It has been suggested that State church be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) Proposed since December 2010.

Nations with state religions:

  Theravada or Vajrayana Buddhism

  Islam

  Shia Islam

  Sunni Islam

  Eastern Orthodox Christianity

  Protestantism and Anglicanism

  Roman Catholicism

  No state religion

A state religion (also called an official religion, established church or state church) is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state. A state with an official religion, while not secular, is not necessarily a theocracy.

The term state church is associated with Christianity, historically the state church of the Roman Empire, and is sometimes used to denote a specific modern national branch of Christianity. Closely related to state churches are what sociologists call ecclesiae, though the two are slightly different.

State religions are official or government-sanctioned establishments of a religion, but neither does the state need be under the control of the church (as in a theocracy), nor is the state-sanctioned church necessarily under the control of the state.

The institution of state-sponsored religious cults is ancient, reaching into the Ancient Near East and prehistory. The relation of religious cult and the state was discussed by Varro, under the term of theologia civilis ("civic theology"). The first state-sponsored Christian church was the Armenian Apostolic Church, established in 301 AD.^[1]

Types of state churches[link]

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 opposed the religion of the ruler.

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 pattern in Germany.

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 church vs state religion[link]

There is also a difference between a "state church" and "state religion". A "state church" is created by the state,^{[citation needed]} as in the cases of the Anglican Church, created by Henry VIII or the Church of Sweden, created by Gustav Vasa in 1527 before being separated from the Swedish government in the year 2000. An example of "state religion" is Argentina's acceptance of Roman Catholicism as its religion.^[2] 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[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

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 is not open for most state churches, so they tend to try to integrate differing opinions within themselves.

Many sociologists now consider the effect of a state church as analogous to a chartered monopoly in religion.

Where state religions exist, it is usually true the majority of residents are officially considered adherents; however, in some cases support is little more than nominal with many members not practising the religion regularly such as the case with the Anglican Church in England. In other cases, such as in many countries that have Islam as a state religion, the proportion of practising members is quite high and other religions' presence in the country is negligible.

In a state with an official religion, other religions may or may not be permitted, or may be tolerated but with fewer rights. Some, but by no means all, countries with official religions have laws that guarantee such freedoms as freedom of worship, full liberty of conscience, and places of worship; and implement those laws more than some other countries that do not have an official or established state religion.

Disestablishment[link]

Disestablishment is the process of depriving a church of its status as an organ of the state. Opponents of disestablishment may be called by one of the longest words in the English language: "antidisestablishmentarians".

State religions by country[link]

Brazil[link]

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 199-A (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.

Canada[link]

Section Two of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees freedom of religion. Progressively, case law has led to the overturning of specific laws that reflected religious observances (essentially Christian). Notwithstanding this, separate schools for Roman Catholics (the religious plurality) are constitutionally protected and funded by taxes in some provinces. Canada's head of state, the King or Queen of Canada, is also the head of the Church of England which is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Anglican Church of Canada, the Canadian "branch" of the Anglican Communion, is, however, not "established" as a state church in Canada as is the Church of England^{[citation needed]}.

United Kingdom[link]

England[link]

The Church of England is the officially established religious institution^[3] in England, and also the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The British monarch is the titular leader of the Church of England.

In late-19th-century England there was a campaign by Liberals, dissenters and nonconformists to disestablish the Church of England, which was viewed, in the period after civil Chartist activism, as a discriminatory organisation placing employment and other access disabilities on non-members.

