This course considers the relationship between the State and religion and, specifically, the ways in which the State – directly or indirectly – regulates the activities of religious groups in Australia through legislative and doctrinal mechanisms.
The course begins with an overview of the framework within which such regulation occurs, including constitutional and human rights protections of freedom of religion, the constitution and legal standing of religious entities, the courts’ jurisdiction over, and approach to, religious diversity, and the status of religious legal systems. The course then focuses upon doctrinal and legislative regulation of religious groups.
Topics covered will include the regulation of religious financing (particularly through charity law), religious education, religious spaces and the protection of information divulged in the context of religious relationships. The course may also include the regulation of religion in the context of family law, anti-discrimination law and employment law. There will be some comparative content. The course does not cover regulation of religious activity through the criminal law.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
By the end of the course, students should be able to:• describe, theorise and evaluate in writing fundamental themes and questions underlying the course material;
• describe, theorise and evaluate in writing specific instances of the regulation of religion in Australia through doctrine and/or legislation;
• Demonstrate the ability to conduct independent research into the subject-matter of the course.
Other Information
This is an intensive course with a 4 day compulsory
intensive (see LLM timetable for dates).
Approximately 6 weeks from the completion of the intensive your final assessment
will be due. Contact with fellow students and the convenor, both prior to the
intensive and after, is conducted via the Wattle course site.
Indicative Assessment
It is anticipated that the assessment will be:• Research Essay 1, 3,000 words 40%.
• Research Essay 2, 60% (including written topic proposal of 500 words worth 10% and 4,000 word essay worth 50%).
Students must rely on the approved Course Study Guide which will be posted to the Wattle course site approximately 4 weeks prior to the commencement of the course.
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
24 contact hours of face to face teaching over 4 days. The course will also require advanced preparation through assigned readings. In total, it is anticipated that the hours required for completion this course (class preparation, intensive and completion of assessment) will not exceed 120 hours.Click here for current LLM Masters Program timetable
Requisite and Incompatibility
Preliminary Reading
There is no suitable text, but there are numerous relevant book chapters and journal articles available, as well as primary materials. An E-Brick will be available.
Assumed Knowledge
It will be assumed that students have a basic ability to read and understand cases, legislation, historical material and scholarly commentary on doctrinal and conceptual legal issues.Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 3
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2015 | $2958 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2015 | $4146 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
