International Center for Law and Religion Studies
Professional services
UnclaimedAn academic center at Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School that studies and promotes freedom of religion and the relationship between law, government, and religious communities worldwide.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
The International Center for Law and Religion Studies (ICLRS) is an academic and policy-oriented center within the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. Formally established on January 1, 2000, it focuses on the legal protection of religious freedom and on comparative study of the relationships among governments, legal systems, and religious organizations. The center's work combines research, international convening, legal education, capacity building, and engagement with scholars, government officials, religious leaders, civil-society representatives, and students. The center developed from the international law-reform and constitution-making work of law professor Cole Durham. During and after the political changes associated with the collapse of the Berlin Wall, Durham became involved in advising and consulting on legal transitions in Eastern Europe. Those experiences highlighted the need for a comparative, internationally connected institutional base for work on law and religion, a field that had previously been concentrated largely on the United States. Durham organized comparative conferences and developed networks of experts whose research and collaboration became part of the foundation for the ICLRS. He served as the founding director, with Elizabeth Clark as associate director. The ICLRS presents itself as a global academic leader in international religious-freedom studies. Its principal convening program is the International Law and Religion Symposium, held each October and traditionally hosted at BYU. The symposium brings together more than 90 delegates from approximately 50 countries, including religious leaders, academics, government officials, United Nations and European Union representatives, media figures, and civil-society participants. The center also organizes the Religious Freedom Annual Review, a public-facing summer conference established in 2014 that examines current religious-freedom issues in the United States and encourages discussion across differing viewpoints. Its international activities extend beyond the Provo campus. Since 2013, the center has worked with local partners on recurring regional conferences in Africa, Latin America, the Muslim world, Asia, South Asia, Eastern and Western Europe, and the Pacific. It also holds an annual conference at Oxford University, conducts side events connected with the United Nations in New York and Geneva, and offers certificate, training, and teaching programs in locations including China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, Africa, Oxford, and Budapest. These activities are intended to support locally informed conversations rather than rely solely on a United States-based academic perspective. The center has a substantial student-development component. Its Summer Research Fellows are selected from first-year students at the J. Reuben Clark Law School and undertake international externships followed by guided individual research. The Symposium Executive Committee consists of law students who help organize and operate the annual symposium, including delegate support, transportation, translation, scheduling, documentation, media, and hosting. A Student Management Board composed of selected second- and third-year law students contributes to research, writing, editing, language, and website work. In May 2016, Brett G. Scharffs became director, while Durham continued to hold the position of founding director. By 2021, the center also had five associate directors assigned to geographic regions, supported by volunteer senior fellows and other staff. The ICLRS further promotes its mission through an International Advisory Council, whose members assist with international delegations, conferences, and related outreach. Since 2010, the center and the J. Reuben Clark Law School have presented the International Religious Liberty Award to individuals recognized for contributions to religious freedom. The center is an educational and convening institution rather than a conventional consumer-facing commercial brand.
History
The International Center for Law and Religion Studies was formally founded on January 1, 2000, as part of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. Its institutional origins lie in the international legal and constitutional work of Cole Durham. Following the collapse of the Berlin Wall, Durham became involved in legal reform and constitution-making discussions in Eastern Europe. He also organized comparative law conferences and cultivated an international network of specialists interested in the relationship between law and religion. The ICLRS was created to provide a durable institutional home for that work and to broaden international study of religious freedom beyond its earlier concentration on the United States. Durham became the center's founding director and Elizabeth Clark served as associate director. The center's stated mission developed around promoting freedom of religion worldwide and examining how governments and religious organizations interact through constitutions, legislation, courts, administrative systems, and public policy. Its activities have combined scholarly research with practical engagement involving public officials, religious communities, civil society, and legal professionals. A central part of the center's calendar is the International Law and Religion Symposium, traditionally held each October at BYU. The event brings together more than 90 invited delegates from roughly 50 countries. Participants have included religious leaders, academic experts, United Nations and European Union officials, United States officials working on religious-freedom issues, journalists, and civil-society representatives. The symposium was temporarily delivered online in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Religious Freedom Annual Review was established in 2014. Initially designed primarily for lawyers, it expanded into a broader public conference addressing current religious-freedom questions in the United States. Like the symposium, it was moved online in 2020. From 2013 onward, the ICLRS also developed annual regional conferences with local partners in several world regions, including Africa, Latin America, the Muslim world, Asia, South Asia, Europe, and the Pacific. Additional activities have included an annual Oxford conference, United Nations side events in New York and Geneva, and certificate or teaching programs in countries and institutions across Asia, Africa, Europe, and elsewhere. Student programs became another important institutional feature. Summer Research Fellows, generally selected from first-year law students, complete overseas externships and guided research projects. Students have worked with legal offices connected to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including its headquarters Office of General Counsel and international area legal counsel offices. The Symposium Executive Committee gives students operational responsibility for many elements of the annual conference, while the Student Management Board supports research, editing, language, and web-related activities. In May 2016, Brett G. Scharffs was appointed director. Durham retained the designation of founding director. By 2021, the ICLRS had five associate directors assigned to particular geographic regions, supported by volunteer senior fellows and staff. The center's International Advisory Council assists with delegations, conferences, and international outreach. Since 2010, the ICLRS and the J. Reuben Clark Law School have also presented the International Religious Liberty Award to people recognized for work advancing religious freedom. The available reference material does not establish a separate commercial ownership structure, public listing, or financial performance for the center; it is best understood as a university-affiliated academic institution.
