state religions
Government-endorsed belief systems
A state religion is a faith officially endorsed or established by a government, often receiving funding, legal privileges, or constitutional recognition.
Countries with state religions range from theocracies where religious law governs to democracies where the connection is largely ceremonial: The Church of England remains a state religion, though Britain is largely secular.
The opposite arrangement—separation of church and state—prohibits government endorsement of any faith.
- theocracyRule by religious authority
- divine rightGod-granted ruling authority
- governmentsRuling political authorities
- endorsementsFormal declarations of support
- creedsFormal declarations of faith
secularization · established church · constitutions · clerical hierarchy · canon law · blasphemy laws · holy days · holidays · churches · beliefs · officials · papal authority · moral authority · faiths · tax exemptions · rituals · Catholic missions · sharia
state religionsseparation of church and state
Constitutional religious neutrality principle
secularism · disestablishment · secular state · civil government · church-state separation
state religionsreligious pluralism
Multiple faiths holding validity
religious equality · religious freedom · freedom of religion · religious tolerance · disestablishmentarianism
state religionsfreedom of religion
Right to practice any faith
religious liberty · freedom of conscience · religious tolerance
state, states, stated, stating, statement, statements, stately, statesman, statesmen