Law and Theology (J.D.)

Credential: Juris Doctor (J.D.)

Degree Level: Doctoral Degree

Credits: 84 total, with up to 0 transfer credits accepted

Program Overview

The Juris Doctor (J.D.) in Law and Theology trains legal analysts who can also think theologically about the law they analyze. Law and theology have argued with each other for as long as either has existed — about the source of authority, the meaning of justice, the purpose of punishment, and the limits of obedience — and much of Western law was first written by people trained in both. This program restores that conversation at a professional level, so that students learn the law as lawyers do and then ask what it is for. The first half of the program builds the core of a legal education: legal method and writing, constitutional law and fundamental rights, contracts and civil obligations, civil procedure and evidence, and professional responsibility. The second half sets that training beside the theological tradition: natural law from Aquinas to its modern defenders, the Reformation's two kingdoms and three uses of the law, covenant and the rule of law, theories of punishment and forgiveness, and the debate between legal positivism and its critics from Hart and Fuller to Finnis. Students read judicial opinions alongside theologians and learn to state, without confusion, what each kind of argument can and cannot establish. Graduates work in law-related roles in churches, universities, nonprofits, and public policy, and as writers and teachers on the moral foundations of law. The J.D. thesis takes a contested legal question — a sentencing principle, a conscience claim, the authority of an unjust law — and examines it through both disciplines. The degree is an academic and professional credential in law and theology.

Core Courses

JD 501 — Legal Method, Research, and Writing (9 credits)
JD 510 — Constitutional Law and Fundamental Rights (9 credits)
JD 520 — Contracts, Torts, and Civil Obligations (12 credits)
JD 530 — Civil Procedure and Evidence (9 credits)
JD 610 — Jurisprudence: Natural Law, Positivism, and Their Critics (9 credits)
JD 620 — Theology of Law, Justice, and Punishment (9 credits)
JD 680 — Professional Responsibility (6 credits)
JD 699 — Juris Doctor Thesis in Law and Theology (9 credits)

Credit requirements

Core courses: 72 credits
Required elective credits: 12 credits

Total required: 84 credits

Elective Courses

Complete 12 credits from the options below (18 credits offered).

JD 710 — Biblical Law and Its Legal Legacy (3 credits)
JD 720 — Conscience, Civil Disobedience, and the Rule of Law (3 credits)
JD 730 — Human Dignity and Human Rights (3 credits)
JD 740 — Law, Forgiveness, and Reconciliation (3 credits)
JD 950 — Legal Interpretation and Theological Hermeneutics (3 credits)
JD 951 — Institutions, Responsibility, and the Common Good (3 credits)

Admission Requirements

Bachelor's degree from a recognized institution
Statement of purpose describing an interest in law and its relation to faith, ministry, or public service
Analytical writing sample of at least 1,500 words
Current résumé or ministry profile
Official transcripts from prior institutions when available