The campaigners styled themselves "Liberationists" (the "Liberation Society" was founded by Edward Miall in 1853). Though their campaign failed, nearly all of the legal disabilities of nonconformists were gradually dismantled. The campaign for disestablishment was revived in the 20th century when Parliament rejected the 1929 revision of the Book of Common Prayer, leading to calls for separation of Church and State to prevent political interference in matters of worship. In the late 20th century, reform of the House of Lords also brought into question the position of the Lords Spiritual. Another issue of controversy is the Act of Settlement 1701 which determines succession to the British monarchy, under which the head of state is also the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

Scotland[link]

Despite some official documentation (marriage registrations being a common example) describing the Church of Scotland as the "Established Church" the Kirk has always disclaimed that status.^{[dubious – discuss]} This was eventually acknowledged by the United Kingdom government within the Church of Scotland Act 1921. Since it has thus never been legally established it cannot be disestablished.^{[citation needed]}

Wales[link]

In Wales, four Church of England dioceses were disestablished in 1920, becoming separated from the Church of England in the process and subsequently becoming the Church in Wales (not an established church).

Ireland[link]

The whole of the island of Ireland was merged with Great Britain to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801, the Church of England and the Church of Ireland were merged to form the United Church of England and Ireland. The church was disestablished in Ireland in 1871, and returned to being the Church of Ireland.

In 1922, the island of Ireland was partitioned into the predominantly Protestant Northern Ireland, which remained part of the United Kingdom, and an independent, predominantly Roman Catholic, Irish Free State. The 1937 Constitution of Ireland prohibited the state from endorsing any Christian denomination as an established church. However, the constitution recognized the "special position" of the Roman Catholic Church "as the guardian of the Faith professed by the great majority of the citizens". It also 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". These provisions were removed by the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland in 1973.

United States of America[link]

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.^[4] As of 2010^[update], Article III of the Massachusetts constitution still 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."^[5]

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, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas) also contain clauses that prohibit atheists from holding public office.^[6][7] 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.

Present state religions[link]

Currently, the following religions are recognized as state religions in some countries: some form of Christianity, Islam and Buddhism.

Christian countries[link]

The following states recognize some form of Christianity as their state or official religion (by denomination):

Catholic[link]

Jurisdictions which recognize Catholicism as their state or official religion:

• Costa Rica^[8]
• Liechtenstein^[9]
• Malta^[10]
• Monaco^[11]
• Vatican City (theocracy)

A number of countries, including Andorra, Argentina,^[2] Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Italy,^[12] Haiti, Honduras, Paraguay,^[13] Peru,^[14] Poland,^[15] Portugal and Spain^[16] give a special recognition to Catholicism in their constitution despite not making it the state religion.

All Cantons in Switzerland give official recognition to a church except Geneva and Neuchâtel. Roman Catholicism is recognized as official in several cantons, including Appenzell Innerrhoden, Nidwalden, Schwyz and Uri. Switzerland itself has no official religion.

Eastern Orthodox[link]

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

• Greece: Church of Greece^[17]
• Finland: Finnish Orthodox Church^[18] 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 if a majority of shareholders are members. The church does not consider itself a state church, as the state does not have the authority to affect its internal workings or theology.
• Georgia: Georgian Orthodox Church^[19] (See Concordat of 2002)

Protestantism[link]

Lutheran[link]

Jurisdictions which recognize a Lutheran church as their state religion include the Nordic countries. Membership is very high among the general population, however the amount of actively participating members and believers is considerably lower than in many other countries with similar membership statistics. Furthermore, all of these churches have lately seen decline in the fraction of the population being members.

• Denmark (Church of Denmark)^[20]
• Iceland (Church of Iceland)^[21] (77,64% of population members at 1 January 2011) ^[22]
• 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.^[18] The Church Act can be amended only by a decision of the Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church and subsequent ratification by the parliament. The Church Act is protected by the Finnish constitution, and the state can not change the Church Act without changing the constitution. The church has a power to tax its members and all corporations unless a majority of shareholders are 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.^[23] (79% of population members at the end of 2009).^[24] The Finnish president also decides the themes for the 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 relegated their state church, Church of Sweden, to a national church in 2000. In late 2009 the Church of Sweden had 71.3% of the population as its members in 2009 although only around 20% of the Swedish population believes in any religion. Memberships are high because until 1996 membership was involuntary, all born before 1996 have to actively leave the church.^[25]

Reformed[link]

Jurisdictions which recognize a Reformed church as their state religion:

• Scotland (Church of Scotland) - while it is recognized as the national church, the Church of Scotland is not a state church and thus differs from the Church of England. Its constitution, which is recognised by acts of the British Parliament, gives it complete independence from the state in spiritual matters.

