Robert Drinan explores the challenges of balancing religious freedom with the rule of law, noting that the United Nations has never adopted a legally binding covenant guaranteeing freedom of religion. Examining questions of feminism, homosexuality, conversion, and other contentious issues of belief in the modern multicultural world, he asks whether religious rights should trump other political and human rights. What role can international organizations play in fostering freedom of conscience or religion? What are the possibilities for religion to become a force for peace, rather than division, in today's globalized world? **Robert Drinan** is currently professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center. A former dean of Boston College Law School and visiting professor at four American universities, he is the author of 11 previous books, including *The Mobilization of Shame: A World View of Human Rights*. Drinan was a US congressman for Massachusetts for five terms and has served on many publicly and privately sponsored international human rights missions. He is the recipient of the 2003 Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute's Freedom of Worship Medal.
