Christian state

{{short description|State which endorses Christianity as the state religion}} {{redirect|Christian country|the music genre|Christian country music}} {{redirect|Christian Nation|the novel by Frederic Rich|Christian Nation (novel)}} {{Christianity|expanded=hide}} A '''Christian state''' is a country that recognizes a form of Christianity as its official religion and often has a '''state church''' (also called an '''established church'''),<ref name="Backhouse2011">{{cite book|last=Backhouse|first=Stephen|title=Kierkegaard's Critique of Christian Nationalism|date=7 July 2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199604722|page=60|quote=...it is only as an established institution that the Church can fully preserve and promote Christian tradition to the nation. One cannot have a Christian state without a state Church.}}</ref> which is a Christian denomination that supports the government and is supported by the government.<ref name="Eberle2013">{{cite book|last=Eberle|first=Edward J.|title=Church and State in Western Society: Established Church, Cooperation and Separation|date=28 February 2013|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=9781409497806|page=6|quote=Under the established church approach, the government will assist the state church and likewise the church will assist the government. Religious education is mandated by law to be taught in all schools, public or private.}}</ref> A Christian state stands in contrast to a secular state,<ref name="Boer2012">{{cite book|last=Boer|first=Roland|title=Criticism of Earth: On Marx, Engels and Theology|date=8 June 2012|publisher=Brill Academic Publishers|isbn=9789004225589|pages=168|quote=Yet what is intriguing about this argument is that this modern secular state arises from, or is the simultaneous realisation and negation of, the Christian state.}}</ref> an atheist state,<ref name="MarxMcLellan2000">{{cite book|last1=Marx|first1=Karl|last2=McLellan|first2=David|title=Karl Marx: Selected Writings|year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780198782650|page=55|quote=Indeed, it is not the so-called Christian state, that one that recognizes Christianity as its basis, as the state religion, and thus adopts an exclusive attitude to other religions, that is the perfected Christian state, but rather the atheist state, the ...}}</ref> or another religious state, such as a Jewish state,<ref name="Burns1996">{{cite book|last=Burns|first=J. Patout|title=War and Its Discontents: Pacifism and Quietism in the Abrahamic Traditions|date=1 April 1996|publisher=Georgetown University Press|language=en|isbn=9781589018778|page=92|quote=The religious group is confronted by a pagan state, a Jewish state, a Christian state, an Islamic state, or a secular state.}}</ref> or an Islamic state.<ref name="Sjoberg2006">{{cite book|last=Sjoberg|first=Laura|title=Gender, Justice, and the Wars in Iraq|date=1 January 2006|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=9780739116104|page=24|quote=Just as Christian just war theory justified the actions of the Christian state, Islamic jihad theory began with the founding of the Islamic state.}}</ref>

Historically, the nations of Armenia,<ref name="MilmanMurdock1887"/><ref name="ChingJarzombek2010" /> Aksum, Makuria, and the Holy Roman Empire have declared themselves as Christian states, as well as the Roman Empire and its continuation the Byzantine Empire, the Russian Empire, the Spanish Empire, the British Empire, the Portuguese Empire, and the Frankish Empire, the Belgian colonial empire, the French empire.<ref name="Ashby2010"/><ref name="Frucht2004"/> Today, several nations officially identify themselves as Christian states or have state churches. These countries include Argentina, Armenia, Costa Rica, El Salvador,<ref name="YakobsonRubinstein2009"/> Denmark (incl. Greenland and the Faroes),<ref name="Shadid1995"/> England,<ref name="Joppke2013"/> Dominican Republic,<ref name="DOS2025">{{cite web |title=2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Dominican Republic |url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/dominican-republic |publisher=United States Department of State |access-date=5 January 2025 |language=English|quote=A 1954 concordat with the Holy See designates Catholicism as the official state religion and extends special privileges to the Catholic Church not granted to other religious groups. These include the special protection of the state in the exercise of Catholic ministry, exemption of Catholic clergy from military service, permission to provide Catholic instruction in public orphanages, public funding to underwrite some church expenses, and exemption from customs duties. Nationally recognized holidays also include days that are traditionally only observed by Catholics.}}</ref> Georgia,<ref>[http://www.parliament.ge/en/kanonmdebloba/constitution-of-georgia-68 Constitution of Georgia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612233127/http://www.parliament.ge/en/kanonmdebloba/constitution-of-georgia-68|date=2018-06-12}} Article 9 (1 & 2) and 73 (1a{{sup|1}})</ref> Greece,<ref name="Jiang2012"/> Hungary,<ref name="Hungary's Constitution of 2011">[https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Hungary_2011.pdf Hungary's Constitution of 2011]. Retrieved 9 February 2016.</ref> Iceland,<ref name="Melton2005"/> Liechtenstein,<ref name="Fox2008"/> Malta,<ref name="legal-malta"/> Monaco,<ref name=MonacoReligion/> Samoa,<ref name="Wyeth2017"/> Serbia,<ref>Paul Pavlovich. ''The History of the Serbian Orthodox Church''</ref> Tonga,<ref name="Fodor1986"/> Tuvalu,<ref name="Temperman2010"/> Vatican City,<ref name="Erasmus2010"/> and Zambia.<ref name="Jenkins2011"/> The laws of various Christian countries, such as those of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, even require their monarch to be a Christian (usually of a particular denomination, such as Evangelical Lutheranism).<ref name="Cimino2025"/><ref name="Fandel2007"/><ref name="KrunkeThorarensen2018"/>

== History == [[File:Justinian555AD.png|thumb|left|The boundaries of the Eastern Roman Empire under Justinian the Great|upright=1.8]]

The Armenian Apostolic Church traces its origins to the apostolic era, asserting apostolic succession from the apostles Bartholomew<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8WPfEAAAQBAJ |title =The Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew: Greek, Arabic, and Armenian Versions |isbn = 979-8-8689-5147-3 |last1 = Curtin|first1 = D. P.|last2 = Lewis|first2 = A.S.|date = January 2014|publisher =Dalcassian Publishing Company }}</ref> and Thaddeus (Jude).<ref name="Gilman">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UGpr2KsbS94C|title=Christians in Asia before 1500|access-date=5 March 2015|isbn=978-1-136-10978-2|last1=Gilman|first1=Ian|last2=Klimkeit|first2=Hans-Joachim|date=2013-01-11|publisher=Routledge }}</ref><ref name="Jacob">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/briefhistoricals00jaco|title=A Brief Historical Sketch of the Holy Apostolic Church of Armenia|publisher=H. Liddell|access-date=5 March 2015|last1=Jacob|first1=P. H.|year=1895}}</ref><ref name="Issaverdenz">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UuvefaWK948C|title=The Armenian Church|access-date=5 March 2015|last1=Issaverdenz|first1=Jacques|year=1877}}</ref> The formal establishment of Christianity as the state religion of Armenia is traditionally dated to 301 AD, during the reign of Tiridates III, following his conversion by Gregory the Illuminator. This makes Armenia the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion, although the exact date has been subject to scholarly debate.<ref>Binns, John. ''An Introduction to the Christian Orthodox Churches''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002, p. 30. {{ISBN|0-521-66738-0}}.</ref> In 380, three Roman emperors issued the Edict of Thessalonica (''Cunctos populos''), making the Roman Empire a Christian state,<ref name="Ashby2010">{{cite book|last= Ashby|first= Warren|title= A Comprehensive History Of Western Ethics|date = 4 July 2010|publisher= Prometheus Books|isbn= 9781615926947|page= 152|quote= In the Edict of Thessalonica (380) he expressed the imperial "desire" that all Roman citizens should become Christians, the emperor adjudging all other madmen and ordering them to be designated as heretics,...condemned as such...to suffer divine punishment, and, therewith, the vengeance of that power, which we, by celestial authority, have assumed. There was thus created the "Christian State."}}</ref> and establishing Nicene Christianity, in the form of its State Church, as its official religion.<ref name="IsmaelIsmael2015">{{cite book|last1= Ismael|first1= Jacqueline S.|last2= Ismael|first2= Tareq Y.|last3= Perry|first3= Glenn|title= Government and Politics of the Contemporary Middle East|date= 5 October 2015|publisher= Taylor & Francis|isbn= 9781317662822|pages= 48|quote= Theodosius did so through the 380 CE 'Edict of Thessalonica,' which established Nicene Christianity as the state church of the Roman Empire, with the Bishop of Rome as Pope.}}</ref>

