Everything about State Religion totally explained
A
state religion (also called an
official religion,
established church or
state church) is a
religious body or
creed officially endorsed by the
state. Practically, a state without a state religion is called a
secular state. The term
state church is associated with
Christianity, and is sometimes used to denote a specific national branch of Christianity. Closely related to state churches are what
sociologists call
ecclesiae, though the two are slightly different. State religions are examples of the official or government-sanctioned
establishment of religion, as distinct from
theocracy. It is also possible for a
national church to become established without being under state control.
Types of state churches
The degree and nature of state backing for denomination or creed designated as a state religion can vary. It can range from mere endorsement and 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 the monarch imposed Protestantism in 1533, with himself taking the place of the Pope, while in
Scotland the
Church of Scotland became the established Kirk in opposition to the religion of the ruler.
In some cases, a state may have a set of state-sponsored religious denominations that it funds; such is the case in
Alsace-Moselle in
France, following the pattern in
Germany.
In some
communist states, notably the
People's Republic of China, 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.
State church vs state religion
There is also a difference between a "state church" and "state religion". A "state church" is created by a monarch, as in the cases of the
Anglican Church, created by
Henry VIII or the
Church of Sweden, created by
Gustav Vasa. An example of "state religion" is Argentina's acceptance of Catholicism as its religion. In the case of the former, the state has absolute control over the church, but in the case of the latter, in this example, the
Vatican has control over the church.
Sociology of state churches
Sociologists refer to mainstream non-state religions as
denominations. State religions tend to admit a larger variety of opinion within them than denominations. Denominations encountering major differences of opinion within themselves are likely to split; this option isn't open for most state churches, so they tend to try to integrate differing opinions within themselves.
However, state churches have divided, with the dissidents losing the advantages of state support. The
Church of Scotland has split several times in the past for doctrinal reasons, including the meaning and acceptability of state support. Attempts by the monarch to impose
bishops on the Kirk led to the splitting off of the non-established
Scottish Episcopal Church. Its largest offshoots from a
later disruption were the
Free Church of Scotland and later the
United Free Church of Scotland. These offshoots lost the established status of their parent, but since 1929 the (partially) reunited Church of Scotland has considered itself to be a "
national church" rather than an established church, as it's entirely independent of state control in matters spiritual. Legally, it remains established.
Many sociologists now consider the effect of a state church as analogous to a chartered
monopoly in religion.
Where state religions exist, it's usually true the majority of residents are officially considered adherents; however, much of this support is little more than nominal; many members of the church rarely attend it. But the population's allegiance towards the state religion is often strong enough to prevent them from joining competing religious groups.
A denomination's status as official religion doesn't always imply that the jurisdiction prohibits the existence or operation of other sects or religious bodies. It all depends upon the government and the level of tolerance the citizens of that country have for each other. Some countries with official religions have laws that guarantee the freedom of worship, full liberty of conscience, and places of worship for all citizens; and implement those laws than other countries that don't have an official or established state religion.
Disestablishment
Disestablishment is the process of divesting a church of its status as an organ of the state. In England there was a campaign by
Liberals,
dissenters and
nonconformists to disestablish the
Church of England in the late 19th century; it failed in
England, but demands for the measure persist to this day. The
Church of Ireland was disestablished in 1869 (effective 1871) and the Church of England was disestablished in Wales in 1920, the
Church in Wales becoming separated from the Church of England in the process - it had formerly effectively been the Church of England and Wales. Those who wish to continue with an established church take a position of
antidisestablishmentarianism.
The
First Amendment to the
US Constitution explicitly forbids the U.S.
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 didn't 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 didn't disestablish its official church until 1833, more than forty years after the ratification of the First Amendment; and local official establishments of religion persisted even later.
The
Fourteenth Amendment to the
US 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
US Supreme Court — especially as the Court must now balance, on a state (equivalent to province) 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 US politics.
All current U.S. state constitutions include guarantees of religious liberty parallel to the First Amendment, but eight (
Arkansas,
Maryland,
Massachusetts,
North Carolina,
Pennsylvania,
South Carolina,
Tennessee, and
Texas) also contain clauses that prohibit atheists from holding public office.
However, these clauses have been held by the
United States 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 First and Fourteenth Amendment protections.
Present state religions
Currently, the following religions are recognized as state religions in some countries: some form of
Christianity,
Islam and
Buddhism.
Christian countries
The following states recognize some form of
Christianity as their state or official religion (by denomination):
Roman Catholic
Jurisdictions which recognize
Roman Catholicism as their state or official religion:
Eastern Orthodox
Jurisdictions which recognize one of the
Eastern Orthodox Churches as their state religion:
Cyprus (Cypriot Orthodox Church)
Republic of Moldova (Orthodox Church)
Greece (Church of Greece)
Finland: Finnish Orthodox Church has a special relationship with the Finnish state. The internal structure of the church is described in the Orthodox Church Act. The church has a power to tax its members and corporations, the majority of which is owned by them. The church doesn't consider itself a state church, as the state doesn't have the authority to affect its internal workings or theology.