• Tuvalu (Church of Tuvalu)

All Cantons in Switzerland give official recognition to a church except Geneva and Neuchâtel. Several Cantons in Switzerland give official recognition to the Swiss Reformed Church as the cantonal religion, including Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Bern, Schaffhausen, Vaud, and Zurich. Switzerland itself has no official religion.

Anglican[link]

Jurisdictions that recognise an Anglican church as their state religion:

• England (Church of England)

Muslim countries[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2012)

Many Muslim-majority countries recognize Islam as their state religion. Proselytism on behalf of other religions is often illegal.

Islam (non-denominational)[link]

• Iraq

Sunni Islam[link]

• Afghanistan
• Algeria
• Bangladesh (Since 1988, when government reformed the constitution and add a new provision 2(a) which refers the state religion is Islam)
• Brunei
• Comoros
• Egypt
• Aceh Province of Indonesia
• Jordan
• Libya
• Maldives
• Malaysia
• Mauritania
• Morocco
• Pakistan
• Qatar
• Saudi Arabia
• Somalia
• Tunisia
• United Arab Emirates

Shi'a Islam[link]

• Iran (Theocracy)

Ibadi[link]

• Oman

Mixed Shia & Sunni[link]

• Kuwait
• Yemen (Zaydi fiqh among Zaydi Shias)
• Bahrain

Sufi[link]

• Somalia (Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a controlled regions)

Buddhist countries[link]

Governments which recognize Buddhism, either a specific form of, or the whole, as their official religion:

Theraveda Buddhism[link]

• Cambodia (Theravada Buddhism)^[26]
• Sri Lanka (Theravada Buddhism) – The constitution accords Buddhism the "foremost place," However, Buddhism is not recognized as the state religion.^[27]
• Thailand (Theravada Buddhism) – Thai constitution (2007) recognized Buddhism as "the religion of Thai tradition with the most adherents" However, it is not formally named as state religion.
• Laos (Theravada Buddhism)

Vajrayana Buddhism[link]

• Bhutan (Drukpa Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism)^[28]
• Kalmykia, a republic within the Russian Federation (Tibetan Buddhism; sole Buddhist entity in Europe)

Jewish country[link]

• 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 relate equally to the Jewish people or religion (see: Who is a Jew?). 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.

At present, there is 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 was not defined as a religious community is a vestige of the Ottoman period^{[citation needed]} during which Islam was the dominant religion and does not 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.^[29] 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 of 2011^[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 recognised religious communities, or same-sex marriages, although there is recognition of marriages performed abroad.

Additional notes[link]

• Nepal was once the world's only Hindu state, but has ceased to be so following a declaration by the Parliament in 2006.

• The Philippines is constituted as a de facto Roman Catholic-state^{[dubious – discuss]} with religious freedom guarantees. In one region of the country is the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which composed of all the country's predominantly Muslim provinces, the Regional Assembly is empowered to legislate on matters covered by the Shari'ah. Such legislation, however, applies only to Muslims.^[30]

• 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.^[31][32] However, these religions are not established as state religions.

Ancient state religions[link]

Egypt and Sumer[link]

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.

Sassanid Empire[link]

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[link]

Many of the Greek city-states also had a 'god' or 'goddess' associated with that city. This would not 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 Ares, Delphi had Apollo and Artemis, Olympia had Zeus, Corinth had Poseidon and Thebes had Demeter.

