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State religion

January 26, 2023

A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a theocracy. State religions are official or government-sanctioned establishments of a religion, but the state does not need to be under the control of the religion (as in a theocracy) nor is the state-sanctioned religion necessarily under the control of the state.

Confessional states[note 1]
  Christianity (unspecified)
  Protestantism
  Eastern Orthodoxy
  Catholicism
  Islam (unspecified)
  Sunni Islam
  Shi'a Islam
  Buddhism

Official religions have been known throughout human history in almost all types of cultures, reaching into the Ancient Near East and prehistory. The relation of religious cult and the state was discussed by the ancient Latin scholar Marcus Terentius Varro, under the term of theologia civilis (lit. 'civic theology'). The first state-sponsored Christian church was the Armenian Apostolic Church, established in 301 CE.[28] In Christianity, as the term church is typically applied to a place of worship for Christians or organizations incorporating such ones, the term state church is associated with Christianity as sanctioned by the government, historically the state church of the Roman Empire in the last centuries of the Empire's existence, and is sometimes used to denote a specific modern national branch of Christianity. Closely related to state churches are ecclesiae, which are similar but carry a more minor connotation.

In the Middle East, the majority of states with a predominantly Muslim population have Islam as their official religion, though the degree of religious restrictions on citizens' everyday lives varies by country. Rulers of Saudi Arabia use both secular and religious power, while Iran's secular presidents are supposed to follow the decisions of religious authorities since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Turkey, which also has Muslim-majority population, became a secular country after Atatürk's Reforms, although unlike the Russian Revolution of the same time period, it did not result in the adoption of state atheism.

The degree to which an official national religion is imposed upon citizens by the state in contemporary society varies considerably; from high as in Saudi Arabia and Iran to minimal or none at all as Denmark, England, Iceland, and Greece.

Types

The degree and nature of state backing for denomination or creed designated as a state religion can vary. It can range from mere endorsement (with or without financial support) with freedom for other faiths to practice, to prohibiting any competing religious body from operating and to persecuting the followers of other sects. In Europe, competition between Catholic and Protestant denominations for state sponsorship in the 16th century evolved the principle Cuius regio, eius religio (states follow the religion of the ruler) embodied in the text of the treaty that marked the Peace of Augsburg, 1555. In England, Henry VIII broke with Rome in 1534, being declared the Supreme Head of the Church of England,[29] the official religion of England continued to be "Catholicism without the Pope" until after his death in 1547,[30] while in Scotland the Church of Scotland assested spiritual independence from the state.

In some cases, an administrative region may sponsor and fund a set of religious denominations; such is the case in Alsace-Moselle in France under its local law, following the pre-1905 French concordatory legal system and patterns in Germany.[31]

In some communist states, notably in North Korea and Cuba, the state sponsors religious organizations, and activities outside those state-sponsored religious organizations are met with various degrees of official disapproval. In these cases, state religions are widely seen as efforts by the state to prevent alternate sources of authority.[citation needed]

State churches

There is also a difference between a "state church" and the broader term of "state religion". A "state church" is a state religion created by a state for use exclusively by that state. An example of a "state religion" that is not also a "state church" is Roman Catholicism in Costa Rica, which was accepted as the state religion in the 1949 Constitution, despite the lack of a national church. In the case of a "state church", the state has absolute control over the church, but in the case of a "state religion", the church is ruled by an exterior body; in the case of Catholicism, the Vatican has control over the church. In either case, the official state religion has some influence over the ruling of the state. As of 2012, there are only five state churches left.

Disestablishment

Further information: Secular state

Disestablishment is the process of repealing a church's status as an organ of the state. In a state where an established church is in place, those opposed to such a move may be described as antidisestablishmentarians. This word is, however, most usually associated with the debate on the position of the Anglican churches in the British Isles: the Church of Ireland (disestablished in 1871), the Church of England in Wales (disestablished in 1920), and the Church of England itself (which remains established in England).

Current state recognized religions

Buddhism

Governments where Buddhism, either a specific form of it, or Buddhism as a whole, has been established as an official religion:

  •   Bhutan: The Constitution defines Buddhism as the "spiritual heritage of Bhutan". The Constitution of Bhutan is based on Buddhist philosophy.[32] It also mandates that the Druk Gyalpo (King) should appoint the Je Khenpo and Dratshang Lhentshog (The Commission for Monastic Affairs).[33]
  •   Cambodia: The Constitution declared Buddhism as the official religion of the country.[34] About 98% of Cambodia's population is Buddhist.[35]
  •   Myanmar: Section 361 of the Constitution states that "The Union recognizes special position of Buddhism as the faith professed by the great majority of the citizens of the Union."[36] The 1961 State Religion Promotion and Support Act requires : to teach Buddhist lessons in schools, to give priority to Buddhist monasteries in founding of primary schools, to make Uposatha days holidays during Vassa months, to broadcast Buddhist sermons by State media on Uposatha days, and other promotion and supports for Buddhism as State Religion.[37]
  •   Sri Lanka: The constitution of Sri Lanka states under Chapter II, Article 9, "The Republic of Sri Lanka declares Buddhism as the state religion and accordingly it shall be the duty of the Head of State and Head of Government to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana".[38]
  •   Thailand: Article 67 of the Thai constitution: "The State should support and protect Buddhism". In supporting and protecting Buddhism, the State should promote and support education and dissemination of dharmic principles of Theravada Buddhism, and shall have measures and mechanisms to prevent Buddhism from being undermined in any form. The State should also encourage Buddhists to participate in implementing such measures or mechanisms.[39]

In some countries, Buddhism is not recognized as a state religion, but holds special status:

  •   Laos: According to the Lao Constitution, Buddhism is given special privilege in the country. The state respects and protects all the lawful activities of Buddhism.[40]
  •   Kalmykia: The Government supports Buddhism and also encourages Buddhist teachings and traditions. It also builds various Buddhist temples and sites. Various efforts are taken by the Government for the revival of Buddhism in the republic.[41][42][43]

Christianity

Main articles: Christian state, Christian republic, Christianity and politics, Christian democracy, Christian nationalism, and Christendom

The following states recognize some form of Christianity as their state or official religion or recognize a special status for it (by denomination):

Non-denominational Christianity

  •   Samoa: In June 2017, Parliament voted to amend the wording of Article 1 of the constitution, thereby making Christianity the state religion. Part 1, Section (1)(3) reads "Samoa is a Christian nation founded on God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit." The status of the religion had previously only been mentioned in the preamble, which Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi considered legally inadequate.[44][45]
  •   Zambia: The preamble to the Zambian Constitution of 1991 declares Zambia to be "a Christian nation", while also guaranteeing freedom of religion.[46]

Catholicism

Jurisdictions where Catholicism has been established as a state or official religion:

Jurisdictions that give various degrees of recognition in their constitutions to Roman Catholicism without establishing it as the State religion:

Eastern Orthodoxy

  •   Greece: The Church of Greece is recognized by the Greek Constitution as the prevailing religion in Greece[65] and is the only country in the world where Eastern Orthodoxy is clearly recognized as a state religion.[66][67] However, this provision does not give exclusivity of worship to the Church of Greece, while all other religions are recognized as equal and may be practiced freely.[68]

The jurisdictions below give various degrees of recognition in their constitutions to Eastern Orthodoxy, but without establishing it as the state religion:

Protestantism

The following states recognize some form of Protestantism as their state or official religion:

British commonwealth

Anglicanism

The Anglican Church of England is the established church in England as well as all three of the Crown Dependencies:

Calvinism
  •   Scotland: The Church of Scotland is the national church, but not the United Kingdom as a whole.[78] Whilst it is the national church, it 'is not State controlled' and the monarch is not the 'supreme governor' as in the Church of England.[78]
  •   Tuvalu: The Church of Tuvalu is the state religion, although in practice this merely entitles it to "the privilege of performing special services on major national events".[79] The Constitution of Tuvalu guarantees freedom of religion, including the freedom to practice, the freedom to change religion, the right not to receive religious instruction at school or to attend religious ceremonies at school, and the right not to "take an oath or make an affirmation that is contrary to his religion or belief".[80]

Nordic countries

Lutheranism

Jurisdictions where a Lutheran church has been fully or partially established as a state recognized religion include the Nordic States.

Jurisdictions that give various degrees of recognition in their constitutions to Lutheranism without establishing it as the state religion:

  •   Finland: The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland has a special relationship with the Finnish state, its internal structure being described in a special law, the Church Act.[86] The Church Act can be amended only by a decision of the synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church and subsequent ratification by the Parliament of Finland. The Church Act is protected by the Constitution of Finland and the state cannot change the Church Act without changing the constitution. The church has the power to tax its members. The state collects these taxes for the church, for a fee. On the other hand, the church is required to give a burial place for everyone in its graveyards.[86] The President of Finland also decides the themes for intercession days. The church does not consider itself a state church, as the Finnish state does not have the power to influence its internal workings or its theology, although it has a veto in those changes of the internal structure which require changing the Church Act. Neither does the Finnish state accord any precedence to Lutherans or the Lutheran faith in its own acts.
  •   Sweden: The Church of Sweden was the state church of Sweden between 1527 when King Gustav Vasa broke all ties with Rome and 2000 when the state officially became secular. Much like in Finland, it does have a special relation to the Swedish state unlike any other religious organizations. For example, there is a special law that regulates certain aspects of the church[87] and the members of the royal family are required to belong to it in order to have a claim to the line of succession. A majority of the population still belongs to the Church of Sweden.[88]

Other/mixed

  •   Armenia: The Armenian Apostolic Church has a constitutional agreement with the State: "The Republic of Armenia shall recognise the exclusive mission of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, as a national church, in the spiritual life of the Armenian people, in the development of their national culture and preservation of their national identity."[89]
  •   Dominican Republic: The constitution of the Dominican Republic specifies that there is no state church and provides for freedom of religion and belief. A concordat with the Holy See designates Catholicism as the official religion and extends special privileges to the Catholic Church not granted to other religious groups. These include the legal recognition of church law, use of public funds to underwrite some church expenses, and complete exoneration from customs duties.[90]
  •   France: The local law in Alsace-Moselle accords official status to four religions in this specific region of France: Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism and Calvinism. The law is a remnant of the Napoleonic Concordat of 1801, which was abrogated in the rest of France by the law of 1905 on the separation of church and state. However, at the time, Alsace-Moselle had been annexed by Germany. The Concordat, therefore, remained in force in these areas, and it was not abrogated when France regained control of the region in 1918. Therefore, the separation of church and state, part of the French concept of Laïcité, does not apply in this region.[91]
  •   Haiti: While Catholicism has not been the state religion since 1987, a 19th-century concordat with the Holy See continues to confer preferential treatment to the Catholic Church, in the form of stipends for clergy and financial support to churches and religious schools. The Catholic Church also retains the right to appoint certain amounts of clergy in Haiti without the government's consent.[92][93]
  •   Hungary: The preamble to the Hungarian Constitution of 2011 describes Hungary as "part of Christian Europe" and acknowledges "the role of Christianity in preserving nationhood", while Article VII provides that "the State shall cooperate with the Churches for community goals." However, the constitution also guarantees freedom of religion and separation of church and state.[94]
  •   Nicaragua: The Nicaraguan Constitution of 1987 states that the country has no official religion, but defines "Christian values" as one of the "principles of the Nicaraguan nation".[95]
  •   Portugal: Although Church and State are formally separate, the Catholic Church in Portugal still receives certain privileges.[96]

Hinduism

Although Hinduism is not recognized as a state religion of any Hindu-majority country, it holds some special status/privileges in some nations:

  •   India
    • The Constitution of India, declares India to be a secular state with no state religion.[97] However, at a same time, "the Republic of India privileges Hinduism as state sponsored religion" through constitutionally, legislatively and culturally.[98][99] India is highly and deeply very religious country and nearly all Indians believe in the existence of Paramatman (God).[100] The culture of India is mainly influenced by Hinduism/Vedic culture.[101] The original copy of Indian constitution have the illustration of Lord Ram, Sita, and Lakshman in Part III on Fundamental Rights and Lord Rama have been considered as true guardian of people's rights and freedom.[102] Article 343 (1) of the Indian Constitution also state that, "The official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script".[103] Also Article 48 of Indian constitution, prohibits the slaughter of cows or calf (a sacred animal in Hinduism) and is illegal criminal offense in most of the Hindu-majority states of India.[104][105] Indian defense force moto is largely influenced by Hindu Scriptures. The invocation to Varuna, (The Sea God) in the Vedas was adopted by Indian Navy as its emblem, with the Motto: “Sam no Varunah”, meaning: “Be auspicious unto us Oh Varuna”.[106] The Motto: (Touch the sky with Glory) of the Indian Air Force has been taken from the eleventh chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, where the Discourse was given by Lord Krishna to Arjuna on the Kurukshetra battlefield during the Mahabharata war.[107]

Islam

Many Muslim-majority countries have constitutionally established Islam, or a specific form of it, as a state religion. Proselytism (converting people away from Islam) is often illegal in such states.[112][113][114][115]

In some countries, Islam is not recognized as a state religion, but holds special status:

  •   Tajikistan: Although there is a separation of religion from politics, certain aspects of law also privilege Islam. One such law declares "Islam to be a traditional religion of Tajikistan, with more rights and privileges given to Islamic organizations than to religious groups of non-Muslim origin".[143]
  •   Article (2A) of the Constitution of Tunisia 2022 July 25 declares: "Tunisia is part of the Islamic nation (referring to Muslim world), and the state alone must work to achieve "the goals of pure Islam in preserving honourable life of religious freedom". Although, Islam has been given special privileges by the Tunisian New constitution, though it is no longer the state religion of the republic.[144] Also, Article 88 says, President must be Muslim by faith.[145]
  •   Turkey: The Republic of Turkey is officially a secular country. Although the current governing party has a close affinity with Sunni Islam, the latest Constitution of 1982 neither recognizes an official religion nor promotes any.[146] Islam has been referred as the country's main religion, and it plays a major dominant role in the life of the Turkish people.[147] The Directorate of Religious Affairs, an official state institution established by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1924,[148] expresses opinions on religious matters and is responsible for all administration of the Sunni institutions.[149] The Turkish government oversees Muslim religious facilities and education through its Directorate of Religious Affairs, under the authority of the President (previously Prime Minister). The directorate regulates the operation of the country's hundreds of thousands of registered mosques and employs local and provincial imams (who are civil servants). Sunni imams are appointed and paid by the state.[150]
  •   Turkmenistan: The Constitution claims to uphold a secular system in which religious and state institutions are separate. However, in Turkmenistan, the state actively privileges a form of traditional Islam. The culture, including Islam, is a key facet, contributes to the Turkmen national identity. The state encourages the conceptualization of "Turkmen Islam".[151]
  •   Uzbekistan: Since independence, Islam has taken on an altogether new role in the nation-building process in Uzbekistan. The government affords Islam in special status and declared it as a national heritage and a moral guideline.[152]

Status of religion in Israel

See also: Jewish state
  •   Israel is defined in several of its laws as a "Jewish and democratic state" (medina yehudit ve-demokratit). However, the term "Jewish" is a polyseme that can describe the Jewish people as either an ethnic or a religious group. The debate about the meaning of the term "Jewish" and its legal and social applications is one of the most profound issues with which Israeli society deals. The problem of the status of religion in Israel, even though it is relevant to all religions, usually refers to the status of Judaism in Israeli society. Thus, even though from a constitutional point of view Judaism is not the state religion in Israel, its status nevertheless determines relations between religion and state and the extent to which religion influences the political center.[153]

The State of Israel supports religious institutions, particularly Orthodox Jewish ones, and recognizes the "religious communities" as carried over from those recognized under the British Mandate—in turn derived from the pre-1917 Ottoman system of millets. These are Jewish and Christian (Eastern Orthodox, Latin Catholic, Gregorian-Armenian, Armenian-Catholic, Syriac Catholic, Chaldean, Melkite Catholic, Maronite Catholic, and Syriac Orthodox). The fact that the Muslim population was not defined as a religious community does not affect the rights of the Muslim community to practice their faith. At the end of the period covered by the 2009 U.S. International Religious Freedom Report, several of these denominations were pending official government recognition; however, the Government has allowed adherents of not officially recognized groups the freedom to practice. In 1961, legislation gave Muslim Shari'a courts exclusive jurisdiction in matters of personal status. Three additional religious communities have subsequently been recognized by Israeli law: the Druze (prior under Islamic jurisdiction), the Evangelical Episcopal Church, and followers of the Baháʼí Faith.[154] These groups have their own religious courts as official state courts for personal status matters (see millet system).

