Covenant marriages requiring premarital counseling and tighter strictures on divorce have recently emerged in some American states. At the same time, the doctrine of covenant has reemerged in religious circles as a common way to map the spiritual dimensions of marriage. Covenant Marriage in Comparative Perspective brings together eminent scholars from Jewish, Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, and Islamic religious traditions as well as experts on American covenant marriage. The introduction carries out an unprecedented comparison of contract and covenant in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim understandings of marriage. The rest of the book elucidates various facets of marriage from the perspectives of both jurisprudence and religion, producing an enlightening integrated picture of the legal and spiritual dimensions of marriage.
John Witte, Jr. is Jonas Robitscher Professor of Law, Alonzo L. McDonald
Distinguished Professor, and Director of the Center for the Study of Law and
Religion Center at Emory University. A specialist in legal history, marriage law, and religious liberty, he has published 180 articles, 13 journal symposia, and 24 books.
Professor Witte's writings have appeared in ten languages, and he has lectured
and convened conferences through North America, Western and Eastern
Europe, Japan, Israel, and South Africa. With major funding from the Pew, Ford,Lilly, Luce, and McDonald foundations, he has directed 12 major international projects on democracy, human rights, and religious liberty, and on marriage, family, and children. These projects have collectively yielded more than 160 new volumes and 250 public forums around the world. He edits two major book series, "Studies in Law and Religion," and "Religion, Marriage and Family." He has been selected ten times by the Emory law students as the Most Outstanding Professor and has won dozens of other awards and prizes for his teaching and research.
Professor Witte is married to Eliza Ellison. They have two daughters and two grandchildren.