Roman religion and Christianity[link]

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 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 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 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^[33] by the decree De Fide Catolica of Emperor Theodosius I.^[34]

Han Dynasty Confucianism[link]

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—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 overthrow of the imperial system of government in 1911. Note however, there is a debate over whether Confucianism (including Neo-confucianism) is a religion or purely a philosophical system.^[35]

Modern era[link]

Empire of Japan[link]

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/Countries without a state religion[link]

These states do not profess a state religion, and are generally secular or laique. Countries which do not officially establish any religion include:

• Albania
• Australia (Forbidden under the Constitution of Australia)
• Azerbaijan
• Brazil (Article 19 of the Brazilian Constitution)^[36]
• Bolivia
• Canada
• Chile
• Cuba
• Cyprus
• People's Republic of China
• Republic of China (Taiwan)
• East Timor^[37]
• Ecuador
• Estonia^[38]
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Hungary^[39][40]
• India
• Ireland
• Italy
• Jamaica
• Japan (Shinto until end of WWII)
• Kosovo^[41] (Independence partially recognised)
• Laos
• Latvia^[42]
• Lebanon (although by custom the president is a Maronite Catholic, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of the parliament a Shi'a Muslim.)^[43]
• Macedonia
• Mauritius
• Mexico (prohibited per Article 130 of the present Constitution of 1917)
• Montenegro
• Nepal (declared a secular state on 18 May 2006, by the newly resumed House of Representatives)
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Nigeria (federally secular, but allowing for the institutionalization of Islam and sharia in the predominantly-Muslim northern states)
• North Korea
• Norway
• Philippines (forbidden explicitly under Article III Section 5 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution; Roman Catholic Church de facto has privilege status)
• Poland^[44]
• Portugal
• Romania
• Russia
• Serbia
• Slovenia^[45]
• Singapore
• South Africa
• South Korea
• Spain
• Sweden (Lutheran (Church of Sweden) until 31 December 1999.)
• Syria (though the constitution requires the president be Muslim and establishes Sharia as the official source of legislation)
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Turkey
• United Republic of Tanzania – The father of the Nation Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere said the state does not have the religion but the people of the United Republic of Tanzania have, and each one is allowed to practice their religion freely as long as it does not cause harm to the other.
• United States (forbidden explicitly under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, and implicitly in Article VI of the same document.)
• Puerto Rico (forbidden explicitly under Article II Section III of the Constitution of Puerto Rico. Also forbidden explicitly under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, as well as implicitly in Article VI of the same document. Puerto Rico is a Commonwealth of the United States).
• Uruguay
• Venezuela
• Vietnam

Established churches and former state churches[link]

Former state churches in British North America[link]

Protestant colonies[link]

• The colonies of Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, New Haven, and New Hampshire were founded by Puritan Calvinist Protestants.
• The colonies of New York, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia were officially Church of England.

Catholic colonies[link]

• When New France was transferred to Great Britain in 1763, the Roman Catholic Church remained under toleration, but Huguenots were allowed entrance where they had formerly been banned from settlement by Parisian authorities.
• 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.
• Spanish Florida was ceded to Great Britain in 1763, the British divided Florida into two colonies. Both East and West Florida continued a policy of toleration for the Catholic Residents.

Colonies with no established church[link]

• 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 stripes 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.

Tabular summary[link]

^Note 1: In several colonies, the establishment ceased to exist in practice at the Revolution, about 1776;^[51] this is the date of permanent legal abolition.

^Note 2: 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."

^Note 3: 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.

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

^Note 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 1835–1876 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.^[52] 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.

^Note 6: Religious tolerance for Catholics with an established Church of England was policy in the former Spanish Colonies of East and West Florida while under British rule.

^Note 7: 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).

^Note 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-Anglo-American colonies[link]

In both cases, these areas were disestablished and dissolved, yet their presences were tolerated by the Anglo-American government, 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[link]

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 4 January 1896, after the various issues had been resolved.^[53]

See also[link]

• List of state-established religions
• Civil religion
• Political religion
• Separation of church and state
• Freedom of religion
• Status of religious freedom by country
• Religious toleration
• Secular state
• Secular religion

References[link]