Childhood Studies and Religion Unit and Law, Religion, and Culture Unit

"The child" as a category in religion and law (Co-sponsored with the Law, Religion and Culture Unit). This topic includes issues such as age of consent for religious identity/practice, the problem of religion in family law, and child welfare in relation to religious communities, especially in the context of legal frameworks such as the U.S. Indian Child Welfare Act (currently under debate in the U.S. Supreme Court). We also welcome paper or panel proposals about the closely related topic of law and education and childhood (e.g., recent U.S. school-board wars over "Critical Race Theory" and other types of claims about parental autonomy and parents' rights).