Russian Federation: Russian Orthodox Church, one of the four state religions of Russia alongside Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism.
Lutheran
Jurisdictions which recognize a Lutheran church as their state religion:
Denmark (Church of Denmark)
Iceland (Church of Iceland)
Norway (Church of Norway)
Finland: 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. The Church Act can be amended only by a decision of the Synod of the Evengelical Lutheran Church and subsequent ratification by the parliament. The church has a power to tax its members and all corporations, except those the majority of which is owned by members of the Finnish Orthodox Church. 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. The Finnish president also decides the themes for the intercession days. The church doesn't consider itself a state church, as the Finnish state doesn't 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.
Anglican
Jurisdictions that recognise an Anglican church as their state religion:
England (Church of England)
Reformed
Jurisdictions which recognize a Reformed church as their state religion:
Some cantons of Switzerland (Swiss Reformed Church):
Scotland – the Church of Scotland is the national church, but isn't a "state church" and has complete independence from the state in spiritual matters, thus being both established and free.p.161
Old Catholic
Jurisdictions which recognize an Old Catholic church as their state religion:
Some cantons of Switzerland (Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland):
Islamic countries
Countries which recognize Islam as their official religion. Although the separation of church and state is a concept that originated in a western context, there's the notion of toleration for people of the book in Islam.
Afghanistan (Islamic state)
Algeria
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Brunei
Comoros
Egypt
Iran (Islamic state)
Iraq
Jordan
Kuwait
Libya
Malaysia
Maldives
Mauritania
Morocco
Oman
Pakistan (Islamic state)
Palestinian National Authority
Qatar
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
Saudi Arabia (Islamic kingdom)
Somalia
Somaliland
Tunisia
United Arab Emirates
Yemen (Islamic state)
Sunni Islam
Algeria
Comoros
Malaysia
Maldives
Mauritania
Pakistan (as national-sanctioned religion)
Saudi Arabia (as state-sanctioned religion)
Somalia
Jordan
Shi'a Islam
Iran (as state-sanctioned religion)
Buddhism as state religion
Governments which recognize Buddhism, either a specific form of, or the whole, as their official religion:
Bhutan (Drukpa Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism)
Cambodia (Theravada Buddhism)
Kalmykia, a republic within the Russian Federation (Tibetan Buddhism - sole Buddhist entity in Europe)
Sri Lanka (Theravada Buddhism - The constitution accords Buddhism the "foremost place," but Buddhism isn't recognized as the state religion.
Thailand (Theravada Buddhism)
Tibet Government in Exile (Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism)
Additional notes
Israel is defined in several of its laws as a democratic Jewish state. However, the term "Jewish" is a polyseme that can relate equally to the Jewish people or religion. The debate about the meaning of the term Jewish and its legal and social applications (considering that it comes alongside the term "democratic") is one of the most profound issues with which Israeli society deals. At present, there's no specific law or official statement establishing the Jewish religion as the state's religion. However, 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. These are: Jewish and Christian (Eastern Orthodox, Latin [Catholic], Gregorian-Armenian, Armenian-Catholic, Syrian [Catholic], Chaldean [Uniate], Greek Catholic Melkite, Maronite, and Syrian Orthodox). The fact that the Muslim population wasn't defined as a religious community is a vestige of the Ottoman period during which Islam was the dominant religion and doesn't affect the rights of the Muslim community to practice their faith. At the end of the period covered by this report, several of these denominations were pending official government recognition; however, the Government has allowed adherents of not officially recognized groups 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 the Bahá'í.(External Link
) 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 doesn't say explicitly that it's a state Rabbinate. Non-recognition of other streams of Judaism is the cause of some controversy. As of 2007, there's no civil marriage in Israel, although there's recognition of marriages performed abroad.
Nepal was once the world's only Hindu state, but has ceased to be so following a declaration by the Parliament in 2006.
Many countries indirectly fund the activities of different religious denominations by granting tax-exempt status to churches and religious institutions which qualify as charitable organizations. However, these religions are not established as state religions.
Ancient state religions
Egypt and Sumer
The concept of state religions 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.
Persian empire
Zoroastrianism was the state religion of the Sassanid dynasty which lasted until 651, when Persia was conquered by the forces of Islam. However, it persisted as the state religion of the independent state of Hyrcania until the 15th century.
The tiny kingdom of Adiabene in northern Mesopotamia converted to Judaism around 34 AD.
Greek city-states
Many of the Greek city-states also had a 'god' or 'goddess' associated with that city. This wouldn't be the 'only god' of the city, but the one that received special honors. In ancient Greece the city of Athens had Athena, Sparta had Artemis, Delos had Apollo and Artemis, and Olympia had Zeus.