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the late 5th century, the Eastern Roman Empire under the emperor Justinian (reigned 527–565), became the world's predominant Christian state, based on Roman law, Greek culture, and the Greek language."<ref name="Frucht2004">{{cite book |last=Frucht |first=Richard C. |title=Eastern Europe |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2004 |isbn=9781576078006 |page=627 |quote=In contrast, the emperor Justinian (527–565) refashioned the eastern part of the Roman Empire into a strong and dynamic Byzantine Empire, which claimed Dalmatia, among other provinces. The Byzantine Empire became the world's predominant Christian state, based on Roman law, Greek culture, and the Greek language.}}</ref><ref name="Spielvogel2013">{{cite book|last= Spielvogel|first= Jackson|title= Western Civilization|date= 1 January 2013|publisher= Cengage Learning|isbn= 9781285500195|page= 155|quote =The Byzantine Empire was both a Greek and a Christian state. Increasingly, Latin fell into disuse as Greek became both the common and the official language of the empire. The Byzantine Empire was also built on a faith in Jesus that was shared by almost all of its citizens. An enormous amount of artistic talent was poured into the construction of churches, church ceremonies, and church decoration. Spiritual principles deeply permeated Byzantine art.}}</ref><ref name="Truxillo2008">{{cite book|last= Truxillo|first= Charles A.|title= Periods of World History: A Latin American Perspective|date= 1 January 2008|publisher= Jain Publishing Company|isbn= 9780895818638|page= 103|quote= The Byzantine Empire, stripped of Syria, Egypt, and North Africa, became a compact Orthodox Christian state, upholding its claim to Roman universalism and constructing an Orthodox Christian commonwealth among the Slavs of the Balkans and Russia.}}</ref> In this Christian state, in which nearly all of its subjects upheld faith in Jesus, an "enormous amount of artistic talent was poured into the construction of churches, church ceremonies, and church decoration".<ref name="Spielvogel2013" /> John Binns describes this era, writing that:<ref name="Binns2002" />{{quotation|A new stage in the history of the Church began when not just localised communities but nations became Christian. The stage is associated with the conversion of Constantine and the beginnings of a Christian Empire, but the Byzantine Emperor was not the first ruler to lead his people into Christianity, thus setting up the first Christian state. That honour traditionally goes to the church of Armenia.<ref name="Binns2002">{{cite book|last= Binns|first= John|title= An Introduction to the Christian Orthodox Churches|date= 4 July 2002|publisher= Cambridge University Press|isbn= 9780521667388|page= 145}}</ref>|author=John Binns|title=An Introduction to the Christian Orthodox Churches}} As a Christian state, Armenia "embraced Christianity as the religion of the King, the nobles, and the people".<ref name="MilmanMurdock1887">{{cite book|last1= Milman|first1= Henry Hart|last2= Murdock|first2= James|title= The History of Christianity|year= 1887|publisher= A. C. Armstrong & Son |page= 258|quote= But while Persia fiercely repelled Christianity from its frontier, upon that frontier arose a Christian state. Armenia was the first country which embraced Christianity as the religion of the King, the nobles, and the people.}}</ref> In 326, according to official tradition of the Georgian Orthodox Church, following the conversion of Mirian and Nana, the country of Georgia became a Christian state, the Emperor Constantine the Great sending clerics for baptising people. In the 4th century, in the Kingdom of Aksum, after Ezana's conversion to the faith, this empire also became a Christian state.<ref name="ChingJarzombek2010">{{cite book|last1= Ching|first1= Francis D. K.|last2= Jarzombek|first2= Mark M.|last3= Prakash|first3= Vikramaditya|title= A Global History of Architecture|date= 13 December 2010|publisher= John Wiley & Sons|isbn= 9780470402573|page= 213|quote= In the 4th century, King Ezana converted to Christianity and declared Aksum a Christian state—the first Christian state in the history of the world.}}</ref><ref name="StantonRamsamy2012">{{cite book|last1= Stanton|first1= Andrea L.|last2= Ramsamy|first2= Edward|title= Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia|date= 5 January 2012|publisher= SAGE Publications|isbn= 9781412981767|page= 1|quote= Then, in the early 4th century, Ezana, Aksum's ruler, converted to Christianity and proclaimed Aksum a Christian state.}}</ref>

In the Middle Ages, efforts were made in order to establish a Pan-Christianity state by uniting the countries within Christendom.<ref name="Snyder1990">{{cite book |last1=Snyder |first1=Louis L. |title=Encyclopedia of Nationalism |date=1990 |publisher=St. James Press |isbn=978-1-55862-101-5 |page=282 |language=en |quote=Major religions in the past, especially Christianity, have attempted to include all their adherents in a large union, but they have not been successful. Throughout most of the Middle Ages in Western Europe, attempts were made again and again to unite all the Christian world into a kind of Pan-Christianity, which would combine all Christians in a secular-religious state as a successor to the Roman Empire.}}</ref><ref name="Snyder1984">{{cite book |last1=Snyder |first1=Louis Leo |title=Macro-nationalisms: A History of the Pan-movements |date=1984 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-23191-9 |page=129 |language=en |quote=Throughout the better part of the Middle Ages, elaborate attempts were made to create what was, in effect, a Pan-Christianity, an effort to unite "all" the Western Christian world into a successor state of the Roman Empire.}}</ref> Christian nationalism played a role in this era in which Christians felt the impulse to also recover those territories in which Christianity historically flourished, such as the Holy Land and North Africa.<ref name="USE2005">{{cite book |title=Parole de l'Orient, Volume 30 |date=2005 |publisher=Université Saint-Esprit |page=488 |language=en}}</ref>

The First Great Awakening, American Revolution, and Second Great Awakening caused two rounds of disestablishment among the states of the new United States, from 1776 to 1833.<ref name="mtsu">{{Cite web |last=Vile |first=John R. |title=Established Churches in Early America |url=https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/801/established-churches-in-early-america |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=www.mtsu.edu |language=en}}</ref>

== Modern era == thumb|Countries with Christianity as their state religion are in blue.|350x350px

=== Argentina === Article 2 of the Constitution of Argentina explicitly states that "the Federal Government supports the Roman Catholic Apostolic Faith" and Article 14 guarantees freedom of religion.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Argentina_1994.pdf?lang=en|title=Argentina's Constitution of 1853, Reinstated in 1983, with Amendments through 1994|work=constituteproject.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.argentina.gob.ar/pais/56-religion.php|title=Argentina – Religión|work=argentina.gob.ar|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008102111/http://www.argentina.gob.ar/pais/56-religion.php|archive-date=8 October 2014}}</ref>{{sfn|Constitution of Argentina|loc=arts. 14, 20}} Although it enforces neither an official nor a state faith,{{sfnm|1a1=Fayt|1y=1985|1p=347|2a1=Bidart Campos|2y=2005|2p=53}} it gives Catholic Christianity a preferential status.{{sfn|Constitution of Argentina|loc=art. 2}}<ref>In practice this privileged status amounts to tax-exempt school subsidies and licensing preferences for radio broadcasting frequencies.</ref><ref name=irfr1>{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2012 – Argentina|publisher=US Department of State|place=Washington, D. C.|year=2012}}</ref> Before its 1994 amendment, the Constitution stated that the President of the Republic must be a Roman Catholic.

