised.
Code of Canon Law, the Holy See.
Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda, 2003, revised 2015, via the Constitute Project: Articles 4, 17 and 37, quoted.
Law N° 72 of 2018 determining the organisation and functioning of faith-based organisations, Official Gazette no. 37 bis of 10 September 2018, published by the Rwanda Governance Board: Article 16 quoted.
Faith-Based Organisations, Rwanda Governance Board: registration requirements.
Scripture: Matthew 22:21, Romans 13:1, Acts 5:29 and Exodus 20:13, World English Bible, public domain. Qur'an 4:59 from Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), via the Internet Archive, quoted word for word.
Image: 1983 Code of Canon Law, 1983 ed. - cover, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Video: "Natural Law Theory: Crash Course Philosophy #34", CrashCourse, embedded from YouTube.

Written by Ganzaa: the opening case, Figure 3, the tables, the worked example and the exercises.

This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1Three rule books in one week

2Christian thought: four kinds of law

3Islamic law: Sharia and its sources

4Religion and the law of the State

5Rwanda: a secular state with freedom of religion

Three rule books in one week

Christian thought: four kinds of law

Islamic law: Sharia and its sources

Religion and the law of the State

Rwanda: a secular state with freedom of religion