Religious law facts for kids
Religious law is a system of rules that comes from the sacred texts and traditions of different religions. These laws often guide how people live their lives, covering everything from personal behavior to how agreements are made. The two main types of religious law systems are Islamic law (called Sharia) and Judaic law (called Halakha). Many countries use religious laws alongside other legal systems, like civil law or common law.
How Religious Laws Are Different
Religious laws are often seen as timeless and unchanging. This is because they are believed to come from a divine source. On the other hand, secular laws (which are non-religious) can be changed by lawmakers as society evolves.
Religious laws guide both people's actions and their beliefs. Secular laws mainly focus on people's actions and how those actions affect others. When there's a disagreement in religious law, it's usually settled by religious officials. These officials act like both a judge and a priest. In secular systems, the judiciary (the court system) is separate and independent from other parts of government.
Main Religious Legal Systems
Sharia Law
Sharia is a comprehensive system of Islamic law. It covers many different areas of life. These include rules about crime, how politics should work, marriage agreements, and even trade regulations. Sharia also provides guidance on personal matters like hygiene, what foods to eat, how to pray, daily manners (etiquette), and fasting.
Following Sharia is a very important part of the Muslim faith. In its strictest sense, Muslims believe Sharia is the perfect law given by God.
The main sources for Sharia are the Quran (Islam's holy book) and the Hadiths. Hadiths are collections of the sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad. If an issue isn't directly covered in these main sources, other methods are used to find the right ruling. The way Sharia is understood can differ between the various sects of Islam, such as Sunni and Shia. It also varies among different schools of jurisprudence, like Hanafi, Maliki, and Shafi'i.
Halakha Law
Historically, Halakha served as both civil and religious law for many Jewish communities living outside of Israel (in the diaspora). In traditional Judaism, there was no real difference between these two types of law.
Today, some religious leaders view Halakha as less strict in daily life. This is because it often relies on interpretations by rabbis rather than just the exact words written in the Hebrew Bible.
In modern Israeli law, certain parts of family and personal law are handled by rabbinic courts. This means they follow Halakha. There are some differences in Halakha itself among various Jewish groups. These include Ashkenazi, Mizrahi, Sephardi, and Yemenite Jews, who historically lived in different communities.