=== Armenia === In Armenia, Christianity is the most adhered religion, it has massive significance, but it is not the state religion. The Armenian Apostolic Church is the national church, it has long kept the Armenian identity alive under various Empires. Armenia is the first country which recognised Christianity as a state religion.

=== Costa Rica === The constitution of Costa Rica states that "The Catholic and Apostolic Religion is the religion of the State".<ref name="YakobsonRubinstein2009">{{cite book|last1=Yakobson|first1=Alexander|last2=Rubinstein|first2=Amnon|title=Israel and the Family of Nations: The Jewish Nation-state and Human Rights|year=2009|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9780415464413|page=215|quote=Thus the Constitution of Costa Rica, which is considered a model of stable democracy in Latin America, states in Article 75: 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.}}</ref> As such, Catholic Christian holy days are recognized by the government and "public schools provide religious education", although parents are able to opt-out their children if they choose to do so.<ref name="Merriman2009">{{cite book|last=Merriman|first=Scott A.|title=Religion and the State: An International Analysis of Roles and Relationships|date=14 July 2009|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781598841343|page=148|quote=The government as a whole treats religion well and allows missionaries to freely enter and move around the country. Only the Catholic holy days are recognized as holidays, but the state generally allows people time to celebrate their holy days if they are of another religion. The public schools provide religious education, but parents can opt their children out if they choose.}}</ref>

===Denmark=== [[File:Holte Kirke 2005.jpg|thumb|A Church of Denmark parish church in Holte, with the Dannebrog flying in its kirkyard]] As early as the 11th century AD, "Denmark was considered to be a Christian state",<ref name="WarburgChristoffersen2013">{{cite book|last1=Warburg|first1=Margit|last2=Christoffersen|first2=Lisbet|last3=Petersen|first3=Hanne|author4=Hans Raun Iversen|title=Religion in the 21st Century|date=28 June 2013|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=9781409480860|page=85}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Künker Auktion 121 - The De Wit Collection of Medieval Coins|publisher=Numismatischer Verlag Künker|page=206|quote=Sweyn brought about Denmark's transition from a tribal civilisation to an early Christian state and furthermore modernised the organisation of the Christian church.}}</ref> with the Church of Denmark, a member of the Lutheran World Federation, being the state church.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Lutheran Standard, Volume 27|year=1987|publisher=Augsburg Publishing House|quote=The state church of Denmark is Lutheran and a member of the Lutheran World Federation.}}</ref> Prof. Wasif Shadid, of Leiden University, writes that:

{{quotation|The Lutheran established church is a department of the state. Church affairs are governed by a central government ministry, while clergy are government employees. The registration of births, deaths and marriages falls under this ministry of church affairs, and normally speaking the local Lutheran pastor is also the official registrar.<ref name="Shadid1995">{{cite book|last=Shadid|first=W. A. R.|title=Religious Freedom and the Position of Islam in Western Europe|date=1 January 1995|publisher=Peeters Publishers|isbn=9789039000656|page=11|quote=Denmark has declared the Evangelical Lutheran church to be that national church (par. 4 of the Constitution), which corresponds the fact that 91.5% of the population are registered members of this church. This declaration implies that the Danish State does not take a neutral stand in religious matters. Nevertheless, freedom of religion has been incorporated in the Constitution. Nielsen (1992, 77) gives a short description of the position of the minority religious communities in comparison to that of the State Church: The Lutheran established church is a department of the state. Church affairs are government by a central government ministry, and clergy are government employees. The registration of births, deaths and marriages falls under this ministry of church affairs, and normally speaking the local Lutheran pastor is also the official registrar. The other small religious communities, viz. Roman Catholics, Methodists, Baptists and Jews, have the constitutional status of 'recognised communities of faith'. ... Contrary to the minority religious communities, the Lutheran Church is fully financed by the Danish State.}}</ref>|author=W. A. R. Shadid|title=Religious Freedom and the Position of Islam in Western Europe|source=page 11}}

Over 82% of the population of Denmark are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark, which is "officially headed by the queen of Denmark".<ref name="JuergensmeyerRoof2011">{{cite book|last1=Juergensmeyer|first1=Mark|last2=Roof|first2=Wade Clark|title=Encyclopedia of Global Religion|date=18 October 2011|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=9781452266565|page=292|quote=A majority of Danes, 82.1% (as of January 2008), are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark—by Section 4 of the constitution, the state church, officially headed by the queen of Denmark. Pastors in the Church of Denmark are civil servants employed by the Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs, which also constitutes the head of administration. The economic base of the Church of Denmark is state-collected church taxes combined with a direct state subsidiary (12%), which symbolically covers the expenses of the Church of Denmark to run the civil registration and the burial system for all citizens.}}</ref> The Act of Succession specifies that monarch "shall be a member of the Evangelical Church."<ref name="Cimino2025">{{cite book |last1=Cimino |first1=Richard |title=Global Lutheranism in the Contemporary World: Luther's Realm |date=18 July 2025 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-040-38599-9 |language=en |quote=According to article four in the Constitutional Act, "The Evangelical Lutheran Church shall be the established church of Denmark, and as such shall be supported by the state." In the Danish version of the Constitutional Act, the Danish word for "established church of Denmark" s "Den danske folkekirke." The Central concept is "folkekirke," which means "a church by the people (folk)," which means that it is the Parliament of the people (Folketing) that passes laws for the Lutheran Church, just as lawas are passed to regulate the tax system, the transport industry, or the health system. In other words, the Lutheran Church is part of the parliamentarian process and is regarded as a dimension of the State. Therefore, the Lutheran Church can be characterized as a "state church baed on the political will of the people." The dimension of being a State Church is also clear from article six in the Constitutional Act, which says: "The King shall be a member of the Evangelical Church."}}</ref> Furthermore, clergy "in the Church of Denmark are civil servants employed by the Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs" and the "economic base of the Church of Denmark is state-collected church taxes combined with a direct state subsidiary (12%), which symbolically covers the expenses of the Church of Denmark to run the civil registration and the burial system for all citizens."<ref name="JuergensmeyerRoof2011"/>

===England=== [[File:Canterbury Cathedral - Portal Nave Cross-spire.jpeg|thumb|right|Canterbury Cathedral houses the ''cathedra'' of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the ''primus inter pares'' of the worldwide Anglican Communion]] Barbara Yorke writes that the "Carolingian Renaissance heightened appreciation within England of the role of king and church in a Christian state."<ref name="Yorke2002">{{cite book|last=Yorke|first=Dr Barbara|title=Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England|date=1 November 2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781134707256|page=176|quote=The Carolingian Renaissance heightened appreciation within England of the role of king and church in a Christian state.}}</ref> As such,

{{quotation|Since the 1701 Act of Establishment, England's official state church has been the Church of England, the monarch being its supreme governor and 'defender of the faith'. He, together with Parliament, has a say in appointing bishops, twenty-six of whom have ex officio seats in the House of Lords. In characteristically British fashion, where the state is representative of civil society, it was Parliament that determined, in the Act of Establishment, that the monarch had to be Anglican.<ref name="Joppke2013">{{cite book|last=Joppke|first=Christian|author-link=Christian Joppke|title=Veil|date=3 May 2013|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=9780745658575|page=1}}</ref>|author=Christian Joppke|source=page 1}}

