what does it mean to have an official religion

Countries with state religions:

A state religion (also chosen an official religion, established church building or state church) is a religious grouping or creed officially accepted past the state.

The term state church is used in context with Christianity, and is sometimes used for a specific national branch of Christianity.

Christian countries [alter | change source]

The following states recognize some grade of Christianity as their country or official faith (by denomination):

Roman Catholic [change | change source]

Jurisdictions which recognize Roman Catholicism as their state or official organized religion:

Costa Rica
Malta
Monaco
El Salvador
Principality of liechtenstein
Vatican Metropolis (Theocracy)
Some cantons of Switzerland (country faith):
- Appenzell Innerrhoden (alleged "organized religion of the people of Appenzell Innerrhoden")
- Aargau
- Basel-Country
- Bern
- Glarus
- Graubünden
- Nidwalden
- Schwyz
- Thurgau
- Uri

Old Catholic [change | alter source]

Jurisdictions which recognize an Old Catholic church building as their state religion:

Some cantons of Switzerland (Christian Cosmic Church):
- Aargau
- Basel-Country
- Bern

Eastern Orthodox [change | change source]

Jurisdictions which recognize 1 of the Eastern Orthodox Churches as their state religion:

Greece (Greek Orthodox Church)

Protestant [change | change source]

Anglican [change | change source]

England (Church of England) established by law; plus, unestablished, the earth-wide Anglican Communion

Lutheran [change | change source]

Kingdom of denmark (Church of Denmark)
Iceland (Church of Iceland)
Finland (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland)

Presbyterian [alter | change source]

Scotland (Church of Scotland) established past law
Scotland assorted Free Presbyterian churches, unestablished.

Reformed [modify | modify source]

Jurisdictions which recognize a Reformed church as their state religion:

Some cantons of Switzerland (Swiss Reformed Church):
- Aargau
- Basel-Country
- Bern
- Glarus
- Graubünden
- Schwyz
- Thurgau
- Uri
- Zürich

Other christian [modify | change source]

Republic of zambia
Samoa
Solomon Islands

Islamic countries [alter | alter source]

Countries which recognize Islam as their official religion:

Afghanistan (State faith)
People's democratic republic of algeria (State faith)
Bahrain (Land religion)
People's republic of bangladesh (State religion)
Brunei (Land religion)
Egypt (Land religion)
Iran (Land faith)
Republic of iraq (State religion)
Jordan (Land faith)
Kuwait (State faith)
Libya (State religion)
Malaysia (State organized religion)
Maldives (Country religion)
Mauritania (State religion)
Morocco
Oman (State religion)
Pakistan (State religion)
Qatar
Saudi Arabia (Religion of the Kingdom)
Somalia
Tunisia
United Arab Emirates (Religion of the Emirates)
Yemen

Sunni Islam [change | modify source]

People's democratic republic of algeria
Malaysia
Maldives (every bit country faith)
Pakistan (as national-sanctioned organized religion)
Saudi Arabia (as state-sanctioned religion)
Somalia (equally State Organized religion)
Bangladesh (every bit country religion)

Shi'a Islam [modify | change source]

Iran (Theocracy)

Buddhist countries [change | alter source]

Governments which recognize Buddhism every bit their official religion:

Kingdom of bhutan (Drukpa Kagyu schoolhouse of Tibetan Buddhism)
Cambodia (Theravada Buddhism)
Lao people's democratic republic (Theravada Buddhism)
Kalmykia, a republic inside the Russian federation (Tibetan Buddhism - sole Buddhist entity in Europe)^[ane]
Thailand (Theravada Buddhism)
Tibet Government in Exile (Gelugpa schoolhouse of Tibetan Buddhism)
Myanmar - written in the 1974 constitution
Sri Lanka (Theravada Buddhism)

Hindu countries [change | change source]

At that place are no Hindu countries soon, all Hindu majority countries are secular, with Hinduism not listed every bit the land faith. Nepal was the globe'southward just kingdom state with Hindu monarch, but the Constitution of Nepal 2015 constitution clearly states it is a secular country. Nepal also alleged cow as national animal with advanced brute protection rights such every bit cats and dogs, cow slaughter is also forbidden.

Others [change | modify source]

Israel is defined in several of its laws as a Democratic Jewish country, but has no land or official religion, "Jewish" existence treated as a nationality. In other countries the term "Jewish" ways either adhering to the Jewish religion (Judaism), or a Jew by descent (inheritance) or both.

Ancient country religions [change | modify source]

Egypt and Sumer [modify | modify source]

The concept of country 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.

Farsi empire [change | change source]

Zoroastrianism was the state faith of the Sassanid dynasty which lasted from from 226 till651.

Greek metropolis-states [change | change source]

Many of the Greek city-states also had a 'god' or 'goddess' associated with that city.

Roman Religion and Christianity [change | modify source]

When in Rome, the office of Pontifex Maximus was reserved for the emperor, failure to worship him as a god was sometimes punished past death, as the Roman authorities sought to link emperor worship with loyalty to the Empire. Many Christians and Jews were persecuted, considering it was against their behavior to worship the emperor.

