What world religions are covered by priest-penitent privilege?

Focusing only on the US and Canadian context. Anyone who is a minister or who the is reasonably believed to be a minister can claim priest-penitent privilege. This includes religious leaders of religions other than Christianity. What priest penite... read more

Anyone who is a minister or who the is reasonably believed to be a minister can claim priest-penitent privilege. This includes religious leaders of religions other than Christianity. What priest penitent privilege is varies very, very widely. In the United States, it's a patchwork of state law. read more

The Clergy-Penitent Privilege History of the Clergy-Penitent Privilege The clergy-penitent privilege originated in the Canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. Under Canon law, “the seal of the confessional is ‘inviolable.’” A priest could be excommunicated for disclosing the contents of a confession. read more

The privilege belongs to the penitent, not to the priest, and thus even if the priest wants to testify the testimony would still be inadmissible. Only the penitent may waive the privilege. A judge would be required to disregard it and a jury would not be allowed to hear it (and if it did hear it, a mistrial would be appropriate). read more