Christian religious education is taught to children in primary and secondary schools in the United Kingdom.<ref name="Eberle">{{cite book|last=Eberle|first=Professor Edward J|title=Church and State in Western Society: Established Church, Cooperation and Separation|date=28 February 2013|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=9781409497806|page=6|quote=In the UK, the state church is the Church of England, a Protestant church. Under the established church approach, the government will assist the state church and likewise the church will assist the government. Religious education is mandated by law to be taught in all schools, public or private.}}</ref> English schools have a legal requirement for a daily act of collective worship "of a broadly Christian character"<ref name="López-MuñizGroof2006">{{cite book|last1=López-Muñiz|first1=José Luis Martínez|last2=Groof|first2=Jan De|last3=Lauwers|first3=Gracienne|title=Religious Education in Public Schools: Study of Comparative Law|date=17 January 2006|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=9781402038631|page=163|quote=The requirement that the collective worship be of a broadly Christian character is satisfied '...if it reflects the broad traditions of Christian belief without being distinctive of any particular Christian denomination.' Furthermore, it is expressly provided that not every act of collective worship be of a broadly Christian character: the requirement is satisfied provided that, taking any school term as a whole, the majority of acts of collective worship are broadly Christian in character.}}</ref> that is widely flouted.<ref>{{cite news |title=State schools 'ignoring assembly' despite legal requirement |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8743791/State-schools-ignoring-assembly-despite-legal-requirement.html |access-date=1 May 2020 |work=The Telegraph |date=6 September 2011}}</ref>

===Dominican Republic=== The Dominican Republic is a Christian state, with Catholic Christianity being the official religion.<ref name="DOS2025"/> In view of the same, the government of the Dominican Republic extends special privileges to the Catholic Church.<ref name="DOS2025"/> National holidays include holy days of Christianity, such as the Epiphany (January 6), Good Friday, Corpus Christi, and Christmas Day. In the Dominican Republic, religious education classes must be of either a Catholic or evangelical Protestant basis and are required be taught in all elementary and secondary public schools.<ref name="DOS2025"/>

===Faroe Islands=== The Church of the Faroe Islands is the state church of Faroe Islands.<ref name="StatisticsFaroe">{{Cite web |title=Heim {{!}} Hagstova Føroya |url=https://hagstova.fo/fo |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=hagstova.fo}}</ref>

===Georgia=== Georgia is one of the oldest Christian states. Article 8 of Georgian Constitution and the Concordat of 2002 grants the Georgian Orthodox Church special privileges, which include legal immunity to the Patriarch of Georgia. The Orthodox Church is the most trusted institution in the country<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://caucasusbarometer.org/en/cb2013ge/TRUGOCH/|title = Caucasus Barometer 2013 Georgia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jam-news.net/georgian-church-more-trusted-than-parliament-president-and-pm-together/|title = Georgian church more trusted than parliament, president and PM together|date = 11 May 2018}}</ref> and its head, Patriarch Ilia II, the most trusted person.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Patriarch Ilia II: 'Most trusted man in Georgia' - CNN.com |url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/04/23/georgia.powerful.patriarch.ilia/index.html |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=www.cnn.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Civil.Ge {{!}} Politicians' Ratings in NDI-Commissioned Poll |url=https://old.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=26806%3Fid%3D26806 |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=old.civil.ge |archive-date=2023-04-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230426001207/https://old.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=26806%3Fid%3D26806 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Greece=== Greece is a Christian state,<ref name="Jiang2012">{{cite book|last=Jiang|first=Qing|title=A Confucian Constitutional Order|year=2012|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=9780691154602|page=221|quote=The features of the state affect the essence of the state, but the key term is that of historical identity, hence this chapter concentrates on historical identity as the essence of the state, though at times some of the other features will also be referred to. For instance, ancient Greece has now become an Orthodox Christian state. Ancient Persia (Iran) has now become a Muslim state, and the ancient Buddhist states of the Silk Route have also become Islamic states.}}</ref><ref name="EnyediMadeley2004">{{cite book|last1=Enyedi|first1=Zsolt|last2=Madeley|first2=John T.S.|title=Church and State in Contemporary Europe|date=2 August 2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135761417|page=119|quote=Greece is the only Orthodox country in the EU.}}</ref> with the Church of Greece playing "a dominant role in the life of the country".<ref name="Meyendorff1981">{{cite book|last=Meyendorff|first=John|title=The Orthodox Church: Its Past and Its Role in the World Today|year=1981|publisher=St Vladimir's Seminary Press|isbn=9780913836811|page=155|quote=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.}}</ref>

Mount Athos and most of the Athos peninsula are governed as an autonomous region in Greece by the monastic community of Mount Athos, which is ecclesiastically under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

===Greenland=== Being an autonomous constituent country within the Kingdom of Denmark, the Church of Denmark is the established church of Greenland through the Constitution of Denmark:

{{Quote|text=The Evangelical Lutheran Church shall be the Established Church of Denmark, and, as such, it shall be supported by the State.|author=Section IV of Constitution of Denmark<ref name="DenmarkConstitution">{{cite web|title=Constitution of Denmark|url=http://www.parliament.am/library/sahmanadrutyunner/dania.pdf}}</ref>}}

This applies toof the Kingdom of Denmark, except for the Faroe Islands, as the Church of the Faroe Islands became independent in 2007.

===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.<ref name="Hungary's Constitution of 2011"/>

===Iceland=== [[File:Dómkirkjan í Reykjavík 2023.jpg|thumb|Reykjavík Cathedral, mother Church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland]] Around AD 1000, Iceland became a Christian state.<ref name="Kendrick2012">{{cite book|last=Kendrick|first=T. D.|title=A History of the Vikings|date=15 March 2012|publisher=Courier Corporation|isbn=9780486123424|page=350|quote=In becoming a Christian state, then, Iceland had avoided the chaos that was threatened by the secession of the Christian party from Althing and had cemented her friendship with the mother-country of Norway.}}</ref> The ''Encyclopedia of Protestantism'' states that:

{{quotation|The majority of Icelanders are members of the state church. Almost all children are baptized as Lutheran and more than 90 percent are subsequently confirmed. The church conducts 75 percent of all marriages and 99 percent of all funerals. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Iceland is a member of the Lutheran World Federation and the World Council of Churches.<ref name="Melton2005">{{cite book|last=Melton|first=J. Gordon|title=Encyclopedia of Protestantism|date=1 January 2005|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=9780816069835|page=283}}</ref>|author=J. Gordon Melton|title=Encyclopedia of Protestantism|source=page 283}}

All public schools have mandatory education in Christianity, although an exemption may be considered by the Minister of Education.<ref name = "Fox">{{Cite book|author = Jonathan Fox|title = A World Survey of Religion and the State (Cambridge Studies in Social Theory, Religion and Politics)|publisher = Cambridge University Press|quote = All public schools have mandatory education in Christianity. Formally, only the Minister of Education has the power to exempt students from this but individual schools usually grant informal exemptions.|isbn = 978-0-521-70758-9|year = 2008}}</ref>

===Liechtenstein=== Liechtenstein's constitution designates the Catholic Church as being the state Church of that country.<ref name="Fox2008">{{cite book|last=Fox|first=Jonathan|title=A World Survey of Religion and the State|date=19 May 2008|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781139472593|page=119|quote=Liechtenstein's constitution designates the Catholic Church as the state Church and guarantees religious freedom. Article 38 provides protection for the property rights of all religious institutions and states that "the administration of church property in the parishes shall be regulated by a specific law; the agreement of church authorities shall be sought before the law is enacted." Article 16 states that religious instruction in public schools "shall be given by church authorities."}}</ref> In public schools, per article 16 of the Constitution of Liechtenstein, religious education is given by Church authorities.<ref name="Fox2008"/>

===Malta=== [[File:Civil Ensign of Malta.svg|thumb|The Civil Ensign of Malta]] Section Two of the Constitution of Malta specifies the state's religion as being the Roman Catholic Apostolic Religion.<ref name="Gozdecka2015"/><ref name="legal-malta">{{cite web|url=http://www.legal-malta.com/law/constitution-1.htm |title=Chapter 1 – The Republic of Malta |publisher=Legal-Malta |access-date=4 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110827044831/http://www.legal-malta.com/law/constitution-1.htm |archive-date=27 August 2011 }}</ref> It holds that the "authorities of the Roman Catholic Apostolic Church have the duty to teach which principles are right and which are wrong" and that "religious teaching of the Roman Catholic Apostolic Faith shall be provided in all State schools as part of compulsory education".<ref name="Gozdecka2015">{{cite book|last=Gozdecka|first=Dorota Anna|title=Rights, Religious Pluralism and the Recognition of Difference: Off the Scales of Justice|date=27 August 2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317629801|page=59|quote=According to Section 2 of the Maltese Constitution from the year 1964, amended in 1994 and 1996, the state church of Malta is the Roman Catholic Church. According to the same section it is endowed with a legal right to determine moral rights and wrongs and is privileged in public education: 1. The religion of Malta is the Roman Catholic Apostolic Religion. 2. The authorities of the Roman Catholic Apostolic Church have the duty to teach which principles are right and which are wrong. Religious teaching of the Roman Catholic Apostolic Faith shall be provided in all State schools as part of compulsory education.}}</ref>

