Third part of NY Times series on arbitration

The New York Times published today the third and final part of its on forced arbitration.

This installment, entitled "In Religious Arbitration, Scripture Is the Rule of Law," focuses on religious organizations' use of mandatory arbitration clauses to submit to "religious arbitration."

For generations, religious tribunals have been used in the United States to settle family disputes and spiritual debates. But through arbitration, religion is being used to sort out secular problems like claims of financial fraud and wrongful death. …

By adding a religious component, companies are taking the privatization of justice a step further. Proponents of religious arbitration said the process allowed people of faith to work out problems using shared values, achieving not just a settlement but often reconciliation.

Yet some lawyers and plaintiffs said that for some groups, religious arbitration may have less to do with honoring a set of beliefs than with controlling legal outcomes. Some religious organizations stand by the process until they lose, at which point they turn to the secular courts to overturn faith-based judgments, according to interviews and court records.

The full article is here.

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