John Witte

John Witte, Jr. is Jonas Robitscher Professor of Law, Alonzo L. McDonald Distinguished Professor, and Director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion Center at Emory University. A specialist in legal history, marriage law, and religious liberty, he has published 200 articles, 13 journal symposia, and 26 books. Recent book titles include: From Sacrament to Contract: Marriage, Religion, and Law in the Western Tradition, 2nd ed. (Westminster John Knox Press, 2012), No Establishment of Religion: America’s Original Contribution to Religious Liberty, (Oxford University Press, 2012), and Religion and the American Constitutional Experiment, 3rd ed. (Westview Press, 2010). Witte is currently working on his 27th book. Professor Witte's writings have appeared in ten languages, and he has lectured and convened conferences through North America, Western and Eastern Europe, Japan, Israel, and South Africa. With major funding from the Pew, Ford,Lilly, Luce, and McDonald foundations, he has directed 12 major international projects on democracy, human rights, and religious liberty, and on marriage, family, and children. These projects have collectively yielded more than 160 new volumes and 250 public forums around the world. He edits two major book series, "Studies in Law and Religion," and "Religion, Marriage and Family." He has been selected ten times by the Emory law students as the Most Outstanding Professor and has won dozens of other awards and prizes for his teaching and research. Professor Witte is married to Eliza Ellison. They have two daughters and two grandchildren.