===Monaco=== Article 9 of the Constitution of Monaco describes "{{Lang|fr|La religion catholique, apostolique et romaine}} [the catholic, apostolic and Roman religion]" as the religion of the state.<ref name="MonacoReligion">{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927091747/http://www.gouv.mc/devwww/wwwnew.nsf/1909$/036c62fe5f92f2efc1256f5b0054fa42gb?OpenDocument&3Gb|date=September 27, 2011|title=CONSTITUTION DE LA PRINCIPAUTE}} (French): Art. 9, Principaute De Monaco: Ministère d'Etat (archived from [http://www.gouv.mc/devwww/wwwnew.nsf/1909$/036c62fe5f92f2efc1256f5b0054fa42gb?OpenDocument&3Gb the original] on 27 September 2011).</ref>

===Norway=== [[Image:Norwegian Bible.jpg|thumb|The Bible in the Norwegian language]] Cole Durham and Tore Sam Lindholm, writing in 2013, stated that "For a period of one thousand years Norway has been a kingdom with a Christian ''state church''" and that a decree went out in 1739 ordering that "Elementary schooling for all Norwegian children became mandatory, so that all Norwegians should be able to read the Bible and the Lutheran Catechism firsthand."<ref name="DurhamLindholm2013">{{cite book |last1=Durham |first1=W. Cole |title=Facilitating Freedom of Religion or Belief |last2=Lindholm |first2=Tore Sam |last3=Tahzib-Lie |first3=Bahia |date=11 December 2013 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9789401756167 |pages=778}}</ref> The modern Constitution of Norway stipulates that "The Church of Norway, an Evangelical-Lutheran church, will remain the Established Church of Norway and will as such be supported by the State."<ref>[https://www.stortinget.no/globalassets/pdf/constitutionenglish.pdf The Constitution of Norway, Article 16 (English translation, published by the Norwegian Parliament)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908050922/https://www.stortinget.no/globalassets/pdf/constitutionenglish.pdf |date=September 8, 2015 }}</ref> As such, the "Norwegian constitution decrees that Lutheranism is the official religion of the State and that the King is the supreme temporal head of the Church."<ref name="EriksenAfrikainstitutet2000" /><ref name="Singh2008">{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Vikram|title=Norway: The Champion of World Peace|date=1 January 2008|publisher=Northern Book Centre|isbn=9788172112455|page=81}}</ref> The administration of the Church "is shared between the Ministry for Church, Education and Research centrally and municipal authorities locally",<ref name="EriksenAfrikainstitutet2000">{{cite book |last1=Eriksen |first1=Tore Linné |url=http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn%3Anbn%3Ase%3Anai%3Adiva-228 |title=Norway and National Liberation in Southern Africa |last2=Afrikainstitutet |first2=Nordiska |publisher=Nordic Africa Institute |year=2000 |isbn=9789171064479 |page=271}}</ref> and the Church of Norway "depends on state and local taxes".<ref name="Fahlbusch2003">{{cite book|last=Fahlbusch|first=Erwin|title=The Encyclopedia of Christianity|year=2003|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=9780802824158|page=796}}</ref> The Church of Norway is responsible for the "maintenance of church buildings and cemeteries".<ref>{{cite book|title=Country Profile: Norway|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kq1BAQAAIAAJ|year=1994|publisher=The Unit|page=9}}</ref> In the mid-20th century, the vast majority of Norwegians participated in the Lutheran Church. According to a 1957 description, "[o]ver 90 percent of the population are married by state church clergymen, have their children baptized and confirmed, and finally are buried with a church service."<ref name="Flint1957">{{cite book|last=Flint|first=John T.|title=State, church and laity in Norwegian society: a typological study of institutional change|year=1957|publisher=University of Wisconsin–Madison|page=10}}</ref> However, current membership in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway is lower, standing at 65% of the population in 2021.<ref name="stat2021statechurch">{{Cite web |title=Church of Norway |url=https://www.ssb.no/en/kultur-og-fritid/religion-og-livssyn/statistikk/den-norske-kirke |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=SSB |language=en}}</ref>

In 2017, the Church of Norway was made self-governing, with the identity of the denomination shifting from a state church to a national church.<ref name="AskelandSchmidt2016">{{cite book |last1=Askeland |first1=Harald |last2=Schmidt |first2=Ulla |title=Church Reform and Leadership of Change |date=29 December 2016 |publisher=James Clarke & Company Limited |isbn=978-0-227-90585-2 |page=76 |language=en |quote=The Church of Norway is a majority Lutheran church with close ties to both the state and the people of Norway. Traditionally it has been a state church. Parish ministers have been (and some still remain) civil servants and bishops have been appointed by government minister of church affairs. In 2012 the church-state relationship was reconfigured and the Church of Norway is now defined as a national ''folk''-church. This loosened the formal ties between the church and state, but the close relationship between the church on the one hand and staet and society on the other persists. The Church of Norway continues to receive and rely on public funding and approximately three quarters of the Norwegian population are members of this church.}}</ref> The Church of Norway continues to be supported by public funding.<ref name="AskelandSchmidt2016"/> Succession rules governing the Monarchy of Norway require that the monarch be an Evangelical Lutheran holding membership in the Church of Norway.<ref name="Fandel2007">{{cite book |last1=Fandel |first1=Jennifer |title=Monarchy |date=July 2007 |publisher=The Creative Company |isbn=978-1-58341-534-4 |page=10 |language=en |quote=For example, the Lutheran Church of Norway is that country's official church, and the constitution requires that the monarch be a member of the church. Those within the royal family, including those who marry into the family, are expected to claim Lutheranism, a type of Christian religion, as their own.}}</ref> Those who marry into the royal family of Norway are expected to be or become Evangelical Lutherans.<ref name="Fandel2007"/>

===Samoa=== Samoa became a Christian state in 2017. Article 1 of the Samoan Constitution states that “Samoa is a Christian nation founded of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”.<ref name="Wyeth2017">{{cite magazine |magazine=The Diplomat |title=Samoa Officially Becomes a Christian State |first=Grant |last=Wyeth |url=https://thediplomat.com/2017/06/samoa-officially-becomes-a-christian-state/ |date=June 16, 2017 |access-date=June 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170616153746/https://thediplomat.com/2017/06/samoa-officially-becomes-a-christian-state/ |archive-date=June 16, 2017}}</ref>

===Serbia=== {{Main|Religion in Serbia|Eastern Orthodoxy in Serbia|Serbian Orthodox Church}} Serbia as a territory became a Christian state during the time of Constantine the Great in Christianization of Eastern Roman Empire, according to the research and discoveries of artifacts left by the Illyrians, Triballi and other kindred tribes. More research has since been made that perhaps prove the existence of Serbs living in the Balkans during Roman times in Illyria. In the centuries that followed from the 4th to the 12th century, when Catholic Church was in a battleground between Serbia due the Eastern Orthodox Church, Serbia prevailed as Orthodox Christian state under his jurisdiction through Saint Sava.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://depts.washington.edu/cartah/text_archive/miller/m3_c1.html|title=PART III. SERVIA}}</ref>