Catholic Christianity, as opposed to Arianism and other heretical and schismatic groups, was alleged to be the land religion of the Roman Empire on February 27, 380^[2] by the decree De Fide Catolica of Emperor Theodosius I.^[3]

Han Dynasty Confucianism and Sui Dynasty Buddhism [change | modify source]

In People's republic of china, the Han Dynasty (206 BC -- 220 AD) advocated Confucianism as the de facto state religion, establishing tests based on Confucian texts every bit an entrance requirement into government service.

States without any country religion [change | change source]

These states do not profess any land religion. Countries which officially decline to found any religion include:

Australia
Azerbaijan
Canada
Chile
People's Commonwealth of China (Communist china)
Republic of colombia
Czech republic
East Timor
French republic
India
Republic of ireland
Nihon
Republic of kenya
Lithuania
United mexican states
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
Philippines
Portugal
Republic of China (Taiwan)
Romania
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Switzerland
Turkey
U.s.a. of America

Established churches and sometime state churches in Europe [alter | change source]

Country	Church	Denomination	Disestablished
Republic of albania ¹	none since independence
Andorra	Roman Catholic Church	Catholic	?
Anhalt	Evangelical Church of Anhalt	Lutheran	1918
Armenia	Armenian Apostolic Church building	Oriental Orthodox	1921
Austria	Roman Catholic Church	Catholic	1918
Baden	Roman Cosmic Church building and the Evangelical Church building of Baden	Catholic and Lutheran	1918
Bavaria	Roman Cosmic Church	Catholic	1918
Brunswick-Lüneburg	Evangelical Church of Brunswick	Lutheran	1918
Republic of bulgaria	Bulgarian Orthodox Church	Eastern Orthodox	1946
Cyprus	Cypriot Orthodox Church building	Eastern Orthodox	1977
Czechoslovakia	Roman Cosmic Church	Catholic	1948
Kingdom of denmark	Church building of Kingdom of denmark	Lutheran	no
England	Church of England	Anglican	no
Republic of estonia	Church of Estonia	Lutheran	1940
Republic of finland ⁱⁱ	Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland	Lutheran	1870/1919
French republic ⁱⁱⁱ	Roman Catholic Church	Catholic	1905
Georgia	Georgian Orthodox Church	Eastern Orthodox	1921
Greece	Greek Orthodox Church	Eastern Orthodox	no
Hesse	Evangelical Church of Hesse and Nassau	Lutheran	1918
Hungary ^iv	Roman Cosmic Church	Catholic	1848
Iceland	Lutheran Evangelical Church	Lutheran	no
Ireland	Church of Republic of ireland	Anglican	1869
Italy	Roman Cosmic Church	Catholic	1984
Liechtenstein	Roman Cosmic Church	Catholic
Lippe	Church of Lippe	Reformed	1918
Lithuania	Roman Cosmic Church building	Catholic	1940
Lübeck	North Elbian Evangelical Church	Lutheran	1918
Grand duchy of luxembourg	Roman Catholic Church	Catholic
Republic of Macedonia	Macedonian Orthodox Church	Eastern Orthodox	1797
Malta	Roman Cosmic Church	Catholic	no
Mecklenburg	Evangelical Church of Mecklenburg	Lutheran	1918
Monaco	Roman Cosmic Church	Catholic	?
Netherlands	Dutch Reformed Church	Reformed	1795
Norway	Church of Norway	Lutheran	2012
Oldenburg	Evangelical Church building of Oldenburg	Lutheran	1918
Paraguay	Roman Cosmic Church	Catholic	1967
Poland	Roman Catholic Church	Catholic	1918
Portugal	Roman Cosmic Church	Catholic	1976
Prussia	13 provincial churches	Lutheran	1918
Romania	Romanian Orthodox Church	Eastern Orthodox	1947
Russian federation	Russian Orthodox Church	Eastern Orthodox	1917
Thuringia	Evangelical Church in Thuringia	Lutheran	1918
Saxony	Evangelical Church of Saxony	Lutheran	1918
Schaumburg-Lippe	Evangelical Church of Schaumburg-Lippe	Lutheran	1918
Scotland	Church of Scotland	Presbyterian	no
Serbia and Montenegro	Serbian Orthodox Church building	Eastern
Spain	Roman Catholic Church	Cosmic	1978
Sweden	Church building of Sweden	Lutheran	January 2000
Switzerland	none since the adoption of the Federal Constitution (1848)
Turkey	Sunni Islam		1928
Waldeck	Evangelical Church of the Hesse Electorate and Waldeck	Lutheran	1918
Wales ⁵	Church in Wales	Anglican	1920
Württemberg	Evangelical Church of Württemberg	Lutheran	1918

^Annotation 1: In 1967, the Albanian government made atheism the "state organized religion". This designation remained in effect until 1991.

^Note 2: Finland's State Church building was the Church of Sweden until 1809.

^Note iii: In French republic the Concordat of 1801 made the Roman Catholic, Calvinist and Lutheran churches state-sponsored religions, as well as Judaism.

