This Open Access book investigates the legal reality of the church through a sociological lens
and from the perspective of canon law studies the discipline which researches the law and the
legal structure of the Catholic Church. It introduces readers from various backgrounds to the
sociology of canon law which is both a legal and a theological field of study and is the
first step towards introducing a new subdiscipline of the sociology of canon law. As a
theoretical approach to mapping out this field it asks what theology and canon law may learn
from sociology it discusses the understanding of law in religious contexts studies the
preconditions of legal validity and effectiveness and based on these findings it asks in what
sense it is possible to speak of canon law. By studying a religious order as its struggles to
find a balance between continuity and change this book also contributes to the debates on
religious law in modernity and the challenges it faces from secular states and plural
societies. This book is of interest to researchers and students of the sociology of law legal
studies law and religion the sociology of religion theology and religious studies. This is
an open access book.