Serbia as modern state, defines in its constitution as a secular state with guaranteed religious freedom.<ref>{{Cite web|title= Article 11. Constitution of Serbia. Parlament of Serbia|url=http://www.parlament.gov.rs/upload/documents/Constitution_%20of_Serbia_pdf.pdf}}</ref> However, Orthodox Christians with 6,079,396 adherents comprise 84.5% of the country's population. The Serbian Orthodox Church is the largest traditional church of the country, adherents of which are overwhelmingly Serbs. The SOC directly or indirectly has cultural influence on both the decisions and positions of the state.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cultural Atlas – Serbian Culture and Religion |date=January 2017 |url=https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/serbian-culture/serbian-culture-religion}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=November 2010 |title='The Serbian Church is Privileged in Society Today' – Balkan Insight |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2010/11/01/the-serbian-church-is-privileged-in-society-today/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Georgetown University . Berkley Center - Religion as a Political Vehicle: An Examination of the Influence of Orthodoxy in Serbia by Russia|date=November 2010 |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2010/11/01/the-serbian-church-is-privileged-in-society-today/}}</ref>

===Sweden=== [[File:Konsekration Alsike Kyrka.png|thumb|300px|Lutheran priest elevating the host during the offering of the Mass at Alsike Church, Sweden]] Under the reign of Gustav Vasa, Sweden became an Evangelical-Lutheran Christian country.<ref name="GassmannOldenburg2011"/> The Protestant Reformation in Sweden was led by the Evangelical-Lutheran divines Olaus Petri and Laurentius Petri.<ref name="GassmannOldenburg2011">{{cite book |last1=Gassmann |first1=Günther |last2=Oldenburg |first2=Mark W. |title=Historical Dictionary of Lutheranism |date=10 October 2011 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-0-8108-7482-4 |page=89 |language=en}}</ref> Laurentius Petri was consecrated in the apostolic succession that, according to the Swedish Church Ordinance 1571 "must remain in the future, so long as the world lasts."<ref name="GassmannOldenburg2011"/> In 1544, the Parliament in Västerås declared Sweden to be an Evangelical-Lutheran kingdom.<ref name="GassmannOldenburg2011"/> The Kyrkogångsplikt was the legal obligation for Swedish citizens to attend Mass every Lord's Day in the Evangelical Lutheran church. The Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Sweden historically served as the state church, though in 2000, this relationship was loosened; "the Church of Sweden is still legally regulated by the state, and the monarch must be a member and assent to its theology."<ref name="DemyShaw2019">{{cite book |last1=Demy |first1=Timothy J. |last2=Shaw |first2=Jeffrey M. |title=Religion and Contemporary Politics: A Global Encyclopedia [2 volumes] |date=19 September 2019 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=979-8-216-13781-8 |language=en}}</ref> The Swedish Act of Succession requires monarchs to "profess the pure evangelical faith".<ref name="KrunkeThorarensen2018">{{cite book |last1=Krunke |first1=Helle |last2=Thorarensen |first2=Björg |title=The Nordic Constitutions: A Comparative and Contextual Study |date=23 August 2018 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-5099-1095-3 |page=15 |language=en|quote=However, the king (or queen, as the case may be) is required, under the Succession (Constitution) Act of 1810, as amended, to profess the pure evangelical faith.}}</ref>

===Tonga=== Tonga became a Christian state under George Tupou I in the 19th century,<ref name="Fodor1986">{{cite book|last=Fodor's|title=Fodor's South Pacific|date=12 February 1986|publisher=Fodor's|isbn=9780679013075|quote=As King George I of Tonga, Tupou created the "modern" Christian state with the Cross dominating its flag, and with the rigorous constitutional clause regulating observation of the Sabbath.}}</ref><ref name="Oliver1989">{{cite book|last=Oliver|first=Douglas L.|title=The Pacific Islands|date=1 January 1989|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=9780824812331|page=118|quote=Tonga, according to its mission friends, exemplified how grace and selfless devotion to the task could transform a feuding array of heathen communities into a unified Christian state.}}</ref> with the Free Wesleyan Church, a member of the World Methodist Council, being established as the country's state Church.<ref name="Bell2005">{{cite book|last=Bell|first=Daphne|title=New to New Zealand: a guide to ethnic groups in New Zealand|date=26 April 2005|publisher=Reed Books|isbn=9780790009988|quote=Nearly all Tongans are Christian, and about 30 percent belong to the Free Wesleyan Church, the official state church.}}</ref> Under the rule of George Tupou I, there was established a "rigorous constitutional clause regulating observation of the Sabbath".<ref name="Fodor1986"/>

===Tuvalu=== The Church of Tuvalu, a Calvinist church in the Congregationalist tradition, is the state church of Tuvalu and was established as such in 1991.<ref name="Ferrari2015">{{cite book|last=Ferrari|first=Silvio|title=Routledge Handbook of Law and Religion|date=3 May 2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135045555|page=217|quote=Recent trends have moved in opposite directions: while the parliament of Tuvalu in 1991 approved legislation establishing the (Congregationalist) Church of Tuvalu as the State Church, at the end of 2007 Nepal's provisional parliamentary assembly voted to abolish the monarchy whose kings were popularly held to be reincarnations of the Hindu god Vishnu.}}</ref> The Constitution of Tuvalu identifies Tuvalu as "an independent State based on Christian principles".<ref name="Temperman2010">{{cite book|last=Temperman|first=Jeroen|title=State-Religion Relationships and Human Rights Law|year=2010|publisher=Brill Academic Publishers |isbn=9789004181489|page=18|quote=The Constitution of Tuvalu in a similar vein constitutes Tuvalu as "an independent State based on Christian principles...and Tuvaluan custom and tradition"; and also the Constitution of Vanuatu proclaims in its Preamble: "[we] HEREBY proclaim the establishment of the united and free Republic of Vanuatu founded on traditional Melanesian values, faith in God, and Christian principles..."}}</ref>

===Vatican City=== [[File:StPetersBasilicaEarlyMorning.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|St. Peter's Square, Vatican City]] Vatican City is a Christian state, in which the "Pope is ''ex officio'' simultaneously leader of the Catholic Church as well as Head of State and Head of the Government of the State of the Vatican City; he also possesses ({{Lang|la|de jure}}) absolute authority over the legislative, executive and judicial branches."<ref name="Erasmus2010">{{cite book|last=Temperman|first=Jeroen|title=State-Religion Relationships and Human Rights Law|year=2010|publisher=Brill Academic Publishers |isbn=9789004181489|page=18|quote=The Catholic State of Vatican City is, of course, the best contemporary example of a Christian state. The State of Vatican City, originally established by the ''Lateran Pacts'' of 1929, approximates most faithfully the ideal-typical conception of theocratic Roman Catholic state. The Pope is ''ex officio'' simultaneously leader of the Catholic Church as well as Head of State and Head of the Government of the State of the Vatican City; he also possesses (''de jure'') absolute authority over the legislative, executive and judicial branches. Practically all acts and policies of the Vatican City revolve around the interests of the Holy See and, apart from the members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard, virtually all inhabitants of the Vatican City are members of the clergy.}}</ref>

===Zambia=== Jeroen Temperman, a professor of international law at Erasmus University Rotterdam writes that:

{{quotation|Zambia is officially a Christian state as well, though the legal ramifications clearly do not compare to the latter state. The Preamble of the Constitution of Zambia establishes Zambia as a Christian state without specifying "Christian" denominationally. It simply proclaims: "We, the people of Zambia...declare the Republic a Christian nation..." As far as state practice is concerned, it may be pointed out that the Government maintains relations with the Zambian Council of Churches and requires Christianity to be taught in the public school curriculum.<ref name="Rotterdam2010">{{cite book|last=Temperman|first=Jeroen|title=State-Religion Relationships and Human Rights Law|year=2010|publisher=Brill Academic Publishers|isbn=9789004181489|page=18}}</ref>|author=Jeroen Temperman|title=State-Religion Relationships and Human Rights Law|source=page 18}}

