Canon law and culture

In 2003, Cardinal Francis George, the former president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, wrote an article in the Ave Maria Law Review titled “Law and Culture.” He was arguing against the proposal then contemplated by many legislatures to legalise same sex marriage.

He argued that law and culture are so intricately connected that the legalisation of same sex marriage would lead to a sexual free-for-all.

In his article, George discussed the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, which ended legal segregation in the US. He pointed out that law, whether just or unjust, acts as a teacher, and the Supreme Court knew that if racial discrimination was to end, State laws had to be changed.

The segregation laws reflected the culture when they were passed, but their very existence deepened and entrenched that culture.

Legalizing same sex marriage, as it turns out, seems to have had more to do with creating respect for people with same sex preferences than a sexual free-for-all. However, George’s principle that law and culture are closely connected is undoubtedly correct.

Close connection between law and culture

German jurisprudence in the first half of the 19th century regarded law as no more than a reflection of culture, but a better view is the approach developed in the United States in the 1980s, which holds that law both influences and reflects culture.

Laws will reflect the culture in which they are made. In addition, they will reinforce that culture once the laws are enacted. Law shapes culture as much as culture shapes law. As George correctly stated, law and culture are involved in a two-way, interactive process, with each influencing the other.