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Legal System

Religious Law

Also Known As Sacred Law
Religious Law Systems

Religious law is a family of legal systems in which law derives its authority from a sacred text or a divinely inspired tradition, interpreted by religious scholars or clergy, rather than from a secular legislature or accumulated judicial precedent alone. Its major members include Halakha in Judaism, Sharia in Islam, canon law in Christianity, and classical Hindu law, each with its own sources, interpretive schools and historical development. This atlas treats religious law only as a system family: the doctrinal detail of each religious legal tradition, its sacred sources, schools of jurisprudence and lived practice, is the Divinity Atlas's own subject, per the family seam set by ruling 631, and is not duplicated here.

Facts
Example Jurisdictions
Personal status law in Israel (Halakha); Saudi Arabia and Iran (Sharia as the basis of state law); the Vatican and canon law tribunals; personal law for Hindus and Muslims within India's own legal system. 2
Primary Source of Law
Religious scripture and the authoritative interpretation of religious scholars or clergy, applied either as the whole of state law or, more commonly today, within a defined domain such as family and personal status law. 3
Classification
Legal Family
Religious Law 1
Religious Law
Filter Results6 entries
Connections

Includes

Source AAOIFI, Official Website

Canon law is one of the named member systems of the Religious Law family per its own entity-description.

Source JuriGlobe: Classification of Legal Systems (University of Ottawa)
Halakha, Legal Systems

Halakha is one of the named member systems of the Religious Law family per its own entity-description; JuriGlobe classification of legal families places Jewish law among the world religious legal systems.

Source JuriGlobe: Classification of Legal Systems (University of Ottawa)

Family classification carried over from this entity's own recorded SubLabel (Religious Law Systems), assigned under the section-legal-systems structure wave (ruling 761) using the CIA World Factbook / JuriGlobe comparative-law family classification (system.Atlas.DataBrief, law). This edge materializes that existing classification as a connective fact; it is not a new independent research finding.

Family classification carried over from this entity's own recorded SubLabel (Religious Law Systems), assigned under the section-legal-systems structure wave (ruling 761) using the CIA World Factbook / JuriGlobe comparative-law family classification (system.Atlas.DataBrief, law). This edge materializes that existing classification as a connective fact; it is not a new independent research finding.

Family classification carried over from this entity's own recorded SubLabel (Religious Law Systems), assigned under the section-legal-systems structure wave (ruling 761) using the CIA World Factbook / JuriGlobe comparative-law family classification (system.Atlas.DataBrief, law). This edge materializes that existing classification as a connective fact; it is not a new independent research finding.

Sharia, Legal Systems

Sharia is one of the named member systems of the Religious Law family per its own entity-description; JuriGlobe classifies Muslim law as its own legal family within the broader religious-law grouping.

Source JuriGlobe: Classification of Legal Systems (University of Ottawa)

Legal Family Of

Entity-backed identity for the legal family value this legal-system already carries as an enum fact, resolved to a legal-system entity by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The enum fact itself stays on the entity unchanged.

Entity-backed identity for the legal family value this legal-system already carries as an enum fact, resolved to a legal-system entity by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The enum fact itself stays on the entity unchanged.

Halakha, Legal Systems

Entity-backed identity for the legal family value this legal-system already carries as an enum fact, resolved to a legal-system entity by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The enum fact itself stays on the entity unchanged.

Entity-backed identity for the legal family value this legal-system already carries as an enum fact, resolved to a legal-system entity by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The enum fact itself stays on the entity unchanged.

Entity-backed identity for the legal family value this legal-system already carries as an enum fact, resolved to a legal-system entity by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The enum fact itself stays on the entity unchanged.

Entity-backed identity for the legal family value this legal-system already carries as an enum fact, resolved to a legal-system entity by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The enum fact itself stays on the entity unchanged.

Entity-backed identity for the legal family value this legal-system already carries as an enum fact, resolved to a legal-system entity by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The enum fact itself stays on the entity unchanged.

Entity-backed identity for the legal family value this legal-system already carries as an enum fact, resolved to a legal-system entity by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The enum fact itself stays on the entity unchanged.

Source List of national legal systems (Wikipedia)

Entity-backed identity for the legal family value this legal-system already carries as an enum fact, resolved to a legal-system entity by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The enum fact itself stays on the entity unchanged.

Entity-backed identity for the legal family value this legal-system already carries as an enum fact, resolved to a legal-system entity by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The enum fact itself stays on the entity unchanged.

Entity-backed identity for the legal family value this legal-system already carries as an enum fact, resolved to a legal-system entity by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The enum fact itself stays on the entity unchanged.

Entity-backed identity for the legal family value this legal-system already carries as an enum fact, resolved to a legal-system entity by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The enum fact itself stays on the entity unchanged.

Entity-backed identity for the legal family value this legal-system already carries as an enum fact, resolved to a legal-system entity by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The enum fact itself stays on the entity unchanged.

Sharia, Legal Systems

Entity-backed identity for the legal family value this legal-system already carries as an enum fact, resolved to a legal-system entity by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The enum fact itself stays on the entity unchanged.

Smriti, Legal Systems

Entity-backed identity for the legal family value this legal-system already carries as an enum fact, resolved to a legal-system entity by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The enum fact itself stays on the entity unchanged.

Entity-backed identity for the legal family value this legal-system already carries as an enum fact, resolved to a legal-system entity by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The enum fact itself stays on the entity unchanged.

In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Religious law (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLead section
Quote, Lead section
Religious law includes ethical and moral codes taught by religious traditions.
View the Source
2. Major Legal Systems in the World Today
Rene David and John E.C. Brierley, Stevens and Sons, 1985
3. An Introduction to Comparative Law
Konrad Zweigert and Hein Koetz; English translation by Tony Weir, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1998
JuriGlobe: Classification of Legal Systems (University of Ottawa)
University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law
  • Includes: Sharia
  • Includes: Halakha
  • Includes: Canon Law
View the Source
AAOIFI, Official Website
Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI)Includes: AAOIFI Shariah StandardsView the Source
List of national legal systems (Wikipedia)
Legal Family Of: Law of Iran, Section: Religious law
Quote, Legal Family Of: Law of Iran, Section: Religious law
Iran
View the Source
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