After "Zambia declared itself a Christian nation in 1991", "the nation's vice president urged citizens to 'have a Christian orientation in all fields, at all levels'."<ref name="Jenkins2011">{{cite book|last=Jenkins|first=Philip|title=The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity|date=11 August 2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199911530|page=187}}</ref>

==Established churches and former state churches==

===Current=== {| class="sortable wikitable" |- ! Location || Church || Denomination || Notes |- | Denmark || Church of Denmark || Lutheran || |- | England || Church of England || Anglican || |- | 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) |- | Greece || Greek Orthodox Church || Eastern Orthodox<ref name="GreeceConstitution">[http://www.hri.org/docs/syntagma/artcl25.html#A3] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801193832/http://www.hri.org/#A3 |date=2017-08-01 }} The Constitution of Greece: Section II Relations of Church and State: Article 3, [http://www.hri.org/ Hellenic Resources network] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801193832/http://www.hri.org/ |date=2017-08-01 }}.</ref>|| The Church of Greece is recognized by the Greek Constitution as the "prevailing religion" in Greece.<ref name=GreeceConstitution/> 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.<ref name="GreeceConstitution2">[http://www.hri.org/docs/syntagma/artcl25.html#A13] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801193832/http://www.hri.org/#A13 |date=2017-08-01 }} THE CONSTITUTION OF GREECE: PART TWO INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL RIGHTS: Article 13</ref> |- | 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 |- | Iceland || Lutheran Evangelical Church || Lutheran || |- | Liechtenstein || Catholic Church<ref name=LiechtensteinConstitution>{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326162534/http://www.liechtenstein.li/en/pdf-fl-staat-verfassung-sept2003.pdf |date=26 March 2009 |title=Constitution Religion }} (archived from [http://www.liechtenstein.li/en/pdf-fl-staat-verfassung-sept2003.pdf the original] on 2009-03-26).</ref> || Catholic || |- | Malta || Catholic Church || Catholic || |- | Monaco || Catholic Church || Catholic || |- | Nicaragua || Catholic Church || Catholic || |- | Tuvalu || Church of Tuvalu || Reformed || |}