The structure and goals of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel are governed by Israeli law, but the law does not say explicitly that it is a state Rabbinate. However, outspoken Israeli secularists such as Shulamit Aloni and Uri Avnery have long maintained that it is that in practice. Non-recognition of other streams of Judaism such as Reform Judaism and Conservative Judaism is the cause of some controversy; rabbis belonging to these currents are not recognized as such by state institutions and marriages performed by them are not recognized as valid. As pointed out by Avnery and Aloni, the essential problem is that Israel carries on the top-down Ottoman millet system, under which the government reserves the complete discretion of recognizing some religious groups and not recognizing others. As of 2015 marriage in Israel provides no provision for civil marriage, marriage between people of different religions, marriages by people who do not belong to one of nine recognized religious communities, or same-sex marriages, although there is recognition of marriages performed abroad.

Political religions

In some countries, there is a political ideology sponsored by the government that may be called political religion.[155]

Additional notes

Former state religions

Pre-modern era

Egypt and Sumer

See also: History of religion

The concept of state religions[dubious – discuss] was known as long ago as the empires of Egypt and Sumer, when every city state or people had its own god or gods. Many of the early Sumerian rulers were priests of their patron city god. Some of the earliest semi-mythological kings may have passed into the pantheon, like Dumuzid, and some later kings came to be viewed as divine soon after their reigns, like Sargon the Great of Akkad. One of the first rulers to be proclaimed a god during his actual reign was Gudea of Lagash, followed by some later kings of Ur, such as Shulgi. Often, the state religion was integral to the power base of the reigning government, such as in Egypt, where Pharaohs were often thought of as embodiments of the god Horus.

Sassanid Empire

Zoroastrianism was the state religion of the Sassanid dynasty which lasted until 651, when Persia was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate.

Greek city-states

Many of the Greek city-states also had a favored national god[dubious – discuss] or goddess associated with that city. This would not be its only god or goddess, but the one that received special honors. In ancient Greece, the cities of

Roman religion and Christianity

In Rome, the office of Pontifex Maximus came to be reserved for the Emperor, who was occasionally declared a god posthumously, or sometimes during his reign. Failure to worship the Emperor as a god was at times punishable by death, as the Roman government sought to link emperor worship with loyalty to the Empire. Many Christians and Jews were subject to persecution, torture and death in the Roman Empire because it was against their beliefs to worship the Emperor.

In 311, Emperor Galerius, on his deathbed, declared a religious indulgence to Christians throughout the Roman Empire, focusing on the ending of anti-Christian persecution. Constantine I and Licinius, the two Augusti, by the Edict of Milan of 313, enacted a law allowing religious freedom to everyone within the Roman Empire. Furthermore, the Edict of Milan cited that Christians may openly practice their religion unmolested and unrestricted, and provided that properties taken from Christians be returned to them unconditionally. Although the Edict of Milan allowed religious freedom throughout the Empire, it did not abolish nor disestablish the Roman state cult (Roman polytheistic paganism). The Edict of Milan was written in such a way as to implore the blessings of the deity.

Constantine called up the First Council of Nicaea in 325, although he was not a baptized Christian until years later. Despite enjoying considerable popular support, Christianity was still not the official state religion in Rome, although it was in some neighboring states such as Armenia, Iberia, and Aksum.

Roman Religion (Neoplatonic Hellenism) was restored for a time by the Emperor Julian from 361 to 363. Julian does not appear to have reinstated the persecutions of the earlier Roman emperors.

Catholic Christianity, as opposed to Arianism and other ideologies deemed heretical, was declared to be the state religion of the Roman Empire on 27 February 380[178] by the decree De fide catolica of Emperor Theodosius I.[179]

Han dynasty Confucianism

In China, the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) advocated Confucianism as the de facto state religion, establishing tests based on Confucian texts as an entrance requirement into government service—although, in fact, the "Confucianism" advocated by the Han emperors may be more properly termed a sort of Confucian Legalism or "State Confucianism". This sort of Confucianism continued to be regarded by the emperors, with a few notable exceptions, as a form of state religion from this time until the collapse of the Chinese monarchy in 1912. Note, however, there is a debate over whether Confucianism (including Neo-Confucianism) is a religion or purely a philosophical system.[180]

Yuan dynasty Buddhism

During the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China (1271–1368 CE), Tibetan Buddhism was established as the de facto state religion by the Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan dynasty. The top-level department and government agency known as the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs (Xuanzheng Yuan) was set up in Khanbaliq (modern Beijing) to supervise Buddhist monks throughout the empire. Since Kublai Khan only esteemed the Sakya sect of Tibetan Buddhism, other religions became less important. Before the end of the Yuan dynasty, 14 leaders of the Sakya sect had held the post of Imperial Preceptor (Dishi), thereby enjoying special power.[181]

Golden Horde and Ilkhanate

Shamanism and Buddhism were once the dominant religions among the ruling class of the Mongol khanates of Golden Horde and Ilkhanate, the two western khanates of the Mongol Empire. In the early days, the rulers of both khanates increasingly adopted Tibetan Buddhism, similar to the Yuan dynasty at that time. However, the Mongol rulers Ghazan of Ilkhanate and Uzbeg of Golden Horde converted to Islam in 1295 CE because of the Muslim Mongol emir Nawruz and in 1313 CE because of Sufi Bukharan sayyid and sheikh Ibn Abdul Hamid respectively. Their official favoring of Islam as the state religion coincided with a marked attempt to bring the regime closer to the non-Mongol majority of the regions they ruled. In Ilkhanate, Christian and Jewish subjects lost their equal status with Muslims and again had to pay the poll tax; Buddhists had the starker choice of conversion or expulsion.[182] In Golden Horde, Buddhism and Shamanism among the Mongols were proscribed, and by 1315, Uzbeg had successfully Islamicized the Horde, killing Jochid princes and Buddhist lamas who opposed his religious policy and succession of the throne.

Modern era

Former state churches in British North America

Protestant colonies
  • The colonies of Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, New Haven, and New Hampshire were founded by Puritan Calvinist Protestants, and had Congregational established churches.
  • The colonies of New York, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia maintained the Church of England as the established church.
  • The Colony of Maryland was founded by a charter granted in 1632 to George Calvert, secretary of state to Charles I, and his son Cecil, both recent converts to Roman Catholicism. Under their leadership, many English Catholic gentry families settled in Maryland. However, the colonial government was officially neutral in religious affairs, granting toleration to all Christian groups and enjoining them to avoid actions which antagonized the others. On several occasions, low-church dissenters led insurrections which temporarily overthrew the Calvert rule. In 1689, when William and Mary came to the English throne, they acceded to demands to revoke the original royal charter. In 1701, the Church of England was proclaimed, and in the course of the 18th century Maryland Catholics were first barred from public office, then disenfranchised, although not all of the laws passed against them (notably laws restricting property rights and imposing penalties for sending children to be educated in foreign Catholic institutions) were enforced, and some Catholics even continued to hold public office.
  • When Spanish Florida was ceded to Great Britain in 1763, the British divided Florida into two colonies, East and West Florida, which both continued a policy of toleration for the Catholic residents, but established the Church of England as the state church.
Colonies with no established church
  • The Province of Pennsylvania was founded by Quakers, but the colony never had an established church.
  • The Province of New Jersey, without official religion, had a significant Quaker lobby, but Calvinists of all types also had a presence.
  • Delaware Colony had no established church, but was contested between Catholics and Quakers.
  • The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, founded by religious dissenters forced to flee the Massachusetts Bay colony, is widely regarded as the first polity to grant religious freedom to all its citizens, although Catholics were barred intermittently. Baptists, Seekers/Quakers and Jews made this colony their home. The King Charles Charter of 1663 guaranteed "full liberty in religious concernments".
Tabular summary
  1. ^ In several colonies, the establishment ceased to exist in practice at the Revolution, about 1776;[191] this is the date of permanent legal abolition.
  2. ^ In 1789 the Georgia Constitution was amended as follows: "Article IV. Section 10. No person within this state shall, upon any pretence, be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshipping God in any manner agreeable to his own conscience, nor be compelled to attend any place of worship contrary to his own faith and judgment; nor shall he ever be obliged to pay tithes, taxes, or any other rate, for the building or repairing any place of worship, or for the maintenance of any minister or ministry, contrary to what he believes to be right, or hath voluntarily engaged. To do. No one religious society shall ever be established in this state, in preference to another; nor shall any person be denied the enjoyment of any civil right merely on account of his religious principles."
  3. ^ From 1780 to 1824, Massachusetts residents were all required to attend a parish church, the denomination of which was chosen by majority vote of town residents, but in effect this de facto established Congregationalism as the state religion. For details see Constitution of Massachusetts.
  4. ^ Until 1877 the New Hampshire Constitution required members of the State legislature to be of the Protestant religion. Until 1968 the Constitution allowed for state funding of Protestant classrooms but not Catholic classrooms.
  5. ^ The North Carolina Constitution of 1776 disestablished the Anglican church, but until 1835 the NC Constitution allowed only Protestants to hold public office. From 1835 to 1876 it allowed only Christians (including Catholics) to hold public office. Article VI, Section 8 of the current NC Constitution forbids "any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God" from holding public office. Such clauses were held by the United States Supreme Court to be unenforceable in the 1961 case of Torcaso v. Watkins, when the court ruled unanimously that the First and Fourteenth Amendment protections prohibiting federal religious tests also applied to the states under the doctrine of incorporation.
  6. ^ a b Religious tolerance for Catholics with an established Church of England was the policy in the former Spanish Colonies of East and West Florida while under British rule.
  7. ^ a b In 1783 Peace of Paris, which ended the American Revolutionary War, the British ceded both East and West Florida back to Spain (see Spanish Florida).
  8. ^ Tithes for the support of the Anglican Church in Virginia were suspended in 1776, and never restored. 1786 is the date of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom, which prohibited any coercion to support any religious body.

Non-British colonies

These areas were disestablished and dissolved, yet their presences were tolerated by the English and later British colonial governments, as Foreign Protestants, whose communities were expected to observe their own ways without causing controversy or conflict for the prevalent colonists. After the Revolution, their ethno-religious backgrounds were chiefly sought as the most compatible non-British Isles immigrants.

State of Deseret

The State of Deseret was a provisional state of the United States, proposed in 1849, by Mormon settlers in Salt Lake City. The provisional state existed for slightly over two years, but attempts to gain recognition by the United States government floundered for various reasons. The Utah Territory which was then founded was under Mormon control, and repeated attempts to gain statehood met resistance, in part due to concerns that the principle of separation of church and state conflicted with the practice of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints placing their highest value on "following counsel" in virtually all matters relating to their church-centered lives. The state of Utah was eventually admitted to the union on 4 January 1896, after the various issues had been resolved.[193]

Established churches and former state churches

Country Church Denomination Disestablished
Anhalt Evangelical State Church of Anhalt united Protestant 1918
Armenia Armenian Apostolic Church Oriental Orthodox 1921
Austria Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1918
Baden Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1918
United Evangelical Protestant State Church of Baden united Protestant 1918
Bavaria Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1918
Protestant State Church in the Kingdom of Bavaria right of the Rhine Lutheran and Reformed 1918
United Protestant Evangelical Christian Church of the Palatinate united Protestant 1918
Barbados Church of England Anglican 1968
Bolivia Roman Catholic Church Catholic 2009
Brazil[note 3] Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1890
Brunswick Evangelical Lutheran State Church in Brunswick Lutheran 1918
Bulgaria Bulgarian Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox 1946
Central African Empire Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1979
Chile Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1925
Colombia Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1936[194]
Cuba Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1902
Cyprus Cypriot Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox 1977, following the death of the Ethnarch Makarios III
Czechoslovakia Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1920
Denmark Church of Denmark Lutheran Current
England Church of England Anglican Current
Ethiopia Ethiopian Orthodox Church Oriental Orthodox 1974
Faroe Islands Church of the Faroe Islands Lutheran Elevated from a diocese of the Church of Denmark in 2007 (the two remain in close cooperation)
Finland Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland Lutheran 1867
Finnish Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox 1917
France Cult of Reason N/A 1794 (established 1793)
Cult of the Supreme Being N/A 1794, officially banned in 1802
Roman Catholic Church[note 4] Catholic 1830
Georgia Georgian Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox 1921
Greece Greek Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox[65] The Church of Greece is recognized by the Greek Constitution as the "prevailing religion" in Greece.[65] However, this provision does not give official status to the Church of Greece, while all other religions are recognized as equal and may be practiced freely.[68]
Greenland Church of Denmark Lutheran Under discussion to be elevated from The Diocese of Greenland in the Church of Denmark to a state church for Greenland, along‐the‐lines the Faroese Church took in 2007
Guatemala Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1871
Haiti Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1987
Hawaii Church of Hawaii Anglican 1893
Hesse Evangelical Church in Hesse united Protestant 1918
Hungary[note 5] Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1946
Iceland Lutheran Evangelical Church Lutheran Current
Indonesia Roman Catholic Church Catholic de facto official religion along with Protestantism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism
Protestant Church de facto official religion along with Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism
Ireland[note 6] Church of Ireland Anglican 1871
Italy Roman Catholic Church Catholic 18 February 1984 (into force 25 April 1985[201])
Liechtenstein Roman Catholic Church[49] Catholic Current
Lippe Church of Lippe Reformed 1918
Lithuania Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1940
Lübeck Evangelical Lutheran Church in the State of Lübeck Lutheran 1918
Luxembourg Roman Catholic Church Catholic Not an official state church[202]
Malta Roman Catholic Church Catholic Current
Mecklenburg-Schwerin Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Lutheran 1918
Mecklenburg-Strelitz Mecklenburg-Strelitz State Church Lutheran 1918
Mexico Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1857 (reestablished between 1864 and 1867)
Monaco Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1999 (reestablished again in 2020–present).
Netherlands Dutch Reformed Church Reformed 1795
Nicaragua Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1987
North Macedonia Macedonian Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox 1921
Norway Church of Norway Lutheran As of 2012 the Constitution of Norway no longer names Lutheranism as the official religion of the state and in 2017 the church became an independent legal entity,[203][204][205] but article 16 says that "The Church of Norway [...] will remain the National Church of Norway and will as such be supported by the State."[206] As of 1 January 2017 the Church of Norway is a legal entity independent of the state.[203][207]
Oldenburg Evangelical Lutheran Church of Oldenburg Lutheran 1918
Panama Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1904
Paraguay Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1992[208]
Peru Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1993
Philippines[note 7] Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1898
Poland[note 8] Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1947
Portugal[note 9] Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1910, 1976
Prussia
pre 1866 provinces		 Evangelical State Church of Prussia's older Provinces with nine ecclesiastical provinces united Protestant 1918
Prussia
Province of Hanover		 Evangelical Reformed State Church of the Province of Hanover Reformed 1918
Prussia
Province of Hanover		 Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Hanover Lutheran 1918
Prussia
Province of Hesse-Nassau (partially)		 Evangelical State Church of Frankfurt upon Main united Protestant 1918
Prussia
Province of Hesse-Nassau (partially)		 Evangelical Church of Electoral Hesse united Protestant 1918
Prussia
Province of Hesse-Nassau (partially)		 Evangelical State Church in Nassau united Protestant 1918
Prussia
Prov. of Schleswig-Holstein		 Evangelical Lutheran Church of Schleswig-Holstein Lutheran 1918
Romania Romanian Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox 1947
Russia Russian Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox 1917
Thuringia church bodies in principalities which merged in Thuringia in 1920 Lutheran 1918
Saxony Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Saxony Lutheran 1918
Schaumburg-Lippe Evangelical State Church of Schaumburg-Lippe Lutheran 1918
Scotland[209] Church of Scotland Presbyterian Remains the national church; state control disclaimed since 1638. Formally recognised as not an established church by the Church of Scotland Act 1921.
Serbia Serbian Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox 1920
Spain Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1978
Sweden Church of Sweden Lutheran 2000
Switzerland separate Cantonal Churches («Landeskirchen») Zwinglianism, Calvinism, and Catholic During the 20th century
Tuvalu Church of Tuvalu Reformed Current
Uruguay Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1918 (into effect in 1919)
United States[note 10] none since 1776, which was made explicit in the Bill of Rights in 1792 none n/a; some state legislatures required all citizens in those states to be members of a church, and some had official churches, such as Congregationalism in some New England states such as Massachusetts. This eventually ended in 1833 when Massachusetts was the last state to disestablish its church.
Waldeck Evangelical State Church of Waldeck and Pyrmont united Protestants 1918
Wales[note 11] Church of England Anglican 1920
Württemberg Evangelical State Church in Württemberg Lutheran 1918

