This Program focuses on the intersection of Church, State & Society and how the law structures and governs that intersection. Through a variety of programs we encourage scholarship and meaningful conversation on the role of religious institutions, communities and authorities in the social order and at the same time highlights the important role they play in the content and protection of religious freedom. In conjunction with the University's other colleges and centers, the program hosts conferences, workshops, and other programs and is committed to increasing legal scholarship in order to promote dialogue on the interaction of these two dynamics, and often, colliding, aspects of society.

The Church, State & Society Program enhances the distinctive Catholic mission of the Law School and the University. At Notre Dame, we believe a variety of beliefs and opinions are indispensable to provoking debate, insuring a diversity of perspectives, promoting scholarship, and building community; we believe in the pursuit and sharing of truth for its own sake; we believe in sustaining a dialogue between faith and reason across disciplines and in the multitude of discussions, debates, and inquiries that take place at the University; we believe in academic freedom that makes open discussion and inquiry possible; and we believe in collaborative, interdisciplinary research into a variety of different fields.