===Former=== {| class="sortable wikitable" |- ! Location || Church || Denomination || Disestablished |- | Anhalt || Evangelical State Church of Anhalt || United Protestant || 1918, during the German Revolution |- | Armenia || Armenian Apostolic Church || Oriental Orthodox || 1921 |- | Austria || Catholic Church || Catholic || 1918, under the Federal Constitutional Law |- |rowspan="2"| Baden || Catholic Church || Catholic || 1918, during the German Revolution |- | United Evangelical Protestant State Church of Baden || United Protestant || 1918, during the German Revolution |- |rowspan="3"| Bavaria || Catholic Church || Catholic || 1918, during the German Revolution |- | Protestant State Church in the Kingdom of Bavaria right of the Rhine || Lutheran and Reformed || 1918, during the German Revolution |- | United Protestant Evangelical Christian Church of the Palatinate || United Protestant || 1918, during the German Revolution |- | Bolivia || Catholic Church || Catholic || 2009, under the Constitution of Bolivia |- | Brazil{{#tag:ref|[http://www.v-brazil.com/government/laws/titleIII.html 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 {{cite web|title=Decreto 119-A|url=http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/decreto/1851-1899/d119-a.htm|quote=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.|group=note}} || Roman Catholic Church || Catholic ||1890 |- | Brunswick || Evangelical Lutheran State Church in Brunswick || Lutheran || 1918, during the German Revolution |- | Bulgaria || Bulgarian Orthodox Church || Eastern Orthodox || 1946 |- | Chile || Catholic Church || Catholic || 1925 |- | Colombia || Catholic Church || Catholic || 1991<ref>Constitution of 1991 </ref><ref>{{Cite web | title=Dios, religión y la Constitución de 1991 {{!}} EL ESPECTADOR | url=https://www.elespectador.com/politica/dios-religion-y-la-constitucion-de-1991-article/ | access-date=2026-05-11 | website=www.elespectador.com}}</ref> |- | Croatia{{#tag:ref|Axis-aligned puppet state under Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy|group=note}} || Catholic Church || Catholic || 1945 |- | Connecticut || Congregational Church || Reformed || 1818, under the Constitution of Connecticut |- | Cuba || Catholic Church || Catholic || 1902 |- | Cyprus || Cypriot Orthodox Church || Eastern Orthodox || 1977, with the death of the Ethnarch Makarios III |- | Czechoslovakia || Catholic Church || Catholic || 1920, under the Czechoslovak Constitution |- | East Florida || Church of England || Anglican || 1783 |- | Ethiopia || Ethiopian Orthodox Church || Oriental Orthodox || 1974, after the formation of the Derg |- |rowspan="2"| Finland || Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland || Lutheran || 1869, however the organisation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland is regulated by the Constitution of Finland<ref>{{cite web|title=The Constitution of Finland|url=http://www.finlex.fi/en/laki/kaannokset/1999/en19990731.pdf|publisher=Ministry of Justice (Finland)|access-date=11 January 2020|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827234203/http://www.finlex.fi/en/laki/kaannokset/1999/en19990731.pdf|archive-date=27 August 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> and Church Act of 1993.<ref name="church act (finland)">{{cite web|title=Kirkkolaki 1054/1993|url=https://www.finlex.fi/fi/lainsaadanto/1993/1054|publisher=Ministry of Justice (Finland)|access-date=11 January 2020|language=fi|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214122607/https://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/ajantasa/1993/19931054|archive-date=14 December 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The state also carries out taxing for the funding of the church on its members.<ref name="church act (finland)"/> |- | Finnish Orthodox Church || Eastern Orthodox || 1917 |- | France{{#tag:ref|In France the Concordat of 1801 made the Catholic, Calvinist and Lutheran churches state-sponsored religions, as well as Judaism.|group=note}} || Catholic Church || Catholic || 1905, under the law on the Separation of the Churches and the State |- | Georgia (country) || Georgian Orthodox Church || Eastern Orthodox || 1921 |- | Guatemala || Catholic Church || Catholic || 1871 |- | Haiti || Catholic Church || Catholic || 1987 |- | Hawaii || Church of Hawaii || Anglican || 1893, after the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom |- | Hesse || Evangelical Church in Hesse || United Protestant || 1918, during the German Revolution |- | Hungary{{#tag:ref|In Hungary the constitutional laws of 1848 declared five established churches on equal status: the 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.<ref>{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080220121400/http://www.legislationline.org/upload/legislations/cd/86/39b1e5cc4b9b9b6a97c2830f3608.htm |date=20 February 2008 |title=Constitution of the Republic of Hungary}} (archived from [http://www.legislationline.org/upload/legislations/cd/86/39b1e5cc4b9b9b6a97c2830f3608.htm the original] on 2008-02-20)</ref><ref>{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070523210720/http://www.magyarorszag.hu/english/keyevents/a_alpolg/a_allampolgarsagemberijogok/a_alapjog20050805/a_gondlelkiismjog20060627.html |date=23 May 2007 |title=The right of thought, the freedom of conscience and religion –Hungary.hu }} (archived from [http://www.magyarorszag.hu/english/keyevents/a_alpolg/a_allampolgarsagemberijogok/a_alapjog20050805/a_gondlelkiismjog20060627.html the original] on 2007-05-23)</ref>|group=note}} || Roman Catholic Church || Catholic || 1946 |- | Ireland{{#tag:ref|In the Kingdom of Ireland the Church of Ireland was established in the Reformation.<ref name="LivingstoneSparks2013">{{cite book|last1=Livingstone|first1=E. A.|last2=Sparks|first2=M. W. D.|last3=Peacocke|first3=R. W.|title=The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DZecAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA286|access-date=3 December 2014|date=2013-09-12|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199659623|page=286|chapter=Ireland}}</ref> 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,<ref name="LivingstoneSparks2013" /> and the island was partitioned in 1922.|group=note}} || Church of Ireland || Anglican || 1871 |- | Republic of Ireland{{#tag:ref|The Republic of Ireland's 1937 constitution prohibits an established religion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/en/constitution/index.html#article44|title=CONSTITUTION OF IRELAND|work=Irish Statute Book|at=Article 44|access-date=3 December 2014}}</ref> Originally, it recognized the "special position" of the 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".<ref name="KeoghMcCarthy2007">{{cite book|last1=Keogh|first1=Dermot|last2=McCarthy|first2=Dr. Andrew|title=The Making of the Irish Constitution 1937: Bunreacht Na HÉireann|date=2007-01-01|publisher=Mercier Press|isbn=9781856355612|page=172}}</ref> These provisions were deleted in 1973.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1972/en/act/cam/0005/index.html|title=Fifth Amendment of the Constitution Act, 1972.|work=Irish Statute Book|access-date=3 December 2014}}</ref>|group=note}} || Catholic Church || Catholic ||1973 |- | Italy || Catholic Church || Catholic || 1985, see {{section link|Lateran Treaty|After 1946}} |- | Lippe || Church of Lippe || Reformed || 1918 |- | Lithuania || Catholic Church || Catholic || 1940 |- | Lübeck || Evangelical Lutheran Church in the State of Lübeck || Lutheran || 1918 |- | Luxembourg || Catholic Church || Catholic || Not an official state church |- | North Macedonia ||Macedonian Orthodox Church || Eastern Orthodox || 1921 |- | Mecklenburg-Schwerin || Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Mecklenburg-Schwerin || Lutheran || 1918 |- | Mecklenburg-Strelitz || Mecklenburg-Strelitz State Church || Lutheran || 1918 |- | Mexico || Catholic Church || Catholic || 1857, under the Federal Constitution (reestablished between 1864 and 1867) |- | Netherlands || Dutch Reformed Church || Reformed || 1795 |- | New Netherland || Reformed Church in America || Reformed || 1674 (colony surrendered to English rule) |- | New Brunswick || Church of England || Anglican || 1850 |- | Norway || Church of Norway || Lutheran || 2017, by legislation<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://christiandaily.com/article/norways-church-and-state-to-divorce-after-almost-500-years/59710.htm|title=Norway's church and state to divorce after almost 500 years|website=christiandaily.com|access-date=2017-01-02|archive-date=2018-02-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220033211/http://www.christiandaily.com/article/norways-church-and-state-to-divorce-after-almost-500-years/59710.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kirken.no/nb-NO/om-kirken/aktuelt/2017---et-kirkehistorisk-merkear/|title=2017 - et kirkehistorisk merkeår|date=2017-12-30|website=Den norske kirke, Kirkerådet|access-date=2017-01-02}}</ref> |- | Nova Scotia || Church of England || Anglican || 1850 |- | Oldenburg || Evangelical Lutheran Church of Oldenburg || Lutheran || 1918 |- | Panama || Catholic Church || Catholic || 1904 |- | Paraguay || Catholic Church || Catholic || 1992<ref>Under the 1967 Constitution, Catholicism was the state religion as stated in Article 6: "The 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."</ref> |- | Peru || Catholic Church || Catholic || 1993, under the Constitution of Peru |- | Philippines{{#tag:ref|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.|group=note}} || Catholic Church || Catholic || 1898 |- | Poland{{#tag:ref|Article 25 of [http://www.sejm.gov.pl/prawo/konst/angielski/kon1.htm 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 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.|group=note}}|| Catholic Church || Catholic || 1947 |- | Portugal || Catholic Church || Catholic || 1911 |- | Prince Edward Island || Church of England || Anglican || 1850 |- | Georgia (US state) || Church of England || Anglican || 1789 |- | Province of Maryland || Church of England || Anglican || 1776 |- | Massachusetts || Congregational Church || Reformed || 1834<ref>{{cite journal |title=Notes on Disestablishment in Massachusetts, 1780-1833 |author=John D. Cushing |journal=The William and Mary Quarterly |volume=26 |number=2 |date=April 1969 |pages=169–190 |publisher=Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture|doi=10.2307/1918674 |jstor=1918674 }}</ref> |- | New Hampshire || Church of England || Anglican || 1877 |- | North Carolina || Church of England || Anglican || 1776 |- | South Carolina || Church of England || Anglican || 1790 |- | 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 Kurhessen-Waldeck || United Protestant || 1918 |- | Prussia Province of Hesse-Nassau (partially)|| Evangelical State Church in Nassau || United Protestant || 1918 |- | Prussia Province of Schleswig-Holstein || Evangelical Lutheran Church of Schleswig-Holstein || Lutheran || 1918 |- | Quebec || Catholic Church || Catholic || 1960, after the Quiet Revolution |- | Romania || Romanian Orthodox Church || Eastern Orthodox || 1947 |- | Russia || Russian Orthodox Church || Eastern Orthodox || 1917, after the Russian Revolution |- |- | Taiping Heavenly Kingdom || God Worshipping Society || God Worshipping Society || 1864 |- | 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{{#tag:ref|The modern Church of Scotland has always disclaimed recognition as an "established" church. The Church of Scotland Act 1921 formally recognised the Kirk's independence from the state.}} || Church of Scotland || Presbyterian || State control disclaimed since 1638. Formally recognised as not an established church in 1921 |- | Serbia || Serbian Orthodox Church || Eastern Orthodox || 1946 |- | Spain || Catholic Church || Catholic || 1978 |- | Sweden || Church of Sweden || Lutheran || 2000 |- | Switzerland || separate Cantonal Churches («Landeskirchen») || Zwinglianism & Calvinism or Catholic || during the 20th century |- | United Province of Canada || Church of England || Anglican || 1854 |- | Uruguay || Catholic Church || Catholic || 1918, (into effect in 1919) |- | Virginia || Church of England || Anglican || 1786 |- | Waldeck || Evangelical State Church of Waldeck and Pyrmont || United Protestant || 1918 |- | Wales{{#tag:ref|The Church in Wales was split from the Church of England in 1920, by Welsh Church Act 1914; at the same time becoming disestablished.|group=note}} || Church of England || Anglican || 1920 |- | West Florida || Church of England || Anglican || 1783 |- | Württemberg || Evangelical State Church in Württemberg || Lutheran || 1918 |}

==National church== {{Main|National church}} A number of countries have a national church which is not established (as the official religion of the nation), but is nonetheless recognised under civil law as being the country's acknowledged religious denomination. Whilst these are not Christian states, the official Christian national church is likely to have certain residual state functions in relation to state occasions and ceremonial. Examples include Scotland (Church of Scotland) and Sweden (Church of Sweden). A national church typically has a monopoly on official state recognition, although unusually Finland has two national churches (the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Finnish Orthodox Church), both recognised under civil law as joint official churches of the nation.

== Notes == {{NoteFoot}}

== References == === Citations === {{Reflist}}

=== Sources === * {{cite book |last=Bidart Campos |first=Germán J. |title=Manual de la Constitución Reformada |volume=I |publisher=Ediar |place=Buenos Aires |year=2005 |language=es |isbn=978-950-574-121-2}} * {{cite book |last=Fayt |first=Carlos S. |author-link=Carlos Fayt |title=Derecho Político |volume=I |edition=6th |publisher=Depalma |place=Buenos Aires |year=1985 |language=es |isbn=978-950-14-0276-6}} ; Legal documents {{refbegin}} * {{citation |url = http://www.senado.gov.ar/web/interes/constitucion/english.php |title = Constitution of the Argentine Nation |author=National Constituent Convention |location = Santa Fe |date=22 August 1994 |ref={{harvid|Constitution of Argentina}} |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040509144959/http://www.senado.gov.ar/web/interes/constitucion/english.php |archive-date= 9 May 2004 }} {{refend}}

==External links== *{{Commonscatinline|Christian countries}} *{{Wikiquote-inline}}

Category:State churches (Christian) Category:Christian states State State State Category:Theocracy Category:Congregationalism