Former confessional states

Buddhism

Country Denomination Disestablished
Kalmyk Tibetan Buddhism 1771
Laos Theravada Buddhism 1975[214]
Mongolia Tibetan Buddhism 1926
Siam (Thailand) Theravada Buddhism 1932
Tibet Tibetan Buddhism 1951
Vietnam Thiền 1407 (de jure)
1413 (de facto)
Yuan Tibetan Buddhism 1368

Hinduism

Country Disestablished
Champa 1832
Nepal 2015 (de jure)
2008 (de facto)
Manipur 1748[215]
Garhwal 1949
Jaffna 1619
Maharashtra 1818
Hindu Shahi dynasty 1026
Baroda 1949
Bundi 1949
Gangga Negara 1026
Kutai 1635
Nawanagar 1947
Vijayanagara 1646
Udaipur 1949
Kamarupa 1140
Pudukkottai 1948
Bhoi 1947
Koch 1949

Sikhism

Country Disestablished
Khalsa Kingdom 1849

Confucianism

Islam

Paganism

Country Denomination Disestablished
Denmark Norse paganism 960
Iceland Norse paganism 1000
Norway Norse paganism 1015
Sweden Norse paganism 1014

Shinto

Country Denomination Disestablished
Japan State Shinto 1947 (de facto)

The head of state, the Emperor of Japan is still Shinto as of 2023, as is the Prime minister Kishida, and the recent expensive coronation was paid for by the taxpayer, giving Shinto continued favored status.

State atheism

Country Disestablished
Afghanistan 1980
Albania 1992
Angola 1992
Bulgaria 1991 (de facto)
Cambodia 1993
Czechoslovak 1990 (de jure)
Ethiopia 1991
Hungary 1989 (de facto)
Laos 1991
Kampuchea 1979
Mozambique 1990 (de facto)
Poland 1989 (de jure)
Romania 1989
Soviet Union 1991 (de facto)
Yugoslavia 1992 (de facto)

Zoroastrianism

Country Disestablished
Armenia 301 AD
Medes (Iran) 651 AD

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Bhutan,[1] Mauritania,[2] Western Sahara (via Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic[3] and Morocco,[4] which divide control), Morocco,[4] Tunisia,[5] Egypt,[6] England,[7] Jordan,[8] Iraq,[9] Pakistan,[10] Bangladesh,[11] United Arab Emirates,[12] Oman,[13] Yemen,[14] Maldives,[15] Iran,[16] Algeria,[17] Saudi Arabia,[18] Sri Lanka,[19] Afghanistan,[20] Somalia,[21] Malaysia,[22] Brunei,[23] Greece,[24] Denmark,[25] Costa Rica,[26] Zambia.[27] See also here.
  2. ^ The Constitution also states that "Any matter relating to divorce, judicial separation or restitution of conjugal rights or to family relations of the members of the Greek-Orthodox Church, shall be cognizable by family courts each of which is composed: For a divorce trial, of three judges, one of which is a lawyer ecclesiastical officer appointed by the Greek Orthodox Church and presides over the Court and the other two of high professional and moral standard belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church are appointed by the Supreme Court among lawyers. If no ecclesiastical officer is appointed as above, the Supreme Court appoints the President of the Court as well."[70]
  3. ^ Brazilian Laws – the Federal Constitution – The Organization of State. V-brazil.com. Retrieved 5 May 2012. Brazil had Roman Catholicism as the state religion from the country's independence, in 1822, until the fall of the Brazilian Empire. The new Republican government passed, in 1890, Decree 119-A "Decreto 119-A". Prohibits federal and state authorities to intervene on religion, granting freedom of religion. (still in force), instituting the separation of church and state for the first time in Brazilian law. Positivist thinker Demétrio Nunes Ribeiro urged the new government to adopt this stance. The 1891 Constitution, the first under the Republican system of government, abolished privileges for any specific religion, reaffirming the separation of church and state. This has been the case ever since the 1988 Constitution of Brazil, currently in force, does so in its Nineteenth Article. The Preamble to the Constitution does refer to "God's protection" over the document's promulgation, but this is not legally taken as endorsement of belief in any deity.
  4. ^ In France the Concordat of 1801 made the Roman Catholic, Calvinist, Lutheran churches and Judaism state-sponsored religions until 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State.
  5. ^ In Hungary the constitutional laws of 1848 declared five established churches on equal status: the Roman Catholic, Calvinist, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox and Unitarian Church. In 1868 the law was ratified again after the Ausgleich. In 1895 Judaism was also recognized as the sixth established church. In 1948 every distinction between the different denominations were abolished.[195][196]
  6. ^ In the Kingdom of Ireland the Church of Ireland was established in the Reformation.[197] The Act of Union 1800 created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland with the United Church of England and Ireland established outside Scotland. The Irish Church Act 1869 demerged and disestablished the Church of Ireland,[197] and the island was partitioned in 1922. The Republic of Ireland's 1937 constitution prohibits an established religion.[198] Originally, it recognized the "special position" of the Roman Catholic Church "as the guardian of the Faith professed by the great majority of the citizens", and recognized "the Church of Ireland, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Methodist Church in Ireland, the Religious Society of Friends in Ireland, as well as the Jewish Congregations and the other religious denominations existing in Ireland at the date of the coming into operation of this Constitution".[199] These provisions were deleted in 1973.[200]
  7. ^ The Philippines was among several possessions ceded by Spain to the United States in 1898; religious freedom was subsequently guaranteed in the archipelago. This was codified in the Philippine Organic Act (1902), section 5: "... That no law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, and that the free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed." A similarly-worded provision still exists in the present Constitution. Catholicism remains the predominant religion, wielding considerable political and cultural influence.
  8. ^ Article 25 of the constitution states: "1. Churches and other religious organizations shall have equal rights. 2. Public authorities in the Republic of Poland shall be impartial in matters of personal conviction". Article 114 of the Polish March Constitution of 1921 declared the Roman Catholic Church to hold "the principal position among religious denominations equal before the law" (in reference to the idea of first among equals). The article was continued in force by article 81 of the April Constitution of 1935. The Soviet-backed PKWN Manifesto of 1944 reintroduced the March Constitution, which remained in force until it was replaced by the Small Constitution of 1947.
  9. ^ Until 1910 Roman Catholic Church was considered as state religion. Between 1951 and 1976 Catholic religion was considered as religion of the Portuguese Nation.
  10. ^ The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution explicitly forbids the federal government from enacting any law respecting a religious establishment, and thus forbids either designating an official church for the United States, or interfering with State and local official churches—which were common when the First Amendment was enacted. It did not prevent state governments from establishing official churches. Connecticut continued to do so until it replaced its colonial Charter with the Connecticut Constitution of 1818; Massachusetts retained an establishment of religion in general until 1833.[210] Until its substitution by Article of Amendment XI in 1834, Article III of the Massachusetts constitution's bill of rights provided, "... the legislature shall, from time to time, authorize and require, the several towns, parishes, precincts, and other bodies politic, or religious societies, to make suitable provision, at their own expense, for the institution of the public worship of God, and for the support and maintenance of public Protestant teachers of piety, religion and morality, in all cases where such provision shall not be made voluntarily."[211] The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, makes no mention of religious establishment, but forbids the states to "abridge the privileges or immunities" of U.S. citizens, or to "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law". In the 1947 case of Everson v. Board of Education, the United States Supreme Court held that this later provision incorporates the First Amendment's Establishment Clause as applying to the States, and thereby prohibits state and local religious establishments. The exact boundaries of this prohibition are still disputed, and are a frequent source of cases before the U.S. Supreme Court—especially as the Court must now balance, on a state level, the First Amendment prohibitions on government establishment of official religions with the First Amendment prohibitions on government interference with the free exercise of religion. See school prayer for such a controversy in contemporary American politics. All current State constitutions do mention a Creator, but include guarantees of religious liberty parallel to the First Amendment. The constitutions of eight states (Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas) also contain clauses that prohibit atheists from holding public office.[212][213] However, these clauses were held by the U.S. Supreme Court to be unenforceable in the 1961 case of Torcaso v. Watkins, where the court ruled unanimously that such clauses constituted a religious test incompatible with the religious test prohibition in Article 6 Section 3 of the United States Constitution. The Church of Hawaii was the state church of Hawaii from 1862–1893.
  11. ^ The Church in Wales was split from the Church of England in 1920, by Welsh Church Act 1914; at the same time becoming disestablished.

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Further reading

  • Rowlands, John Henry Lewis (1989). Church, State, and Society, 1827–1845: the Attitudes of John Keble, Richard Hurrell Froude, and John Henry Newman. Worthing, Eng.: P. Smith [of] Churchman Publishing; Folkestone, Eng.: distr. ... by Bailey Book Distribution. ISBN 1850931321

External links

  • McConnell, Michael W. (April 2003). . William and Mary Law Review. 44 (5): 2105. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011.

