ABSTRACT
From a cultural psychological point of view, it is where law intersects with religion that offers the best starting point for discussion. Neither religion nor law can be treated in any degree of detail in a cross-cultural psychology course. First, achieve some basic familiarity with law’s incorporation of religion. Sharia is a good starting point since many essential legal issues in Muslim cultures are influenced by religious principles, including marriage and divorce, inheritance, finance, and insurance. There are several reasonably accurate and simple summaries available of the ways in which Muslim legal practice depends on religious tenets. In the same spirit as the suggestions for approaching rights and citizenship, students should be encouraged to draft codes of laws de novo and then to compare these with the structure of secular and religious codes.
