Religious Society

Church, Religious Society

From the book The Clergyman’s Hand-book of Law, about Church, Religious Society (1): Bouvier’s definition of “Church” is: “A society of persons who profess the Christian religion.” Chief Justice Shaw’s definition is: “The church is neither a corporation nor a quasi-corporation, but a body of persons associated together for certain objects under the law. An aggregate body of individuals associated together in connection with a religious society. The term religious society may with propriety be applied in a certain sense to a church as that of religious association, religious union, or the like; yet in the sense church was and is used in our law, it is synonymous with parish or precinct and designates an incorporated society created and maintained for the support and maintenance of public worship. In this, its legal sense, a church is not a religious society. It is a separate body formed within such parish or religious society whose rights and usages are well known and to a great extent defined and established by law.”24

Resources

Notes and References

1. Charles M. Scanlan, The Clergyman’s Hand-book of Law. The Law of Church and Grave (1909), Benziger Brothers, New York, Cincinnati, Chicago

See Also

• Religion
• Church