January 26, 2023
state, religion, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, november, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources State religion news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message A state religion also called religious state or official religion is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state A state with an official religion also known as confessional state while not secular is not necessarily a theocracy State religions are official or government sanctioned establishments of a religion but the state does not need to be under the control of the religion as in a theocracy nor is the state sanctioned religion necessarily under the control of the state Confessional states note 1 Christianity unspecified Protestantism Eastern Orthodoxy Catholicism Islam unspecified Sunni Islam Shi a Islam Buddhism Official religions have been known throughout human history in almost all types of cultures reaching into the Ancient Near East and prehistory The relation of religious cult and the state was discussed by the ancient Latin scholar Marcus Terentius Varro under the term of theologia civilis lit civic theology The first state sponsored Christian church was the Armenian Apostolic Church established in 301 CE 28 In Christianity as the term church is typically applied to a place of worship for Christians or organizations incorporating such ones the term state church is associated with Christianity as sanctioned by the government historically the state church of the Roman Empire in the last centuries of the Empire s existence and is sometimes used to denote a specific modern national branch of Christianity Closely related to state churches are ecclesiae which are similar but carry a more minor connotation In the Middle East the majority of states with a predominantly Muslim population have Islam as their official religion though the degree of religious restrictions on citizens everyday lives varies by country Rulers of Saudi Arabia use both secular and religious power while Iran s secular presidents are supposed to follow the decisions of religious authorities since the 1979 Islamic Revolution Turkey which also has Muslim majority population became a secular country after Ataturk s Reforms although unlike the Russian Revolution of the same time period it did not result in the adoption of state atheism The degree to which an official national religion is imposed upon citizens by the state in contemporary society varies considerably from high as in Saudi Arabia and Iran to minimal or none at all as Denmark England Iceland and Greece Contents 1 Types 1 1 State churches 1 2 Disestablishment 2 Current state recognized religions 2 1 Buddhism 2 2 Christianity 2 2 1 Non denominational Christianity 2 2 2 Catholicism 2 2 3 Eastern Orthodoxy 2 2 4 Protestantism 2 2 5 British commonwealth 2 2 5 1 Anglicanism 2 2 5 2 Calvinism 2 2 6 Nordic countries 2 2 6 1 Lutheranism 2 2 7 Other mixed 2 3 Hinduism 2 4 Islam 2 5 Status of religion in Israel 2 6 Political religions 2 7 Additional notes 3 Former state religions 3 1 Pre modern era 3 1 1 Egypt and Sumer 3 1 2 Sassanid Empire 3 1 3 Greek city states 3 1 4 Roman religion and Christianity 3 1 5 Han dynasty Confucianism 3 1 6 Yuan dynasty Buddhism 3 1 7 Golden Horde and Ilkhanate 3 2 Modern era 3 2 1 Former state churches in British North America 3 2 1 1 Protestant colonies 3 2 1 2 Colonies with no established church 3 2 1 3 Tabular summary 3 2 2 Non British colonies 3 2 3 State of Deseret 4 Established churches and former state churches 5 Former confessional states 5 1 Buddhism 5 2 Hinduism 5 3 Sikhism 5 4 Confucianism 5 5 Islam 5 6 Paganism 5 7 Shinto 5 8 State atheism 5 9 Zoroastrianism 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External linksTypes EditThe degree and nature of state backing for denomination or creed designated as a state religion can vary It can range from mere endorsement with or without financial support with freedom for other faiths to practice to prohibiting any competing religious body from operating and to persecuting the followers of other sects In Europe competition between Catholic and Protestant denominations for state sponsorship in the 16th century evolved the principle Cuius regio eius religio states follow the religion of the ruler embodied in the text of the treaty that marked the Peace of Augsburg 1555 In England Henry VIII broke with Rome in 1534 being declared the Supreme Head of the Church of England 29 the official religion of England continued to be Catholicism without the Pope until after his death in 1547 30 while in Scotland the Church of Scotland assested spiritual independence from the state In some cases an administrative region may sponsor and fund a set of religious denominations such is the case in Alsace Moselle in France under its local law following the pre 1905 French concordatory legal system and patterns in Germany 31 In some communist states notably in North Korea and Cuba the state sponsors religious organizations and activities outside those state sponsored religious organizations are met with various degrees of official disapproval In these cases state religions are widely seen as efforts by the state to prevent alternate sources of authority citation needed State churches Edit This section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed November 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message There is also a difference between a state church and the broader term of state religion A state church is a state religion created by a state for use exclusively by that state An example of a state religion that is not also a state church is Roman Catholicism in Costa Rica which was accepted as the state religion in the 1949 Constitution despite the lack of a national church In the case of a state church the state has absolute control over the church but in the case of a state religion the church is ruled by an exterior body in the case of Catholicism the Vatican has control over the church In either case the official state religion has some influence over the ruling of the state As of 2012 there are only five state churches left Disestablishment Edit Further information Secular state Disestablishment is the process of repealing a church s status as an organ of the state In a state where an established church is in place those opposed to such a move may be described as antidisestablishmentarians This word is however most usually associated with the debate on the position of the Anglican churches in the British Isles the Church of Ireland disestablished in 1871 the Church of England in Wales disestablished in 1920 and the Church of England itself which remains established in England Current state recognized religions EditBuddhism Edit Governments where Buddhism either a specific form of it or Buddhism as a whole has been established as an official religion Bhutan The Constitution defines Buddhism as the spiritual heritage of Bhutan The Constitution of Bhutan is based on Buddhist philosophy 32 It also mandates that the Druk Gyalpo King should appoint the Je Khenpo and Dratshang Lhentshog The Commission for Monastic Affairs 33 Cambodia The Constitution declared Buddhism as the official religion of the country 34 About 98 of Cambodia s population is Buddhist 35 Myanmar Section 361 of the Constitution states that The Union recognizes special position of Buddhism as the faith professed by the great majority of the citizens of the Union 36 The 1961 State Religion Promotion and Support Act requires to teach Buddhist lessons in schools to give priority to Buddhist monasteries in founding of primary schools to make Uposatha days holidays during Vassa months to broadcast Buddhist sermons by State media on Uposatha days and other promotion and supports for Buddhism as State Religion 37 Sri Lanka The constitution of Sri Lanka states under Chapter II Article 9 The Republic of Sri Lanka declares Buddhism as the state religion and accordingly it shall be the duty of the Head of State and Head of Government to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana 38 Thailand Article 67 of the Thai constitution The State should support and protect Buddhism In supporting and protecting Buddhism the State should promote and support education and dissemination of dharmic principles of Theravada Buddhism and shall have measures and mechanisms to prevent Buddhism from being undermined in any form The State should also encourage Buddhists to participate in implementing such measures or mechanisms 39 In some countries Buddhism is not recognized as a state religion but holds special status Laos According to the Lao Constitution Buddhism is given special privilege in the country The state respects and protects all the lawful activities of Buddhism 40 Kalmykia The Government supports Buddhism and also encourages Buddhist teachings and traditions It also builds various Buddhist temples and sites Various efforts are taken by the Government for the revival of Buddhism in the republic 41 42 43 Christianity Edit Main articles Christian state Christian republic Christianity and politics Christian democracy Christian nationalism and Christendom The following states recognize some form of Christianity as their state or official religion or recognize a special status for it by denomination Non denominational Christianity Edit Samoa In June 2017 Parliament voted to amend the wording of Article 1 of the constitution thereby making Christianity the state religion Part 1 Section 1 3 reads Samoa is a Christian nation founded on God the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit The status of the religion had previously only been mentioned in the preamble which Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi considered legally inadequate 44 45 Zambia The preamble to the Zambian Constitution of 1991 declares Zambia to be a Christian nation while also guaranteeing freedom of religion 46 Catholicism Edit Jurisdictions where Catholicism has been established as a state or official religion Costa Rica Article 75 of the Constitution of Costa Rica confirms that The Catholic and Apostolic Religion is the religion of the State which contributes to its maintenance without preventing the free exercise in the Republic of other forms of worship that are not opposed to universal morality or good customs 47 Holy See It is an elective theocratic or sacerdotal absolute monarchy ruled by the Pope who is also the Vicar of Christ 48 The highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergy of various national origins It is the sovereign territory of the Holy See Latin Sancta Sedes and the location of the Pope s official residence referred to as the Apostolic Palace Liechtenstein The Constitution of Liechtenstein describes the Catholic Church as the state religion and enjoying the full protection of the State The constitution does however ensure that people of other faiths shall be entitled to practice their creeds and to hold religious services to the extent consistent with morality and public order 49 Malta Article 2 of the Constitution of Malta declares that the religion of Malta is the Catholic and Apostolic Religion 50 Monaco Article 9 of the Constitution of Monaco describes the Catholic and apostolic religion as the religion of the state 51 Jurisdictions that give various degrees of recognition in their constitutions to Roman Catholicism without establishing it as the State religion Andorra 52 Argentina Article 2 of the Constitution of Argentina explicitly states that the government supports the Roman Catholic Apostolic Faith but the constitution does not establish a state religion 53 Before its 1994 amendment the Constitution stated that the President of the Republic must be a Roman Catholic East Timor While the Constitution of East Timor enshrines the principles of freedom of religion and separation of church and state in Section 45 Comma 1 it also acknowledges the participation of the Catholic Church in the process of national liberation in its preamble although this has no legal value 54 El Salvador Although Article 3 of the Constitution of El Salvador states that no restrictions shall be established that are based on differences of nationality race sex or religion Article 26 states that the state recognizes the Catholic Church and gives it legal preference 55 56 Guatemala The Constitution of Guatemala recognises the juridical personality of the Catholic Church Other churches cults entities and associations of religious character will obtain the recognition of their juridical personality in accordance with the rules of their institution 57 Italy The Constitution of Italy does not establish a state religion but recognizes the state and the Catholic Church as independent and sovereign each within its own sphere 58 The Constitution additionally reserves to the Catholic faith singular position in regard to the organization of worship as opposed to all other confessions 59 Panama The Constitution of Panama recognizes Catholicism as the religion of the majority of citizens but does not designate it as the official state religion 60 Paraguay The Constitution of Paraguay recognizes the Catholic Church s role in the nation s historical and cultural formation 61 Peru The Constitution of Peru recognizes the Catholic Church as an important element in the historical cultural and moral formation of Peru and lends it its cooperation 62 Poland 63 Spain The Constitution of Spain of 1978 abolished Catholicism as the official state religion while recognizing the role it plays in Spanish society 64 Eastern Orthodoxy Edit Greece The Church of Greece is recognized by the Greek Constitution as the prevailing religion in Greece 65 and is the only country in the world where Eastern Orthodoxy is clearly recognized as a state religion 66 67 However this provision does not give exclusivity of worship to the Church of Greece while all other religions are recognized as equal and may be practiced freely 68 The jurisdictions below give various degrees of recognition in their constitutions to Eastern Orthodoxy but without establishing it as the state religion Bulgaria In the Bulgarian Constitution the Bulgarian Orthodox Church is recognized as the traditional religion of the Bulgarian people but the state itself remains secular 69 Cyprus The Constitution of Cyprus states The Autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus shall continue to have the exclusive right of regulating and administering its own internal affairs and property in accordance with the Holy Canons and its Charter in force for the time being and the Greek Communal Chamber shall not act inconsistently with such right 70 note 2 Finland Both the Finnish Orthodox Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland are national churches 71 72 Georgia The Georgian Orthodox Church has a constitutional agreement with the state the constitution recognizing the special role of the Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia in the history of Georgia and its independence from the state 73 See also Concordat of 2002 Donetsk People s Republic The state religion in the partially recognized Donetsk People s Republic is Eastern Orthodoxy 74 more specifically Russian Orthodoxy Protestantism Edit The following states recognize some form of Protestantism as their state or official religion British commonwealth Edit Anglicanism Edit The Anglican Church of England is the established church in England as well as all three of the Crown Dependencies England The Church of England is the established church in England but not in the United Kingdom as a whole 75 It is the only established Anglican church worldwide The Anglican Church in Wales the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Church of Ireland are not established churches and they are independent of the Church of England The British monarch is the titular Supreme Governor of the Church of England The 26 most senior bishops in the Church of England are Lords Spiritual and have seats in the House of Lords of the Parliament of the United Kingdom Guernsey The Church of England is the established church in the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the leader of the Church of England in the territory is the Dean of Guernsey 76 Isle of Man The Church of England is the established church on the Isle of Man The Bishop of Sodor and Man is an ex officio member of the Legislative Council the upper house of Tynwald 77 Jersey The Church of England is the established church in Jersey and the leader of the church on the island is the Dean of Jersey a non voting member of the States of Jersey Calvinism Edit Scotland The Church of Scotland is the national church but not the United Kingdom as a whole 78 Whilst it is the national church it is not State controlled and the monarch is not the supreme governor as in the Church of England 78 Tuvalu The Church of Tuvalu is the state religion although in practice this merely entitles it to the privilege of performing special services on major national events 79 The Constitution of Tuvalu guarantees freedom of religion including the freedom to practice the freedom to change religion the right not to receive religious instruction at school or to attend religious ceremonies at school and the right not to take an oath or make an affirmation that is contrary to his religion or belief 80 Nordic countries Edit Lutheranism Edit Jurisdictions where a Lutheran church has been fully or partially established as a state recognized religion include the Nordic States Denmark Section 4 of the Constitution of Denmark confirms the Church of Denmark as the established church 81 Faroe Islands The Church of the Faroe Islands is the state church of the Faroe Islands an autonomous administrative division within the Danish Realm 82 Greenland The Church of Denmark is the state church of Greenland an autonomous administrative division within the Danish Realm 83 Iceland The Constitution of Iceland confirms the Church of Iceland as the state church of Iceland 84 Norway Until 2017 the Church of Norway was not a separate legal entity from the government It was disestablished and became a national church a legally distinct entity from the state with special constitutional status The King of Norway is required by the Constitution to be a member of the Church of Norway and the church is regulated by special canon law unlike other religions 85 Jurisdictions that give various degrees of recognition in their constitutions to Lutheranism without establishing it as the state religion Finland The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland has a special relationship with the Finnish state its internal structure being described in a special law the Church Act 86 The Church Act can be amended only by a decision of the synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church and subsequent ratification by the Parliament of Finland The Church Act is protected by the Constitution of Finland and the state cannot change the Church Act without changing the constitution The church has the power to tax its members The state collects these taxes for the church for a fee On the other hand the church is required to give a burial place for everyone in its graveyards 86 The President of Finland also decides the themes for intercession days The church does not consider itself a state church as the Finnish state does not have the power to influence its internal workings or its theology although it has a veto in those changes of the internal structure which require changing the Church Act Neither does the Finnish state accord