Peace, order & good government: a foundational approach to faith-based legal exceptionalism in England, Canada & the United States

This study analyzes the connection between the Peace, Order & Good Government doctrine (‘POGG’) and responses to requests for faith-based legal exceptionalism in England, Canada, and the United States. By assessing certain aspects of the three nations’ imperial/colonial heritage, the study demonstrates that POGG acts as the catalyst for their disparate approaches to constitutionalism (i.e., church-state arrangements). The connection is significant since the concept of multiculturalism has seemingly become the basis for justifying extraordinary accommodation requests that include not only non-democratic political ideologies but also constitutionally-challenging religious choice of law preferences. The prevalence of requests for accommodation has been more recently linked to migrants from nations where religion and government are inextricably bound. As such, this study demonstrates the imprudence of relying on multiculturalism when responding to constitutional inquiries that necessitate a return to foundational principles. By revisiting more recent requests for Islamic law exceptionalism, this study assesses POGG’s foundational connection to the national rejoinders of England and Canada. This study then advocates for the United States to return to foundational principles to frame a prudent rejoinder to similar requests, which will likely prevent an unprecedented enlargement of the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution