ABSTRACT
Both as academic disciplines and as aspects of everyday life, psychiatry’s dealings with religion and with the law have been harmonious in some ages and in others considerably more turbulent. Th ere are currently enough signifi cant developments to suggest that we are living in a period of growing mutual understanding characterized by a shared culture of responsible curiosity and mutually respectful regard for diverse values. Such is the case for the mainstream at least, despite the reactions of the inevitable noisy fringe groups (Dupre 2008).