any precedence to Lutherans or the Lutheran faith in its own acts Sweden The Church of Sweden was the state church of Sweden between 1527 when King Gustav Vasa broke all ties with Rome and 2000 when the state officially became secular Much like in Finland it does have a special relation to the Swedish state unlike any other religious organizations For example there is a special law that regulates certain aspects of the church 87 and the members of the royal family are required to belong to it in order to have a claim to the line of succession A majority of the population still belongs to the Church of Sweden 88 Other mixed Edit Armenia The Armenian Apostolic Church has a constitutional agreement with the State The Republic of Armenia shall recognise the exclusive mission of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church as a national church in the spiritual life of the Armenian people in the development of their national culture and preservation of their national identity 89 Dominican Republic The constitution of the Dominican Republic specifies that there is no state church and provides for freedom of religion and belief A concordat with the Holy See designates Catholicism as the official religion and extends special privileges to the Catholic Church not granted to other religious groups These include the legal recognition of church law use of public funds to underwrite some church expenses and complete exoneration from customs duties 90 France The local law in Alsace Moselle accords official status to four religions in this specific region of France Judaism Roman Catholicism Lutheranism and Calvinism The law is a remnant of the Napoleonic Concordat of 1801 which was abrogated in the rest of France by the law of 1905 on the separation of church and state However at the time Alsace Moselle had been annexed by Germany The Concordat therefore remained in force in these areas and it was not abrogated when France regained control of the region in 1918 Therefore the separation of church and state part of the French concept of Laicite does not apply in this region 91 Haiti While Catholicism has not been the state religion since 1987 a 19th century concordat with the Holy See continues to confer preferential treatment to the Catholic Church in the form of stipends for clergy and financial support to churches and religious schools The Catholic Church also retains the right to appoint certain amounts of clergy in Haiti without the government s consent 92 93 Hungary The preamble to the Hungarian Constitution of 2011 describes Hungary as part of Christian Europe and acknowledges the role of Christianity in preserving nationhood while Article VII provides that the State shall cooperate with the Churches for community goals However the constitution also guarantees freedom of religion and separation of church and state 94 Nicaragua The Nicaraguan Constitution of 1987 states that the country has no official religion but defines Christian values as one of the principles of the Nicaraguan nation 95 Portugal Although Church and State are formally separate the Catholic Church in Portugal still receives certain privileges 96 Hinduism Edit Although Hinduism is not recognized as a state religion of any Hindu majority country it holds some special status privileges in some nations India The Constitution of India declares India to be a secular state with no state religion 97 However at a same time the Republic of India privileges Hinduism as state sponsored religion through constitutionally legislatively and culturally 98 99 India is highly and deeply very religious country and nearly all Indians believe in the existence of Paramatman God 100 The culture of India is mainly influenced by Hinduism Vedic culture 101 The original copy of Indian constitution have the illustration of Lord Ram Sita and Lakshman in Part III on Fundamental Rights and Lord Rama have been considered as true guardian of people s rights and freedom 102 Article 343 1 of the Indian Constitution also state that The official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script 103 Also Article 48 of Indian constitution prohibits the slaughter of cows or calf a sacred animal in Hinduism and is illegal criminal offense in most of the Hindu majority states of India 104 105 Indian defense force moto is largely influenced by Hindu Scriptures The invocation to Varuna The Sea God in the Vedas was adopted by Indian Navy as its emblem with the Motto Sam no Varunah meaning Be auspicious unto us Oh Varuna 106 The Motto Touch the sky with Glory of the Indian Air Force has been taken from the eleventh chapter of the Bhagavad Gita where the Discourse was given by Lord Krishna to Arjuna on the Kurukshetra battlefield during the Mahabharata war 107 Nepal Although Nepal is a secular country as declared by the Constitution of Nepal 2015 Part 1 Article 4 but secularism literally means religious cultural freedom along with the protection of age old religion culture handed down since from time immemorial mostly referring to Indic faiths like Hinduism Buddhism Kirat Mundhum and Nature worship etc it s rich traditions and culture that it have impacted on the land of Nepal since the time of King Prithvi Narayan Shah and the Kingdom s foundation 108 109 Cow A sacred animal in Hinduism is the National animal of Nepal and slaughtering selling or eating of its meat is illegal and punishable criminal offense by law 110 The Nepalese law prohibits Proselytism and harming the religious sentiment of community 111 Islam Edit Many Muslim majority countries have constitutionally established Islam or a specific form of it as a state religion Proselytism converting people away from Islam is often illegal in such states 112 113 114 115 Afghanistan Officially Afghanistan has continuously been an Islamic state under various constitutions since at least 1987 116 Algeria Islam shall be the religion of the State 117 118 Bahrain The religion of the State is Islam 119 120 Bangladesh Article 2A of the Constitution of Bangladesh declares Islam is the state religion of the republic 121 Brunei Article 3 of the Constitution of Brunei The official religion of Brunei Darussalam shall be the Islamic Religion 122 Comoros Preamble to the 2001 Constitution of the Comoros to draw from Islam the religion of the state 123 Djibouti Article 1 of the Constitution of Djibouti Islam is the Religion of the State 124 Egypt Article 2 of the Egyptian Constitution of 2014 Islam is the religion of the State 125 Iran Article 12 of the Constitution of Iran The official religion of Iran is Islam and the Twelver Ja fari school in usul al Din and fiqh and this principle will remain eternally immutable 126 Islam has been Iran s state religion since 1501 dating back to the Safavid dynasty and has continued ever since excluding the period of breaks in the Pahlavi dynasty Iraq Article 2 of the Constitution of Iraq Islam is the official religion of the State and is a foundation source of legislation 127 Jordan Article 2 of the Constitution of Jordan Islam is the religion of the State and Arabic is its official language 128 Kuwait Article 2 of the Constitution of Kuwait The religion of the State is Islam and Islamic Law shall be a main source of legislation 129 Libya Article 1 of the Libyan interim Constitutional Declaration Islam is the Religion of the State and the principal source of legislation is Islamic Jurisprudence Shari a 130 Malaysia Article 11 of the Constitution of Malaysia Islam is the religion of the Federation but other religions may be practised in peace and harmony in any part of the Federation 131 Maldives Article 10 of the Maldives s Constitution of 2008 The religion of the State of the Maldives is Islam Islam shall be the one of the bases of all the laws of the Maldives 132 Mauritania Article 5 of the Constitution of Mauritania Islam is the religion of the people and of the State 133 Morocco Article 3 of the Constitution of Morocco Islam is the religion of the State which guarantees to all the free exercise of beliefs cultes 134 Oman Article 2 of the Constitution of Oman The religion of the State is Islam and Islamic Sharia is the basis for legislation 135 Pakistan Article 2 of the Constitution of Pakistan Islam shall be the State religion of Pakistan 136 Palestine Article 4 of the Basic Law of the State of Palestine Islam is the official religion in Palestine Respect and sanctity of all other heavenly religions shall be maintained 137 Qatar Article 1 of the Constitution of Qatar Qatar is an independent sovereign Arab State Its religion is Islam and Shari a law shall be a main source of its legislations 138 Saudi Arabia Article 1 of the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a sovereign Arab Islamic State Its religion is Islam 139 Sahrawi Republic Article 2 of Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic declares that Islam is the state religion and law origin 3 Somalia Article 2 of the Provisional Constitution of the Federal Republic of Somalia Islam is the religion of the State 140 United Arab Emirates Article 7 of the Constitution of the United Arab Emirates Islam shall be the official religion of the Union 141 Yemen Article 2 of the Constitution of Yemen Islam is the religion of the state and Arabic is its official language 142 In some countries Islam is not recognized as a state religion but holds special status Tajikistan Although there is a separation of religion from politics certain aspects of law also privilege Islam One such law declares Islam to be a traditional religion of Tajikistan with more rights and privileges given to Islamic organizations than to religious groups of non Muslim origin 143 Article 2A of the Constitution of Tunisia 2022 July 25 declares Tunisia is part of the Islamic nation referring to Muslim world and the state alone must work to achieve the goals of pure Islam in preserving honourable life of religious freedom Although Islam has been given special privileges by the Tunisian New constitution though it is no longer the state religion of the republic 144 Also Article 88 says President must be Muslim by faith 145 Turkey The Republic of Turkey is officially a secular country Although the current governing party has a close affinity with Sunni Islam the latest Constitution of 1982 neither recognizes an official religion nor promotes any 146 Islam has been referred as the country s main religion and it plays a major dominant role in the life of the Turkish people 147 The Directorate of Religious Affairs an official state institution established by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1924 148 expresses opinions on religious matters and is responsible for all administration of the Sunni institutions 149 The Turkish government oversees Muslim religious facilities and education through its Directorate of Religious Affairs under the authority of the President previously Prime Minister The directorate regulates the operation of the country s hundreds of thousands of registered mosques and employs local and provincial imams who are civil servants Sunni imams are appointed and paid by the state 150 Turkmenistan The Constitution claims to uphold a secular system in which religious and state institutions are separate However in Turkmenistan the state actively privileges a form of traditional Islam The culture including Islam is a key facet contributes to the Turkmen national identity The state encourages the conceptualization of Turkmen Islam 151 Uzbekistan Since independence Islam has taken on an altogether new role in the nation building process in Uzbekistan The government affords Islam in special status and declared it as a national heritage and a moral guideline 152 Status of religion in Israel Edit See also Jewish state Israel is defined in several of its laws as a Jewish and democratic state medina yehudit ve demokratit However the term Jewish is a polyseme that can describe the Jewish people as either an ethnic or a religious group The debate about the meaning of the term Jewish and its legal and social applications is one of the most profound issues with which Israeli society deals The problem of the status of religion in Israel even though it is relevant to all religions usually refers to the status of Judaism in Israeli society Thus even though from a constitutional point of view Judaism is not the state religion in Israel its status nevertheless determines relations between religion and state and the extent to which religion influences the political center 153 The State of Israel supports religious institutions particularly Orthodox Jewish ones and recognizes the religious communities as carried over from those recognized under the British Mandate in turn derived from the pre 1917 Ottoman system of millets These are Jewish and Christian Eastern Orthodox Latin Catholic Gregorian Armenian Armenian Catholic Syriac Catholic Chaldean Melkite Catholic Maronite Catholic and Syriac Orthodox The fact that the Muslim population was not defined as a religious community does not affect the rights of the Muslim community to practice their faith At the end of the period covered by the 2009 U S International Religious Freedom Report several of these denominations were pending official government recognition however the Government has allowed adherents of not officially recognized groups the freedom to practice In 1961 legislation gave Muslim Shari a courts exclusive jurisdiction in matters of personal status Three additional religious communities have subsequently been recognized by Israeli law the Druze prior under Islamic jurisdiction the Evangelical Episcopal Church and followers of the Bahaʼi Faith 154 These groups have their own religious courts as official state courts for personal status matters see millet system The structure and goals of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel are governed by Israeli law but the law does not say explicitly that it is a state Rabbinate However outspoken Israeli secularists such as Shulamit Aloni and Uri Avnery have long maintained that it is that in practice Non recognition of other streams of Judaism such as Reform Judaism and Conservative Judaism is the cause of some controversy rabbis belonging to these currents are not recognized as such by state institutions and marriages performed by them are not recognized as valid As pointed out by Avnery and Aloni the essential problem is that Israel carries on the top down Ottoman millet system under which the government reserves the complete discretion of recognizing some religious groups and not recognizing others As of 2015 update marriage in Israel provides no provision for civil marriage marriage between people of different religions marriages by people who do not belong to one of nine recognized religious communities or same sex marriages although there is recognition of marriages performed abroad Political religions Edit In some countries there is a political ideology sponsored by the government that may be called political religion 155 Additional notes Edit China The government of China officially espouses state atheism 156 and officially recognizes only five religions Buddhism Taoism Islam Catholicism and Protestantism 157 Despite limitations on certain forms of religious expression and assembly religion is not banned and religious freedom is nominally protected under the Chinese constitution Among the general Chinese population there are a wide variety of religious practices 158 The Chinese government s attitude to religion is one of skepticism and non promotion 158 159 160 161 Indonesia is officially a presidential republic and a unitary state that does not declare or designate a state religion Officially the government only recognizes six religions Islam Protestantism Catholicism Buddhism Hinduism Confucianism and Traditional beliefs Aliran Kepercayaan Pancasila comes from the Jakarta Charter whose first article was changed from Divinity with the obligation to carry out Islamic law for its adherents to the One Divinity to respect other religions The Constitution of Indonesia guarantees freedom of religion and the practice of other religions and beliefs including traditional animistic beliefs Indonesians who are practicing other unrecognized religions such as Sikhs and Jains are often counted as Hindu while Indonesians practicing Orthodoxy are often counted as Christian for governmental purposes citation needed Atheism although not prosecuted is discouraged by the state ideology of Pancasila In addition the province of Aceh receives a special status and a higher degree of autonomy in which it may enact laws qanuns based on the Sharia and enforce it especially to its Muslim residents Lebanon There are 18 officially recognized religious groups in Lebanon each with its own family law legislation and set of religious courts 162 Under the terms of an agreement known as the National Pact between the various political and religious leaders of Lebanon the president of the country must be a Maronite the Prime Minister must be a Sunni and the Speaker of Parliament must be a Shia 163 Luxembourg is a secular state but the Grand Duchy recognizes and supports several denominations including the Catholic Church Greek Orthodox Russian Orthodox Romanian Orthodox Serbian Orthodox Anglican and some Protestantism denominations as well as to Jewish congregations 164 Russia Though a secular state under the constitution Russia is often said to have Russian Orthodoxy as the de facto national religion despite other minorities The Russian Orthodox Church is de facto privileged religion of the state claiming the right to decide which other religions or denominations are to be granted the right of registration 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 Singapore is officially a secular country and does not have a state religion and has been named in one study as the most religiously diverse nation in the world with no religious group forming a majority 172 However the government gives official recognition to ten different religions namely Buddhism Christianity Islam Hinduism Taoism Sikhism Judaism Zoroastrianism Jainism and the Bahaʼi Faith 173 and Singapore s penal code explicitly prohibits wounding religious feelings The Jehovah s Witnesses and Unification Church are also banned in Singapore as the government deems them to be a threat to national security Switzerland is officially secular at the federal level but 24 of the 26 cantons support both the Swiss Reformed Church and the Roman Catholic Church in various ways Vietnam is officially atheist 174 although sometimes also referred as atheist Buddhist 175 176 but recognizes only 38 religious organizations and one dharma practice 177 Former state religions EditThis article possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed April 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Pre modern era Edit Egypt and Sumer Edit See also History of religion The concept of state religions dubious discuss was known as long ago as the empires of Egypt and Sumer when every city state or people had its own god or gods Many of the early Sumerian rulers were priests of their patron city god Some of the earliest semi mythological kings may have passed into the pantheon like Dumuzid and some later kings came to be viewed as divine soon after their reigns like Sargon the Great of Akkad One of the first rulers to be proclaimed a god during his actual reign was Gudea of Lagash followed by some later kings of Ur such as Shulgi Often the state religion was integral to the power base of the reigning government such as in Egypt where Pharaohs were often thought of as embodiments of the god Horus Sassanid Empire Edit Zoroastrianism was the state religion of the Sassanid dynasty which lasted until 651 when Persia was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate Greek city states Edit Many of the Greek city states also had a favored national god dubious discuss or goddess associated with that city This would not be its only god or goddess but the one that received special honors In ancient Greece the cities of Athens had Athena Sparta had Ares Delphi had Apollo and Artemis Olympia had Zeus Corinth had Poseidon Thebes had Demeter Troy had Aphrodite and Apollo Roman religion and Christianity Edit In Rome the office of Pontifex Maximus came to be reserved for the Emperor who was occasionally declared a god posthumously or sometimes during his reign Failure to worship the Emperor as a god was at times punishable by death as the Roman government sought to link emperor worship with loyalty to the Empire Many Christians and Jews were subject to persecution torture and death in the Roman Empire because it was against their beliefs to worship the Emperor In 311 Emperor Galerius on his deathbed declared a religious indulgence to Christians throughout the Roman Empire focusing on the ending of anti Christian persecution Constantine I and Licinius the two Augusti by the Edict of Milan of 313 enacted a law allowing religious freedom to everyone within the Roman Empire Furthermore the Edict of Milan cited that Christians may openly practice their religion unmolested and unrestricted and provided that properties taken from Christians be returned to them unconditionally Although the Edict of Milan allowed religious freedom throughout the Empire it did not abolish nor disestablish the Roman state cult Roman polytheistic paganism The Edict of Milan was written in such a way as to implore the blessings of the deity Constantine called up the First Council of Nicaea in 325 although he was not a baptized Christian until years later Despite enjoying considerable popular support Christianity was still not the official state religion in Rome although it was in some neighboring states such as Armenia Iberia and Aksum Roman Religion Neoplatonic Hellenism was restored for a time by the Emperor Julian from 361 to 363 Julian does not appear to have reinstated the persecutions of the earlier Roman emperors Catholic Christianity as opposed to Arianism and other ideologies deemed heretical was declared to be the state religion of the Roman Empire on 27 February 380 178 by the decree De fide catolica of Emperor Theodosius I 179 Han dynasty Confucianism Edit In China the Han dynasty 206 BCE 220 CE advocated Confucianism as the de facto state religion establishing tests based on Confucian texts as an entrance requirement into government service although in fact the Confucianism advocated by the Han emperors may be more properly termed a sort of Confucian Legalism or State Confucianism This sort of Confucianism continued to be regarded by the emperors with a few notable exceptions as a form of state religion from this time until the collapse of the Chinese monarchy in 1912 Note however there is a debate over whether Confucianism including Neo Confucianism is a religion or purely a philosophical system 180 Yuan dynasty Buddhism Edit During the Mongol led Yuan dynasty of China 1271 1368 CE Tibetan Buddhism was established as the de facto state religion by the Kublai Khan the founder of the Yuan dynasty The top level department and government agency known as the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs Xuanzheng Yuan was set up in Khanbaliq modern Beijing to supervise Buddhist monks throughout the empire Since Kublai Khan only esteemed the Sakya sect of Tibetan Buddhism other religions became less important Before the end of the Yuan dynasty 14 leaders of the Sakya sect had held the post of Imperial Preceptor Dishi thereby enjoying special power 181 Golden Horde and Ilkhanate Edit Shamanism and Buddhism were once the dominant religions among the ruling class of the Mongol khanates of Golden Horde and Ilkhanate the two western khanates of the Mongol Empire In the early days the rulers of both khanates increasingly adopted Tibetan Buddhism similar to the Yuan dynasty at that time However the Mongol rulers Ghazan of Ilkhanate and Uzbeg of Golden Horde converted to Islam in 1295 CE because of the Muslim Mongol emir Nawruz and in 1313 CE because of Sufi Bukharan sayyid and sheikh Ibn Abdul Hamid respectively Their official favoring of Islam as the state religion coincided with a marked attempt to bring the regime closer to the non Mongol majority of the regions they ruled In Ilkhanate Christian and Jewish subjects lost their equal status with Muslims and again had to pay the poll tax Buddhists had the starker choice of conversion or expulsion 182 In Golden Horde Buddhism and Shamanism among the Mongols were proscribed and by 1315 Uzbeg had successfully Islamicized the Horde killing Jochid princes and Buddhist lamas who opposed his religious policy and succession of the throne Modern era Edit The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with North America and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject You may improve this article discuss the issue on the talk page or create a new article as appropriate August 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message Kingdom of Hawaii From 1862 to 1893 the Church of Hawaii an Anglican body was the official state and national church of the Kingdom of Hawaii Netherlands Article 133 of the 1814 Constitution stipulated the Sovereign Prince should be a member of the Reformed Church this provision was dropped in the 1815 Constitution 183 The 1815 Constitution also provided for a state salary and pension for the priesthood of established religions at the time Protestantism Catholicism and Judaism This settlement nicknamed de zilveren koorde the silver cord was abolished in 1983 184 185 186 Nepal was the world s only Hindu state until 2015 when the new constitution declared it a secular state Proselytizing remains illegal 187 188 Japanese Empire see details in the State Shintō article Sudan had Islam as the official religion during the rule of Omar al Bashir according to the Constitution of Sudan of 2005 189 It was declared a secular state in September 2020 190 Former state churches in British North America Edit This section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed November 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Protestant colonies Edit The colonies of Plymouth Massachusetts Bay Connecticut New Haven and New Hampshire were founded by Puritan Calvinist Protestants and had Congregational established churches The colonies of New York Virginia North Carolina South Carolina and Georgia maintained the Church of England as the established church The Colony of Maryland was founded by a charter granted in 1632 to George Calvert secretary of state to Charles I and his son Cecil both recent converts to Roman Catholicism Under their leadership many English Catholic gentry families settled in Maryland However the colonial government was officially neutral in religious affairs granting toleration to all Christian groups and enjoining them to avoid actions which antagonized the others On several occasions low church dissenters led insurrections which temporarily overthrew the Calvert rule In 1689 when William and Mary came to the English throne they acceded to demands to revoke the original royal charter In 1701 the Church of England was proclaimed and in the course of the 18th century Maryland Catholics were first barred from public office then disenfranchised although not all of the laws passed against them notably laws restricting property rights and imposing penalties for sending children to be educated in foreign Catholic institutions were enforced and some Catholics even continued to hold public office When Spanish Florida was ceded to Great Britain in 1763 the British divided Florida into two colonies East and West Florida which both continued a policy of toleration for the Catholic residents but established the Church of England as the state church Colonies with no established church Edit The Province of Pennsylvania was founded by Quakers but the colony never had an established church The Province of New Jersey without official religion had a significant Quaker lobby but Calvinists of all types also had a presence Delaware Colony had no established church but was contested between Catholics and Quakers The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations founded by religious dissenters forced to flee the Massachusetts Bay colony is widely regarded as the first polity to grant religious freedom to all its citizens although Catholics were barred intermittently Baptists Seekers Quakers and Jews made this colony their home The King Charles Charter of 1663 guaranteed full liberty in religious concernments Tabular summary Edit Colony Denomination Disestablished n 1 Connecticut Congregational 1818 192 Georgia Church of England 1789 n 2 Maryland Church of England 1776Massachusetts Congregational 1834 parish church system n 3 New Hampshire Congregational 1877 n 4 North Carolina Church of England 1776 n 5 South Carolina Church of England 1790West Florida Church of England n 6 1783 n 7 East Florida Church of England n 6 1783 n 7 Virginia Church of England 1786 n 8 West Indies Church of England 1868 Barbados not until 1969 In several colonies the establishment ceased to exist in practice at the Revolution about 1776 191 this is the date of permanent legal abolition In 1789 the Georgia Constitution was amended as follows Article IV Section 10 No person within this state shall upon any pretence be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshipping God in any manner agreeable to his own conscience nor be compelled to attend any place of worship contrary to his own faith and judgment nor shall he ever be obliged to pay tithes taxes or any other rate for the building or repairing any place of worship or for the maintenance of any minister or ministry contrary to what he believes to be right or hath voluntarily engaged To do No one religious society shall ever be established in this state in preference to another nor shall any person be denied the enjoyment of any civil right merely on account of his religious principles From 1780 to 1824 Massachusetts residents were all required to attend a parish church the denomination of which was chosen by majority vote of town residents but in effect this de facto established Congregationalism as the state religion For details see Constitution of Massachusetts Until 1877 the New Hampshire Constitution required members of the State legislature to be of the Protestant religion Until 1968 the Constitution allowed for state funding of Protestant classrooms but not Catholic classrooms The North Carolina Constitution of 1776 disestablished the Anglican church but until 1835 the NC Constitution allowed only Protestants to hold public office From 1835 to 1876 it allowed only Christians including Catholics to hold public office Article VI Section 8 of the current NC Constitution forbids any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God from holding public office Such clauses were held by the United States Supreme Court to be unenforceable in the 1961 case of Torcaso v Watkins when the court ruled unanimously that the First and Fourteenth Amendment protections prohibiting federal religious tests also applied to the states under the doctrine of incorporation a b Religious tolerance for Catholics with an established Church of England was the policy in the former Spanish Colonies of East and West Florida while under British rule a b In 1783 Peace of Paris which ended the American Revolutionary War the British ceded both East and West Florida back to Spain see Spanish Florida Tithes for the support of the Anglican Church in Virginia were suspended in 1776 and never restored 1786 is the date of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom which prohibited any coercion to support any religious body Non British colonies Edit These areas were disestablished and dissolved yet their presences were tolerated by the English and later British colonial governments as Foreign Protestants whose communities were expected to observe their own ways without causing controversy or conflict for the prevalent colonists After the Revolution their ethno religious backgrounds were chiefly sought as the most compatible non British Isles immigrants New Netherland was founded by Dutch Reformed Calvinists New Sweden was founded by Church of Sweden Lutherans State of Deseret Edit The State of Deseret was a provisional state of the United States proposed in 1849 by Mormon settlers in Salt Lake City The provisional state existed for slightly over two years but attempts to gain recognition by the United States government floundered for various reasons The Utah Territory which was then founded was under Mormon control and repeated attempts to gain statehood met resistance in part due to concerns that the principle of separation of church and state conflicted with the practice of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints placing their highest value on following counsel in virtually all matters relating to their church centered lives The state of Utah was eventually admitted to the union on 4 January 1896 after the various issues had been resolved 193 Established churches and former state churches EditCountry Church Denomination DisestablishedAnhalt Evangelical State Church of Anhalt united Protestant 1918Armenia Armenian Apostolic Church Oriental Orthodox 1921Austria Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1918Baden Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1918United Evangelical Protestant State Church of Baden united Protestant 1918Bavaria Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1918Protestant State Church in the Kingdom of Bavaria right of the Rhine Lutheran and Reformed 1918United Protestant Evangelical Christian Church of the Palatinate united Protestant 1918Barbados Church of England Anglican 1968Bolivia Roman Catholic Church Catholic 2009Brazil note 3 Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1890Brunswick Evangelical Lutheran State Church in Brunswick Lutheran 1918Bulgaria Bulgarian Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox 1946Central African Empire Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1979Chile Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1925Colombia Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1936 194 Cuba Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1902Cyprus Cypriot Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox 1977 following the death of the Ethnarch Makarios IIICzechoslovakia Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1920Denmark Church of Denmark Lutheran CurrentEngland Church of England Anglican CurrentEthiopia Ethiopian Orthodox Church Oriental Orthodox 1974Faroe Islands Church of the Faroe Islands Lutheran Elevated from a diocese of the Church of Denmark in 2007 the two remain in close cooperation Finland Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland Lutheran 1867Finnish Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox 1917France Cult of Reason N A 1794 established 1793 Cult of the Supreme Being N A 1794 officially banned in 1802Roman Catholic Church note 4 Catholic 1830Georgia Georgian Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox 1921Greece Greek Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox 65 The Church of Greece is recognized by the Greek Constitution as the prevailing religion in Greece 65 However this provision does not give official status to the Church of Greece while all other religions are recognized as equal and may be practiced freely 68 Greenland Church of Denmark Lutheran Under discussion to be elevated from The Diocese of Greenland in the Church of Denmark to a state church for Greenland along the lines the Faroese Church took in 2007Guatemala Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1871Haiti Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1987Hawaii Church of Hawaii Anglican 1893Hesse Evangelical Church in Hesse united Protestant 1918Hungary note 5 Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1946Iceland Lutheran Evangelical Church Lutheran CurrentIndonesia Roman Catholic Church Catholic de facto official religion along with Protestantism Islam Buddhism Hinduism and ConfucianismProtestant Church de facto official religion along with Catholicism Islam Buddhism Hinduism and ConfucianismIreland note 6 Church of Ireland Anglican 1871Italy Roman Catholic Church Catholic 18 February 1984 into force 25 April 1985 201 Liechtenstein Roman Catholic Church 49 Catholic CurrentLippe Church of Lippe Reformed 1918Lithuania Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1940Lubeck Evangelical Lutheran Church in the State of Lubeck Lutheran 1918Luxembourg Roman Catholic Church Catholic Not an official state church 202 Malta Roman Catholic Church Catholic CurrentMecklenburg Schwerin Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Mecklenburg Schwerin Lutheran 1918Mecklenburg Strelitz Mecklenburg Strelitz State Church Lutheran 1918Mexico Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1857 reestablished between 1864 and 1867 Monaco Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1999 reestablished again in 2020 present Netherlands Dutch Reformed Church Reformed 1795Nicaragua Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1987North Macedonia Macedonian Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox 1921Norway Church of Norway Lutheran As of 2012 the Constitution of Norway no longer names Lutheranism as the official religion of the state and in 2017 the church became an independent legal entity 203 204 205 but article 16 says that The Church of Norway will remain the National Church of Norway and will as such be supported by the State 206 As of 1 January 2017 the Church of Norway is a legal entity independent of the state 203 207 Oldenburg Evangelical Lutheran Church of Oldenburg Lutheran 1918Panama Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1904Paraguay Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1992 208 Peru Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1993Philippines note 7 Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1898Poland note 8 Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1947Portugal note 9 Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1910 1976Prussiapre 1866 provinces Evangelical State Church of Prussia s older Provinces with nine ecclesiastical provinces united Protestant 1918PrussiaProvince of Hanover Evangelical Reformed State Church of the Province of Hanover Reformed 1918Prussia Province of Hanover Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Hanover Lutheran 1918Prussia Province of Hesse Nassau partially Evangelical State Church of Frankfurt upon Main united Protestant 1918Prussia Province of Hesse Nassau partially Evangelical Church of Electoral Hesse united Protestant 1918Prussia Province of Hesse Nassau partially Evangelical State Church in Nassau united Protestant 1918Prussia Prov of Schleswig Holstein Evangelical Lutheran Church of Schleswig Holstein Lutheran 1918Romania Romanian Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox 1947Russia Russian Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox 1917Thuringia church bodies in principalities which merged in Thuringia in 1920 Lutheran 1918Saxony Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Saxony Lutheran 1918Schaumburg Lippe Evangelical State Church of Schaumburg Lippe Lutheran 1918Scotland 209 Church of Scotland Presbyterian Remains the national church state control disclaimed since 1638 Formally recognised as not an established church by the Church of Scotland Act 1921 Serbia Serbian Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox 1920Spain Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1978Sweden Church of Sweden Lutheran 2000Switzerland separate Cantonal Churches Landeskirchen Zwinglianism Calvinism and Catholic During the 20th centuryTuvalu Church of Tuvalu Reformed CurrentUruguay Roman Catholic Church Catholic 1918 into effect in 1919 United States note 10 none since 1776 which was made explicit in the Bill of Rights in 1792 none n a some state legislatures required all citizens in those states to be members of a church and some had official churches such as Congregationalism in some New England states such as Massachusetts This eventually ended in 1833 when Massachusetts was the last state to disestablish its church Waldeck Evangelical State Church of Waldeck and Pyrmont united Protestants 1918Wales note 11 Church of England Anglican 1920Wurttemberg Evangelical State Church in Wurttemberg Lutheran 1918Former confessional states EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed April 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Buddhism Edit Country Denomination DisestablishedKalmyk Tibetan Buddhism 1771Laos Theravada Buddhism 1975 214 Mongolia Tibetan Buddhism 1926Siam Thailand Theravada Buddhism 1932Tibet Tibetan Buddhism 1951Vietnam Thiền 1407 de jure 1413 de facto Yuan Tibetan Buddhism 1368Hinduism Edit Country DisestablishedChampa 1832Nepal 2015 de jure 2008 de facto Manipur 1748 215 Garhwal 1949Jaffna 1619Maharashtra 1818Hindu Shahi dynasty 1026Baroda 1949Bundi 1949Gangga Negara 1026Kutai 1635Nawanagar 1947Vijayanagara 1646Udaipur 1949Kamarupa 1140Pudukkottai 1948Bhoi 1947Koch 1949Sikhism Edit Country DisestablishedKhalsa Kingdom 1849Confucianism Edit Country Denomination DisestablishedChina Confucianism 1912Korea Korean Confucianism 1897Vietnam Neo Confucianism 1789Vietnamese Confucianism 1945Islam Edit Country Denomination DisestablishedSudan Sunni Islam 2020Turkey Sunni Islam 1928Tunisia Sunni Islam 2022 216 Paganism Edit Country Denomination DisestablishedDenmark Norse paganism 960Iceland Norse paganism 1000Norway Norse paganism 1015Sweden Norse paganism 1014Shinto Edit Country Denomination DisestablishedJapan State Shinto 1947 de facto The head of state the Emperor of Japan is still Shinto as of 2023 as is the Prime minister Kishida and the recent expensive coronation was paid for by the taxpayer giving Shinto continued favored status State atheism Edit Country DisestablishedAfghanistan 1980Albania 1992Angola 1992Bulgaria 1991 de facto Cambodia 1993Czechoslovak 1990 de jure Ethiopia 1991Hungary 1989 de facto Laos 1991Kampuchea 1979Mozambique 1990 de facto Poland 1989 de jure Romania 1989Soviet Union 1991 de facto Yugoslavia 1992 de facto Zoroastrianism Edit Country DisestablishedArmenia 301 ADMedes Iran 651 ADSee also EditBlasphemy law Ceremonial deism Church tax Civil religion Confessional state Divine rule Elite religion Institutional theory Major religious groups Nonsectarian Religious education Religious toleration Secular religion Secularism Secularity Secularization Separation of church and state Sociology of religion State atheism Status of religious freedom by country Secular stateNotes Edit Bhutan 1 Mauritania 2 Western Sahara via Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic 3 and Morocco 4 which divide control Morocco 4 Tunisia 5 Egypt 6 England 7 Jordan 8 Iraq 9 Pakistan 10 Bangladesh 11 United Arab Emirates 12 Oman 13 Yemen 14 Maldives 15 Iran 16 Algeria 17 Saudi Arabia 18 Sri Lanka 19 Afghanistan 20 Somalia 21 Malaysia 22 Brunei 23 Greece 24 Denmark 25 Costa Rica 26 Zambia 27 See also here The Constitution also states that Any matter relating to divorce judicial separation or restitution of conjugal rights or to family relations of the members of the Greek Orthodox Church shall be cognizable by family courts each of which is composed For a divorce trial of three judges one of which is a lawyer ecclesiastical officer appointed by the Greek Orthodox Church and presides over the Court and the other two of high professional and moral standard belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church are appointed by the Supreme Court among lawyers If no ecclesiastical officer is appointed as above the Supreme Court appoints the President of the Court as well 70 Brazilian Laws the Federal Constitution The Organization of State V brazil com Retrieved 5 May 2012 Brazil had Roman Catholicism as the state religion from the country s independence in 1822 until the fall of the Brazilian Empire The new Republican government passed in 1890 Decree 119 A Decreto 119 A Prohibits federal and state authorities to intervene on religion granting freedom of religion still in force instituting the separation of church and state for the first time in Brazilian law Positivist thinker Demetrio Nunes Ribeiro urged the new government to adopt this stance The 1891 Constitution the first under the Republican system of government abolished privileges for any specific religion reaffirming the separation of church and state This has been the case ever since the 1988 Constitution of Brazil currently in force does so in its Nineteenth Article The Preamble to the Constitution does refer to God s protection over the document s promulgation but this is not legally taken as endorsement of belief in any deity In France the Concordat of 1801 made the Roman Catholic Calvinist Lutheran churches and Judaism state sponsored religions until 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State In Hungary the constitutional laws of 1848 declared five established churches on equal status the Roman Catholic Calvinist Lutheran Eastern Orthodox and Unitarian Church In 1868 the law was ratified again after the Ausgleich In 1895 Judaism was also recognized as the sixth established church In 1948 every distinction between the different denominations were abolished 195 196 In the Kingdom of Ireland the Church of Ireland was established in the Reformation 197 The Act of Union 1800 created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland with the United Church of England and Ireland established outside Scotland The Irish Church Act 1869 demerged and disestablished the Church of Ireland 197 and the island was partitioned in 1922 The Republic of Ireland s 1937 constitution prohibits an established religion 198 Originally it recognized the special position of the Roman Catholic Church as the guardian of the Faith professed by the great majority of the citizens and recognized the Church of Ireland the Presbyterian Church in Ireland the Methodist Church in Ireland the Religious Society of Friends in Ireland as well as the Jewish Congregations and the other religious denominations existing in Ireland at the date of the coming into operation of this Constitution 199 These provisions were deleted in 1973 200 The Philippines was among several possessions ceded by Spain to the United States in 1898 religious freedom was subsequently guaranteed in the archipelago This was codified in the Philippine Organic Act 1902 section 5 That no law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof and that the free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship without discrimination or preference shall forever be allowed A similarly worded provision still exists in the present Constitution Catholicism remains the predominant religion wielding considerable political and cultural influence Article 25 of the constitution states 1 Churches and other religious organizations shall have equal rights 2 Public authorities in the Republic of Poland shall be impartial in matters of personal conviction Article 114 of the Polish March Constitution of 1921 declared the Roman Catholic Church to hold the principal position among religious denominations equal before the law in reference to the idea of first among equals The article was continued in force by article 81 of the April Constitution of 1935 The Soviet backed PKWN Manifesto of 1944 reintroduced the March Constitution which remained in force until it was replaced by the Small Constitution of 1947 Until 1910 Roman Catholic Church was considered as state religion Between 1951 and 1976 Catholic religion was considered as religion of the Portuguese Nation The First Amendment to the U S Constitution explicitly forbids the federal government from enacting any law respecting a religious establishment and thus forbids either designating an official church for the United States or interfering with State and local official churches which were common when the First Amendment was enacted It did not prevent state governments from establishing official churches Connecticut continued to do so until it replaced its colonial Charter with the Connecticut Constitution of 1818 Massachusetts retained an establishment of religion in general until 1833 210 Until its substitution by Article of Amendment XI in 1834 Article III of the Massachusetts constitution s bill of rights provided the legislature shall from time to time authorize and require the several towns parishes precincts and other bodies politic or religious societies to make suitable provision at their own expense for the institution of the public worship of God and for the support and maintenance of public Protestant teachers of piety religion and morality in all cases where such provision shall not be made voluntarily 211 The Fourteenth Amendment to the U S Constitution ratified in 1868 makes no mention of religious establishment but forbids the states to abridge the privileges or immunities of U S citizens or to deprive any person of life liberty or property without due process of law In the 1947 case of Everson v Board of Education the United States Supreme Court held that this later provision incorporates the First Amendment s Establishment Clause as applying to the States and thereby prohibits state and local religious establishments The exact boundaries of this prohibition are still disputed and are a frequent source of cases before the U S Supreme Court especially as the Court must now balance on a state level the First Amendment prohibitions on government establishment of official religions with the First Amendment prohibitions on government interference with the free exercise of religion See school prayer for such a controversy in contemporary American politics All current State constitutions do mention a Creator but include guarantees of religious liberty parallel to the First Amendment The constitutions of eight states Arkansas Maryland Mississippi North Carolina Pennsylvania South Carolina Tennessee and Texas also contain clauses that prohibit atheists from holding public office 212 213 However these clauses were held by the U S Supreme Court to be unenforceable in the 1961 case of Torcaso v Watkins where the court ruled unanimously that such clauses constituted a religious test incompatible with the religious test prohibition in Article 6 Section 3 of the United States Constitution The Church of Hawaii was the state church of Hawaii from 1862 1893 The Church in Wales was split from the Church of England in 1920 by Welsh Church Act 1914 at the same time becoming disestablished References Edit THE INSCRUTABLE GUARDIAN OF THUNDER AND SILENCE the Dragon Druk in Himalayan Symbology Mauritania CIA World Factbook 22 November 2021 a b Shelley Toby August 2004 Endgame in the Western Sahara What Future for Africa s Last Colony Zed Books ISBN 978 1 84277 341 3 a b Morocco CIA World Factbook 23 November 2021 Tunisia CIA World Factbook 24 November 2021 said Ed O Rourke on 9 February 2013 The 2012 Constitution of Egypt Translated by Nivien Saleh with Index Nivien Saleh Retrieved 2 January 2023 United Kingdom s Constitution of 1215 with Amandments through 2013 Jordan CIA World Factbook 24 November 2021 Iraq CIA World Factbook 22 November 2021 Pakistan CIA World Factbook 30 November 2021 Bangladesh CIA World Factbook 16 November 2021 United Arab Emirates CIA World Factbook 23 November 2021 Oman CIA World Factbook 30 November 2021 Yemen CIA World Factbook 24 November 2021 Maldives CIA World Factbook 23 November 2021 LL M Prof Dr Axel Tschentscher ICL gt Iran gt Constitution www servat unibe ch Retrieved 2 January 2023 Algeria CIA World Factbook 18 November 2021 The Basic Law of Governance Chapter one Article one saudiembassy net The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a sovereign Arab Islamic State Its religion is Islam Its constitution is Almighty God s Book The Holy Qur an and the Sunna Traditions of the Prophet PBUH Arabic is the language of the Kingdom The City of Riyadh is the capital Sri Lanka CIA World Factbook 3 October 2022 The Constitution of Afghanistan Chapter one Article two afghan web com Somalia CIA World Factbook 19 November 2021 Federal Constitution agc gov my Ibp Usa International Business Publications USA 2007 Brunei Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu Izzaddin Waddaulah Handbook Int l Business Publications pp 133 ISBN 978 1 4330 0444 5 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a author2 has generic name help Greece CIA World Factbook 29 November 2021 Denmark CIA World Factbook 30 November 2021 Title VI Article 75 of The Constitution of Costa Rica costaricalaw com Zambia s Constitution of 1991 with Amendments through 2009 PDF CIA World Factbook The Journal of Ecclesiastical History p 268 by Cambridge University Press Gale Group C W Dugmore The headship was administrative and jurisdictional but did not include the potestas ordinis the right to preach ordain administer the sacraments and rites of the Church which were reserved to the clergy Bray Gerald Documents of the English Reformation James Clarke amp Cº 1994 p 114 Neill Stephen Anglicanism Penguin 1960 p 61 The concerned religious communities are the dioceses of Metz and of Strasbourg the Lutheran EPCAAL and the Reformed EPRAL and the three Israelite consistories in Colmar Metz and Strasbourg Background 15 July 2010 Archived from the original on 15 July 2010 Retrieved 28 January 2021 Draft of Tsa Thrim Chhenmo PDF constitution bt 1 August 2007 Archived from the original PDF on 27 November 2007 Retrieved 18 October 2007 Article 3 Spiritual Heritage Buddhism is the spiritual heritage of Bhutan which promotes the principles and values of peace non violence compassion and tolerance The Druk Gyalpo is the protector of all religions in Bhutan It shall be the responsibility of religious institutions and personalities to promote the spiritual heritage of the country while also ensuring that religion remains separate from politics in Bhutan Religious institutions and personalities shall remain above politics The Druk Gyalpo shall on the recommendation of the Five Lopons appoint a learned and respected monk ordained in accordance with the Druk lu blessed with the nine qualities of a spiritual master and accomplished in ked dzog as the Je Khenpo His Holiness the Je Khenpo shall on the recommendation of the Dratshang Lhentshog appoint monks blessed with the nine qualities of a spiritual master and accomplished in ked dzog as the Five Lopons The members of the Dratshang Lhentshog shall comprise a The Je Khenpo as Chairman b The Five Lopons of the Zhung Dratshang and c The Secretary of the Dratshang Lhentshog who is a civil servant The Zhung Dratshang and Rabdeys shall continue to receive adequate funds and other facilities from the State Bhutan s Constitution of 2008 PDF constituteproject org Retrieved 29 October 2017 Constitution of Cambodia cambodia org Retrieved 13 April 2011 Article 43 East Asia Southeast Asia Cambodia The World Factbook Central Intelligence Agency cia gov 24 November 2021 Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar 2008 Constitutional Tribunal of the Union ၁၉၆၁ ခ န စ န င င တ ဘ သ သ သန ခ မ က ထ က ပ ရ အက ဥပဒ 1961 year State Religion Promotion and Support Act Constitutional Tribunal of the Union Law Library Sri Lanka Article 67 The State should support and protect Buddhism In supporting and protecting Buddhism the State should promote and support education and dissemination of dharmic principles of Theravada Buddhism and shall have measures and mechanisms to prevent Buddhism from being undermined in any form The State should also encourage Buddhists to participate in implementing such measures or mechanisms Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand PDF constitutionnet org Retrieved 29 October 2017 Lao People s Democratic Republic s Constitution of 1991 with Amendments through 2003 PDF constituteproject org Retrieved 29 October 2017 Article 9 The State respects and protects all lawful activities of Buddhists and of followers of other religions and mobilises and encourages Buddhist monks and novices as well as the priests of other religions to participate in activities that are beneficial to the country and people SINCLAIR TARA 2008 Tibetan Reform and the Kalmyk Revival of Buddhism Inner Asia 10 2 241 259 doi 10 1163 000000008793066713 ISSN 1464 8172 JSTOR 23615096 Buddhism in Russia challenges and choices in the post Soviet period ResearchGate Retrieved 3 February 2021 Kalmykia few complaints over Kalmykia s state support for Buddhism english religion info Retrieved 3 February 2021 Wyeth Grant 16 June 2017 Samoa Officially Becomes a Christian State The Diplomat Feagaimaali i Luamanu Joyetter 8 June 2017 Constitutional Amendment Passes Samoa Officially Becomes Christian State Pacific Islands Report Constitution of Zambia Retrieved 19 October 2016 Costa Rica Constitution in English Constitutional Law Costa Rica Legal Topics costaricalaw com Archived from the original on 6 September 2015 Vatican City Catholic Pages com Retrieved 12 August 2013 a b Constitution Religion at the Wayback Machine archived 26 March 2009 archived from the original on 2009 03 26 Constitution of Malta Article 2 mjha gov mt Constitution de la Principaute at the Wayback Machine archived 27 September 2011 French Art 9 Principaute De Monaco Ministere d Etat archived from the original on 2011 09 27 Temperman Jeroen 2010 State Religion Relationships and Human Rights Law Towards a Right to Religiously Neutral Governance BRILL ISBN 9789004181496 guarantees the Roman Catholic Church free and public exercise of its activities and the preservation of the relations of special co operation with the state in accordance with the Andorran tradition The Constitution recognizes the full legal capacity of the bodies of the Roman Catholic Church which have legal status in accordance with their own rules Argentina s Constitution of 1853 Reinstated in 1983 with Amendments through 1994 PDF constituteproject org Argentina Religion argentina gob ar Archived from the original on 8 October 2014 Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste PDF Governo de Timor Leste Google Translate Retrieved 18 March 2015 Constitution of the Republic of El Salvador as Amended to 2003 PDF 3 January 2015 Archived from the original PDF on 3 January 2015 Guatemala s Constitution of 1985 with Amendments through 1993 PDF Constitution Project The juridical personality of the Catholic Church is recognized The other churches cults entities and associations of religious character will obtain the recognition of their juridical personality in accordance with the rules of their institution and the Government may not deny it aside from reasons of public order The State will