John Witte, Jr.

John Witte Jr. is Robert W. Woodruff Professor of Law,^[1] McDonald Distinguished Professor, and Director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion (CSLR) at Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia. He is one of the world's foremost experts on legal history, marriage law, and religious liberty.^[2]

Witte has published 200 articles, 13 journal symposia and 26 books. His writings have appeared in 12 languages, and he has lectured and convened conferences throughout North America, Western and Eastern Europe, Japan, Israel, Hong Kong, Australia, and South Africa. With major funding from The Pew Charitable Trusts, Ford Foundation, Lilly Endowment Inc, Henry Luce Foundation, and McDonald Agape Foundation, 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 10 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.

Education

Witte received a BA from Calvin College in 1982 and a J.D. from Harvard in 1985.^[3] While at Harvard he studied under Harold J. Berman.

Publications and Lectures

Witte publishes frequently ^[4] and has authored over 200 articles, 13 journal symposia and 26 books.^[5] He is currently at work on his 27th book.

Books

• From Sacrament to Contract: Marriage, Religion, and Law in the Western Tradition, 2nd ed. (Westminster John Knox Press, 2012)
• No Establishment of Religion: America’s Original Contribution to Religious Liberty (with T. Jeremy Gunn) (Oxford University Press, 2012)
• Religion and the American Constitutional Experiment, 3rd ed. (Westview Press, 2012)
• Christianity and Human Rights: An Introduction (with Frank Alexander) (Cambridge University Press, 2011)
• Religion and Human Rights: An Introduction (with M. Christian Green) (Oxford University Press, 2011)
• The Sins of the Fathers: The Law and Theology of Illegitimacy Reconsidered (Cambridge University Press, 2009)
• The Reformation of Rights: Law, Religion, and Human Rights in Early Modern Calvinism (Cambridge, 2007)
• God's Joust, God's Justice: Law and Religion in the Western Tradition (Eerdmans, 2006)

Op-Eds

• Lift High the Cross ^[6]
• The Future of Marriage ^[7]
• Sex May be Free but Children Come with a Cost ^[8]
• Keeping the Commandments ^[9]
• Can America Still Bar Polygamy? ^[10]

Lectures

An expert in religious freedom, marriage law, and legal history, Witte lectures widely throughout North America and Europe. He opened Calvin College's celebration of John Calvin's 500th birthday, which can be watched online.^[11] For a sample, see below

• Don S. Browning Lecture, Shari'a in the West, Center for the Study of Law and Religion, Emory University.^[12]
• The Covenant of Marriage: Its Biblical Roots, Historical Influences, and Modern Uses, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California.^[13]
• McDonald Lecture, Separation of Church and State: There is No Wall, Center for the Study of Law and Religion, Emory University.^[14]
• Interview with Miroslav Volf at Yale ^[15]

Personal life

Witte is married to Eliza Ellison, a theologian and trained mediator. They have two daughters.

References

External links

• Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory Law
• Emory Law Faculty Page
• Interview with Miroslav Volf, Yale on YouTube
• SSRN Publication Listing
• John Witte CV 2012
• Emory Report highlighting the 25th anniversary of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion