Continental Parlor 3
Hilton San Francisco and Towers
Ballroom Level

Section on Jewish Law

William H. Page, University of Florida, Chair

Social Norms In Religious Communities

Moderator:

William H. Page, University of Florida

Eli Berman, Professor, Department of Economics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts [View Program Material]
Geoffrey P. Miller, New York University
Steven H. Resnicoff, DePaul University
Maimon Schwarzschild, University of San Diego

Richard McAdams has defined social norms as "informal social regularities that individuals feel obligated to follow because of an internalized sense of duty, because of a fear of external non-legal sanctions, or both." This program will explore how these regularities emerge and function in the special context of religious communities, whose shared beliefs and practices create both a deep sense of duty and a need for informal mechanisms of social control. Panelists will examine the functioning of these extensive systems of norms from a variety of perspectives, including traditional Jewish law. Topics will include the role of private rebuke in enforcing norms and how religious norms may influence (and be influenced by) secular legal systems.

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