^Note 4: 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 police force was ratified over again after the Ausgleich. In 1895 Judaism was also recognized every bit the 6th established church. In 1948 every distinction betwixt the different denominations were abolished.

^Annotation 5: The Church in Wales was split from the Church of England in 1920 by Welsh Church Deed 1914; at the aforementioned time becoming disestablished.

Former country churches in British Northward America [change | change source]

Protestant colonies [modify | change source]

Plymouth Colony was founded by Separatists.
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was founded by Baptists.
Province of Pennsylvania was founded by Quakers.

Catholic colonies [alter | change source]

When New France was transferred to Britain in 1763, the Roman Cosmic Church remained under toleration, only Huguenots were allowed entrance where they had formerly been banned from settlement past Parisian authorities.
Province of Maryland was founded past Irish Catholics in a country known equally recusancy, but was stripped of this independence during the English Civil War by Roundheads--much as information technology was in the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.
Spanish Florida was ceded to the Bang-up Britain in 1763, the British divided Florida into two colonies. Both E and West Florida connected a policy of toleration for the Catholic Residents.

Colony	Denomination	Disestablished ¹
Connecticut	Congregational	1818
Georgia	Church of England	1789 ^two
Massachusetts	Congregational	1780 ³
New Brunswick	Church of England
New Hampshire	Congregational	1790 ^iv
Newfoundland	Church of England
Northward Carolina	Church building of England	1776 ^five
Nova Scotia	Church of England	1850
Prince Edward Isle	Church of England
South Carolina	Church of England	1790
Upper Canada	Church of England	1854
West Florida	Church of England	North/A ^{half dozen}
East Florida	Church of England	Due north/A ⁷
Virginia	Church of England	1786
West Indies	Church of England	1868

^Note i: In several colonies, the establishment ceased to exist in practice at the Revolution, most 1776^{[ source? ]}; this is the engagement of legal abolition.

^Annotation 2: in 1789 the Georgia Constitution was amended every bit follows: "Article 4. Section ten. No person within this state shall, upon whatsoever pretense, exist deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshipping God in any manner agreeable to his own conscience, nor be compelled to attend whatsoever place of worship contrary to his ain organized religion and judgment; nor shall he e'er 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, reverse to what he believes to be right, or hath voluntarily engaged. To exercise. No one religious society shall ever be established in this state, in preference to another; nor shall any person be denied the enjoyment of whatsoever civil right merely on account of his religious principles."

^Note 3: From 1780 Massachusetts had a system which required every man to belong to a church, and permitted each church building to tax its members, and did not require that it exist a Congregational church building. This was objected to, equally in practice establishing the Congregational Church, and was abolished in 1833.

^Note 4: Until 1877 the New Hampshire Constitution required members of the State legislature to be of the Protestant faith.

^Note 5: The North Carolina Constitution of 1776 disestablished the Anglican church, but until 1835 the NC Constitution allowed only Protestants to concur public office. From 1835-1876 it immune immune only Christians (including Catholics) to concur public role. Article Half dozen, Department eight of the current NC Constitution forbids only atheists from holding public office.^[4] Such clauses were held by the The states Supreme Courtroom to exist unenforceable in the 1961 case of Torcaso v. Watkins, when the courtroom ruled unanimously that such clauses constituted a religious test incompatible with Starting time and Fourteenth Amendment protections.

^Note 6: Religious Tolerance for Catholics with an Established Church of England were policy in the former Spanish Colonies of E and West Florida while under British rule. East Florida was lost to Spain in 1781.

^Annotation 7: Religious tolerance for Catholics with an established Church of England were policy in the quondam Spanish Colonies of E and West Florida while under British dominion. East Florida was returned to Kingdom of spain in 1783.

State of Deseret [modify | change source]

The State of Deseret was a provisional state of the Us, proposed in 1849 by Mormon settlers in Table salt Lake Metropolis. The provisional country existed for slightly over two years.^[five]

[alter | change source]

Secular state
Theocracy
Freedom of faith

References [alter | change source]

↑ "Sri Lanka Guardian". Archived from the original on 2017-05-01. Retrieved 2016-eleven-29 .
↑ "The Theodosian Code". THE LATIN LIBRARY at Ad Fontes Academy. Ad Fontes Academy. Retrieved 2006-11-23 .
↑ Halsall, Paul (June 1997). "Theodosian Code Sixteen.i.2". Medieval Sourcebook: Banning of Other Religions. Fordham Academy. Retrieved 2006-11-23 .
↑ "Article 6 of the North Carolina state constitition". Archived from the original on 2009-01-17. Retrieved 2007-03-25 .
↑ Struggle For Statehood^{[ permanent dead link ]} Edward Leo Lyman, Utah History Encyclopedia

Other websites [change | change source]

McConnell, Michael West. (April 2003). "Establishment and Disestablishment at the Founding, Part I: Establishment of Religion". William and Mary Constabulary Review, Provided past Questia.com. 44 (five): 2105. Retrieved 2006-11-23 . {{cite periodical}}: CS1 maint: engagement and year (link)

johnsontheaccer.blogspot.com

Source: https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_religion