- 2020
Major annual events moved online
[1]The International Law and Religion Symposium and Religious Freedom Annual Review were held online in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 2016
Brett Scharffs appointed director
[1]Brett G. Scharffs became the center's director in May 2016, while Cole Durham continued as founding director.
- 2014
Religious Freedom Annual Review established
[1]The center established the Religious Freedom Annual Review, initially as a lawyers' conference and later as a broader public event on religious-freedom issues in the United States.
- 2013
Regional conference collaboration expanded
[1]The center began collaborating with local partners on recurring regional conferences in Africa, Latin America, the Muslim world, Asia, South Asia, Europe, and the Pacific.
- 2010
International Religious Liberty Award introduced
[1]The ICLRS and the J. Reuben Clark Law School began presenting an annual award recognizing contributions to the promotion and preservation of religious freedom.
- 2000
Center formally established
[1]The International Center for Law and Religion Studies was formally founded on January 1, 2000, within the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University, with Cole Durham as founding director.
Products and positioning
A university-based global center combining comparative legal scholarship, religious-freedom advocacy, international convening, professional education, and student development.
International academic symposium
International Law and Religion Symposium
The ICLRS's principal annual international gathering, traditionally held each October at Brigham Young University. It convenes government officials, religious leaders, scholars, civil-society representatives, media participants, and other experts to discuss comparative law, religious freedom, and the relationship between religion and government across jurisdictions. The symposium typically includes more than 90 delegates from approximately 50 countries.
Public conference · 2014
Religious Freedom Annual Review
A summer conference established in 2014 to examine current religious-freedom issues in the United States. Although initially oriented toward lawyers, it broadened to include members of the public and participants from varied professional and ideological backgrounds. The event is generally associated with the BYU campus and was delivered online in 2020.
Regional academic and policy conferences · 2013
Regional Law and Religion Conferences
Conferences organized with local partners in regions including Africa, Latin America, the Muslim world, Asia, South Asia, Eastern and Western Europe, and the Pacific. Their purpose is to connect local scholars, government representatives, religious communities, and civil society around region-specific questions involving religious registration, legal protection, governance, and religious liberty.
Student fellowship and externship program
Summer Research Fellows
A program for selected first-year J. Reuben Clark Law School students. Fellows spend part of the summer in international externships and complete an individually guided research project. Reference material describes placements with the Office of General Counsel at the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or with one of its international area legal counsel offices.
Recognition program · 2010
International Religious Liberty Award
An award presented jointly by the ICLRS and the J. Reuben Clark Law School to recognize individuals who have made notable contributions to promoting or preserving religious freedom. The program has recognized recipients from religious, legal, academic, governmental, and public-policy backgrounds.
Professional and academic education
Certificate and Teaching Programs
Short-term certificate, training, and teaching activities concerning law and religion and religious freedom. The center has offered such programs in locations and institutions including China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Oxford, Myanmar, Africa, and Central European University in Budapest.
Brand decisions
2020
Annual conferences shifted to online deliveryOtherBackground
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted in-person international and campus events.
Action taken
The center moved the International Law and Religion Symposium and the Religious Freedom Annual Review online for 2020.
Aftermath
The change allowed the two recurring programs to continue during the pandemic, although the reference material does not specify longer-term effects on their format.
2016
Leadership transition to Brett ScharffsStrategyBackground
After more than a decade of institution-building under founding director Cole Durham, the center appointed Brett G. Scharffs as director in May 2016.
Action taken
Scharffs assumed the director role, while Durham continued to be identified as founding director.
Aftermath
The transition preserved Durham's continuing association with the center while placing day-to-day directorship under Scharffs. By 2021, the center also described a structure with five regionally assigned associate directors.
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