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Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

Abstract

Religion has played a fairly significant role in the history of adoption law, both in the U.S. and internationally. Although there are plenty of questions raised by religion in the context of adoption, one particular issue revolves around whether or not religion should factor into a "best interests of the child" placement determination. Whether or not it should factor into the determination, in practice religion often plays a part in the legal determination of which home will provide the best and most supportive environment for an adopted child. While much has been written about the legal aspect of putting a child into a religious home, there has been relatively little exploration of the flipside of that coin, or how to handle-both from the family's standpoint and from that of the child-the religious aspect of secular legal adoption. For those religiously observant people who see themselves as operating within a dual system, i.e., bound by both the laws of their religion and the laws of their secular state, adoption may present a set of additional questions and challenges. This article attempts to fill in this gap in the adoption literature, at least for the Jewish tradition. In doing so, it will also hopefully highlight the fact that aside from input into placement decisions, religion has much wisdom to add to the discussion of adoption.

Disciplines

First Amendment | Law

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