extend to the Catholic Church without any cost the titles of ownership of the real assets which it holds peacefully for its own purposes as long as they have formed part of the patrimony of the Catholic Church in the past The property assigned to third parties or those Constitution of the Italian Republic PDF Senato it Retrieved 6 June 2021 The State and the Catholic Church are independent and sovereign each within its own sphere Their relations are regulated by the Lateran pacts Amendments to such Pacts which are accepted by both parties shall not require the procedure of constitutional amendments Constitution of the Italian Republic PDF Senato it Retrieved 6 June 2021 All religious denominations are equally free before the law Denominations other than Catholicism have the right to self organisation according to their own statutes provided these do not conflict with Italian law Their relations with the State are regulated by law based on agreements with their respective representatives Executive Summary Panama 2013 Report on International Religious Freedom United States Department of State Constitution of the Republic of Paraguay The role played by the Catholic Church in the historical and cultural formation of the Republic is hereby recognized Constitution of the Republic of Peru PDF Within an independent and autonomous system the State recognizes the Catholic Church as an important element in the historical cultural and moral formation of Peru and lends it its cooperation The State respects other denominations and may establish forms of collaboration with them The Constitution of the Republic of Poland 2 April 1997 The relations between the Republic of Poland and the Roman Catholic Church shall be determined by international treaty concluded with the Holy See and by statute The relations between the Republic of Poland and other churches and religious organizations shall be determined by statutes adopted pursuant to agreements concluded between their appropriate representatives and the Council of Ministers Spanish Constitution Sections 14 16 amp 27 3 Constitution of 29 December 1978 PDF Retrieved 5 March 2018 No religion shall have a state character The public authorities shall take into account the religious beliefs of Spanish society and shall consequently maintain appropriate cooperation relations with the Catholic Church and other confessions a b c Constitution of Greece www hri org Retrieved 2 January 2023 Enyedi Zsolt Madeley John T S 2 August 2004 Church and State in Contemporary Europe Routledge p 228 ISBN 9781135761417 Both as a state church and as a national church the Orthodox Church of Greece has a lot in common with Protestant state churches and even with Catholicism in some countries Meyendorff John 1981 The Orthodox Church Its Past and Its Role in the World Today St Vladimir s Seminary Press p 155 ISBN 9780913836811 Greece therefore is today the only country where the Orthodox Church remains a state church and plays a dominant role in the life of the country a b Constitution of Greece www hri org Retrieved 2 January 2023 The Bulgarian Constitution Parliament of Bulgaria Retrieved 20 December 2011 a b Cyprus s Constitution of 1960 with Amendments through 2013 PDF Constitution Project LL M Prof Dr Axel Tschentscher ICL gt Finland gt Constitution servat unibe ch Retrieved 2 January 2023 Salla Korpela May 2005 The Church in Finland today Finland Promotion Board Produced by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs Department for Communications and Culture Constitution of Georgia Article 9 1 amp 2 and 73 1a1 Russia Ukraine and the battle for religion European Council on Foreign Relations 11 October 2018 The History of the Church of England The Archbishops Council of the Church of England Retrieved 24 May 2006 About Guernsey Deanery Church of England Gell Sir James Gell on Manx Church Isle of Man Online IOM Online Retrieved 7 February 2017 a b Scotland The Church of 22 February 2010 Our structure The Church of Scotland Retrieved 7 April 2021 Refugees United Nations High Commissioner for Refworld 2010 Report on International Religious Freedom Tuvalu Retrieved 23 February 2017 Constitution of Tuvalu article 23 LL M Prof Dr Axel Tschentscher ICL gt Denmark gt Constitution www servat unibe ch Retrieved 2 January 2023 Juergensmeyer Mark Roof Wade Clark 18 October 2011 Encyclopedia of Global Religion SAGE Publications ISBN 978 1 4522 6656 5 Constitution of Denmark Section IV PDF Archived PDF from the original on 1 March 2016 Retrieved 22 September 2016 The Evangelical Lutheran Church shall be the Established Church of Denmark and as such it shall be supported by the State lex www government is Retrieved 2 January 2023 International Humanist and Ethical Union State and Church move towards greater separation in Norway 26 June 2012 Retrieved 18 March 2015 a b LL M Prof Dr Axel Tschentscher ICL gt Finland gt Constitution servat unibe ch Retrieved 23 June 2021 Riksdagsforvaltningen Lag 1998 1591 om Svenska kyrkan Svensk forfattningssamling 1998 1998 1591 t o m SFS 2009 1234 Riksdagen www riksdagen se in Swedish Retrieved 23 June 2021 Riksdagsforvaltningen Successionsordning 1810 0926 Svensk forfattningssamling 1810 1810 0926 Riksdagen www riksdagen se in Swedish Retrieved 23 June 2021 National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia parliament am Refugees United Nations High Commissioner for Refworld 2011 Report on International Religious Freedom Dominican Republic Refworld Retrieved 2 January 2023 Church state tie opens door for mosque The New York Times 7 October 2008 Retrieved 2 November 2013 Haiti State gov 14 September 2007 Retrieved 4 January 2014 International Religious Freedom Report for 2015 2009 2017 state gov Retrieved 2 January 2023 Hungary s Constitution of 2011 Retrieved 9 February 2016 Nicaragua s Constitution of 1987 with Amendments through 2014 PDF Constitute Project Retrieved 21 July 2022 Concordat Watch Portugal Concordat 2004 text concordatwatch eu Constitution of India Legislative Department Ministry of Law and Justice GoI Why India is Not a Secular State 3 February 2022 Is there a Hindu bias in India s secular Constitution A 2005 academic paper suggests as much https www pewresearch org fact tank 2021 06 29 key findings about religion in india https www history com topics religion hinduism Why painting of Ram in India s Constitution matters 26 January 2021 https indiankanoon org doc 1881449 bare URL Cow protection was a sensitive subject in India even when the Constitution was being framed https indiankanoon org doc 1452355 bare URL https www joinindiannavy gov in en about us maritime heritage html text The 20invocation 20to 20Lord 20Varuna auspicious 20unto 20us 20Oh 20Varuna E2 80 9D https indianairforce nic in being an airwarrior text The 20Motto 20of 20the 20Indian the 20Great 20War 20of 20Mahabharata The Constitution of Nepal PDF Nepal Gazette 20 September 2015 Retrieved 7 May 2021 Constitution of Napal in Nepali PDF mohp gov np Retrieved 7 May 2021 https scroll in article 756609 nepals new constitution comes into force on sunday but minorities say it privileges hindus https www state gov reports 2021 report on international religious freedom nepal Saudi Arabia imposes death sentence for Bible smuggling deathpenaltynews 30 November 2014 Saudi Arabia s New Law Imposes Death Sentence for Bible Smugglers The Christian Post 18 December 2014 Retrieved 5 March 2015 SAUDI ARABIA IMPOSES DEATH SENTENCE FOR BIBLE SMUGGLING Archived from the original on 8 April 2016 Retrieved 5 March 2015 Sheen J Freedom of Religion and Belief A World Report Routledge 1997 p 452 The Constitution of Afghanistan PDF Afghanistan 1987 Archived from the original PDF on 3 July 2009 Retrieved 30 July 2009 Article 2 of the Algerian Constitution of 2016 Avant Projet de Revision de la Constitution PDF constitutionnet org in French 28 December 2015 Article 2 of the Constitution of Bahrain Bahrain s Constitution of 2002 with Amendments through 2012 PDF constituteproject org Retrieved 29 October 2017 The Constitution of the People s Republic of Bangladesh 2A The state religion bdlaws minlaw gov bd Brunei Darussalam s Constitution of 1959 with Amendments through 2006 PDF constituteproject org 6 June 2017 Comoros s Constitution of 2001 with Amendments through 2009 PDF constituteproject org 6 June 2017 Djibouti s Constitution of 1992 with Amendments through 2010 PDF constituteproject org 6 June 2017 Unofficial translation of the 2014 constitution Iran Islamic Republic of s Constitution of 1979 with Amendments through 1989 PDF constituteproject org Retrieved 29 October 2017 Iraqi Constitution PDF Archived from the original PDF on 28 November 2016 The Constitution of The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan 1 January 1952 Archived from the original on 26 April 2013 Retrieved 29 October 2017 Kuwait s Constitution of 1962 Reinstated in 1992 PDF constituteproject org Retrieved 29 October 2017 Draft Constitutional Charter For the Transitional Stage PDF Retrieved 29 October 2017 Federal Constitution Incorporating all amendments up to P U A 164 2009 PDF Laws of Malaysia Retrieved 29 October 2017 Maldives s Constitution of 2008 PDF constituteproject org Retrieved 29 October 2017 Mauritania s Constitution of 1991 with Amendments through 2012 PDF constituteproject org Retrieved 29 October 2017 Morocco Draft Text of the Constitution Adopted at the Referendum of 1 July 2011 PDF constitutionnet org Buffalo New York William S Hein amp Co Inc 2011 Oman s Constitution of 1996 with Amendments through 2011 PDF constituteproject org Retrieved 29 October 2017 Part I Introductory Pakistani org Retrieved 4 June 2013 Palestine Basic Law www mideastweb org Retrieved 2 January 2023 The Constitution Archived from the original on 24 October 2004 Retrieved 29 October 2017 The Basic Law of Governance Archived from the original on 23 March 2014 Retrieved 29 October 2017 The Federal Republic of Somalia Provisional Constitution PDF Archived from the original PDF on 24 January 2013 Retrieved 29 October 2017 United Arab Emirates s Constitution of 1971 with Amendments through 2004 PDF constituteproject org Retrieved 29 October 2017 The Constitution of the Republic of Yemen As amended on 20 February 2001 PDF constitutionnet org Retrieved 29 October 2017 Tajikistan New Law on Religious Organizations Library of Congress https m groundreport in article why tunisia abandoning islam as a state religion 127714 Factbox What s in Tunisia s new constitution Reuters Retrieved 9 December 2022 Turkish Constitution Anayasa Mahkemesi www anayasa gov tr Religion Youth for Understanding Turkiye Kurumsal Turkey may have reclaimed the leadership of Sunni Islam from Saudi Arabia Middle East Monitor 30 July 2020 Retrieved 2 June 2021 2008 Report on International Religious Freedom Afghanistan United States Department of State 19 September 2008 Retrieved 2 July 2009 Religion and the Secular State in Turkmenistan Silk Road Paper Institute for Security and Development Policy Ohlsson Henrik 12 December 2011 Islam and Secular State in Uzbekistan State Control of Religion and its Implications for the Understanding of Secularity Cahiers d Asie centrale 19 20 485 493 via journals openedition org Trouble in Utopia The Overburdened Polity of Israel by Dan Horowitz and Moshe Lissak pp 51 52 Israel and the occupied territories 29 October 2009 Archived from the original on 29 October 2009 Retrieved 2 January 2023 Gentile Emilio 2006 2001 Le religioni della politica Fra democrazie e totalitarismi Politics as Religion Princeton University Press Dillon Michael 2001 Religious Minorities and China Minority Rights Group International Rowan Callick Party Time Who Runs China and How Black Inc 2013 p 112 a b French Howard 3 March 2007 Religious surge in once atheist China surprises leaders The New York Times Retrieved 25 November 2013 A surprising map of where the world s atheists live The Washington Post Retrieved 25 November 2013 Party s secret directives on how to eradicate religion and ensure the victory of atheism Asian News Retrieved 25 November 2013 China announces civilizing atheism drive in Tibet BBC 12 January 1999 Retrieved 25 November 2013 Women in Personal Status Laws Retrieved 26 March 2013 R Rabil 12 September 2011 Religion National Identity and Confessional Politics in Lebanon The Challenge of Islamism Palgrave Macmillan US ISBN 978 0 230 33925 5 Jeroen Temperman 2010 State Religion Relationships and Human Rights Law Towards a Right to Religiously Neutral Governance BRILL ISBN 9789004181489 Bourdeaux Michael 2003 Trends in Religious Policy Eastern Europe Russia and Central Asia Taylor and Francis pp 46 52 ISBN 9781857431377 Russia s De Facto State Religion The Christian Post 24 April 2008 Russian Orthodoxy now de facto state religion The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles 24 April 2008 The Russian Orthodox Church from farce to tragedy openDemocracy 3 May 2012 Bennett Brian P 2011 Religion and Language in Post Soviet Russia Routledge ISBN 9781136736131 the Russian Orthodox Church has become de facto state Church Backlash of faith shakes atheists The Guardian 7 January 2001 It is only natural there has been a surge in interest in religion over the past decade given the repression that went before Levinson said But we are particularly concerned about the growing influence of the Russian Orthodox Church which has become the de facto state religion to the exclusion of all other convictions At Expense of All Others Putin Picks a Church The New York Times 24 April 2008 Just as the government has tightened control over political life so too has it intruded in matters of faith The Kremlin s surrogates in many areas have turned the Russian Orthodox Church into a de facto official religion This map of the world s most religiously diverse countries may surprise you 15 April 2014 Inter Religious Organisation Singapore IRO iro sg 9 Marxist Leninist Scientific Atheism as the Science of Religion Marxist Leninist Scientific Atheism and the Study of Religion and Atheism in the USSR De Gruyter pp 359 384 31 December 1983 doi 10 1515 9783110838589 359 ISBN 978 3 11 083858 9 retrieved 29 January 2021 Buddhism in Vietnam An Education in Enlightenment 23 July 2015 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link 404 This page could not be found a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a Cite uses generic title help CS1 maint url status link Vietnam United States Department of State Retrieved 27 January 2021 The Theodosian Code The Latin Library at Ad Fontes Academy Ad Fontes Academy Retrieved 23 November 2006 Halsall Paul June 1997 Theodosian Code XVI i 2 Medieval Sourcebook Banning of Other Religions Fordham University Retrieved 23 November 2006 Sources on Confucian religiosity History of civilizations of Central Asia A D 750 to the end of the fifteenth century Part two The achievements p 59 Medieval Persia 1040 1797 David Morgan p 72 Artikel 133 Vorst belijdt de christelijke hervormde Godsdienst Nederlandse grondwet Retrieved 23 February 2017 Artikel 194 Traktementen pensioenen en andere inkomsten Nederlandse grondwet Retrieved 23 February 2017 Info rug nl wetten nl Regeling Wet beeindiging financiele verhouding tussen Staat en Kerk BWBR0003640 Retrieved 23 February 2017 Nepal Adopts New Constitution Becomes a Secular State 5 Facts NDTV 20 September 2015 The Constitution of Nepal PDF wipo int 20 September 2015 Constitution of Sudan Article 5 paragraph 1 Sudan ends 30 years of Islamic law by separating religion state gulfnews com The Roots of Religious Liberty Rights of the People Individual freedom and the Bill of Rights US State Department December 2003 Archived from the original on 3 June 2004 Retrieved 6 April 2007 See History of the Connecticut Constitution Struggle For Statehood Edward Leo Lyman Utah History Encyclopedia John Gunter Inside Latin America 1941 p 166 Constitution of the Republic of Hungary at the Wayback Machine archived 20 February 2008 archived from the original on 2008 02 20 The right of thought the freedom of conscience and religion at the Wayback Machine archived 23 May 2007 archived from the original on 2007 05 23 a b Livingstone E A Sparks M W D Peacocke R W 2013 Ireland The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church Oxford University Press p 286 ISBN 978 0199659623 Constitution of Ireland Irish Statute Book pp Article 44 Retrieved 3 December 2014 Keogh Dermot McCarthy Dr Andrew 1 January 2007 The Making of the Irish Constitution 1937 Bunreacht Na HEireann Mercier Press p 172 ISBN 978 1856355612 Fifth Amendment of the Constitution Act 1972 Irish Statute Book Retrieved 3 December 2014 Andrea Mammone Giuseppe A Veltri 2010 Italy today the sick man of Europe Taylor amp Francis p 168 Note 1 ISBN 978 0415561594 Luxembourg PDF a b kontor Statsministerens 27 May 2016 Offisielt fra statsradet 27 mai 2016 Regjeringa no in Norwegian Nynorsk Retrieved 2 January 2023 Rasmussen Tarald Bangstad Sindre Jacobsen Knut A Groth Bente 23 April 2018 religion i Norge via Store norske leksikon 2017 et kirkehistorisk merkear Den norske kirke Kirkeradet 30 December 2017 Retrieved 2 January 2017 The Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway B The executive power the King And the Royal Family and Religion Lovdata lovdata no Retrieved 2 January 2023 Vedtak til lov om endringer i kirkeloven omdanning av Den norske kirke til eget rettssubjekt m m Stortinget in Norwegian 10 May 2016 Retrieved 2 January 2023 Under the 1967 Constitution Roman Catholicism was the state religion as stated in Article 6 The Roman Catholic Apostolic religion is the state religion without prejudice to religious freedom which is guaranteed in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution Official relations of the republic with the Holy See shall be governed by concordats or other bilateral agreements The 1992 Constitution which replaced the 1967 one establishes Paraguay as a secular state as mentioned in section 1 of Article 24 Freedom of religion worship and ideology is recognized without any restrictions other than those established in this Constitution and the law The State has no official religion The modern Church of Scotland has always disclaimed recognition as an established church while remaining the national church The Church of Scotland Act 1921 formally recognised the Kirk s independence from the state James H Hutson 2000 Religion and the new republic faith in the founding of America Rowman amp Littlefield p 22 ISBN 978 0847694341 Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 1 State Constitutions that Discriminate Against Atheists godlessgeeks com Retrieved 27 April 2007 Religious laws and religious bigotry Religious discrimination in U S state constitutions religioustolerance com Retrieved 27 April 2007 Laos Constitution 1947 1949 PDF Sanamahism The Lost Religion of Manipur 24 October 2021 https m groundreport in article why tunisia abandoning islam as a state religion 127714Further reading EditRowlands John Henry Lewis 1989 Church State and Society 1827 1845 the Attitudes of John Keble Richard Hurrell Froude and John Henry Newman Worthing Eng P Smith of Churchman Publishing Folkestone Eng distr by Bailey Book Distribution ISBN 1850931321External links EditMcConnell Michael W April 2003 Establishment and Disestablishment at the Founding Part I Establishment of Religion William and Mary Law Review 44 5 2105 Archived from the original on 4 June 2011 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title State religion amp oldid 1135231100, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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