Roman Religion and Christianity
In Rome, the office of Pontifex Maximus came to be reserved for the emperor, who was often —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 didn't 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 wasn't a baptised 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 and Aksum.
Roman Religion (Neoplatonic Hellenism) was restored for a time by Julian the Apostate from 361 to 363. Julian doesn't appear to have reinstated the persecutions of the earlier Roman emperors.
Catholic Christianity, as opposed to Arianism and other heretical and schismatic groups, was declared to be the state religion of the Roman Empire on February 27 380 by the decree De Fide Catolica of Emperor Theodosius I.
Han Dynasty Confucianism and Sui Dynasty Buddhism
In China, the Han Dynasty (206 BC -- 220 AD) advocated Confucianism as the de facto state religion, establishing tests based on Confucian texts as an entrance requirement into government service. The Han emperors appreciated the societal order which is a central concept of Confucianism. Confucianism would continue as the state religion until the Sui Dynasty (581-618), when it was replaced by Buddhism. Neo-confucianism returned as the de facto state religion sometime in the 10th century. Note however, there's a debate over whether Confucianism (including Neo-confucianism) is a religion or purely a philosophical system.
Modern era
Empire of Japan
From the Meiji era to the first part of the Showa era, Koshitsu Shinto was established in Japan as the national religion. According to this, the emperor of Japan was an arahitogami, an incarnate divinity and the offspring of goddess Amaterasu. As the emperor was, according to the constitution, "head of the empire" and "supreme commander of the Army and the Navy", every Japanese citizen had to obey his will and show absolute loyalty.
States without any state religion
These states don't profess any state religion, and are generally secular or laist. Countries which officially decline to establish any religion include:
Australia
Azerbaijan
Canada
Chile
Cuba
People's Republic of China
France
India
Ireland
Israel (which considers itself a "democratic Jewish state", although "Jewish" might be construed to refer to the people rather than the religion)
Jamaica
Japan (Shinto until end of WWII)
Kosovo
Lebanon (although president must always remain a Maronite Catholic, and prime minister a Sunni Muslim)
Mexico
Montenegro
Nepal (declared a secular state on May 18, 2006, by the newly resumed House of Representatives)
New Zealand
Nigeria
North Korea
Romania
Russia
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Turkey
United States
Venezuela
Vietnam
Established churches and former state churches
In 1967, the Albanian government made atheism the "state religion". This designation remained in effect until 1991.
Finland's State Church was the Church of Sweden until 1809. As an autonomous Grand Duchy under Russia 1809-1917, Finland retained the Lutheran State Church system, and a state church separate from Sweden, later named the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, was established. It was detached from the state as a separate judicial entity when the new church law came to force in 1870. After Finland had gained independence in 1917, religious freedom was declared in the constitution of 1919 and a separate law on religious freedom in 1922. Through this arrangement, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland lost its position as a state church but gained a constitutional status as a national church alongside with the Finnish Orthodox Church, whose position however isn't codified in the constitution.
In France the Concordat of 1801 made the Roman Catholic, Calvinist and Lutheran churches state-sponsored religions, as well as Judaism.
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.
Disestablished by the Philippine Organic Act of 1902.
The Church of Scotland is "established" in the sense that its system of church courts was set up by
Parliament, but over the centuries it has resisted interference by secular authorities. The Church of Scotland Act
1921 recognizes its exclusive authority to decide ecclesiastical issues, and the statute incorporates and accepts
the Church's Declaratory Articles as lawful. 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 pretense, 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 Massachusetts had a system which required every man to belong to a church, and permitted each church to tax its members, but forbade any law requiring that it be of any particular denomination. This was objected to, as in practice establishing the Congregational Church, the majority denomination, and was abolished in 1833.
Until 1877 the New Hampshire Constitution required members of the State legislature to be of the Protestant religion.
The North Carolina Constitution of 1776 disestablished the Anglican church, but until 1835 the NC Constitution allowed only Protestants to hold public office. From 1835-1876 it allowed only Christians (including Catholics) to hold public office. Article VI, Section 8 of the current NC Constitution forbids only atheists 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 such clauses constituted a religious test incompatible with First and Fourteenth Amendment protections.
Religious Tolerance for Catholics with an Established Church of England were policy in the former Spanish Colonies of East and West Florida while under British rule.
Religious tolerance for Catholics with an established Church of England were policy in the former Spanish Colonies of East and West Florida while under British rule.
In Treaty of Paris (1783), 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.
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 over the principle of separation of church and state conflicting with the practice of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of 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 January 4 1896, after the various issues had been resolved.
Further Information
Get more info on 'State Religion'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://state_religion.totallyexplained.com">State religion Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
