Christian state

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A Christian state is a country that recognizes a form of Christianity as its official religion and often has a state church, which is a Christian denomination that supports the government and is supported by the government. Historically, the nations of Armenia, Aksum, Georgia, as well as the Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire declared themselves as Christian states. Today, several nations officially identify themselves as Christian states and/or have state churches, including Costa Rica, Denmark, England, Greece, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vatican City, and Zambia. A Christian state stands in contrast to a secular state, an atheist state, or another religious state, such as an Islamic state.

History

In 380 AD, the Edict of Thessalonica (Cunctos populos) made the Roman Empire a Christian state, establishing Nicene Christianity, in the form of its State Church, as its official religion.

The boundaries of Byzantine Empire under Justinian the Great

After its fall, under the emperor Justinian (527-565), the "Byzantine Empire became the world's predominant Christian state, based on Roman law, Greek culture, and the Greek language." In this Christian state, in which faith in Jesus was upheld by nearly all of its subjects, an "enormous amount of artistic talent was poured into the construction of churches, church ceremonies, and church decoration". John Binns describes this era, writing that:

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.

As a Christian state, Armenia "embraced Christianity as the religion of the King, the nobles, and the people." In 337 AD, following the conversion of Mirian and Nana, the country of Georgia became a Christian state. In the 4th century AD, the Kingdom of Aksum, after Ezana's conversion to the faith, this empire also became a Christian state.

Modern era

Costa Rica

The constitution of Costa Rica states that "The Roman Catholic and Apostolic Religion is the religion of the State". 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.

Denmark

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", with the Church of Denmark, a member of the Lutheran World Federation, being the state church. Wasif Shadid, a full professor at Leiden University writes that:

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.

82.1% of the population of Denmark are members of the Lutheran Church of Denmark, which is "officially headed by the queen of Denmark". 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."

England

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." As such,

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'. She, 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.

Christian religious education is taught to children in primary and secondary schools in the United Kingdom, with an act of collective worship "of a broadly Christian character" being required daily.

Greece

Greece is a Christian state, with the Greek Orthodox Church playing "a dominant role in the life of the country."

Iceland

Reykjavik Cathedral, mother Church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland

Around 1000 AD, Iceland became a Christian state. The Encyclopedia of Protestantism states that:

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.

All public schools have mandatory education in Christianity, although an exemption may be considered by the Minister of Education.

Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein's constitution designates the Catholic Church as being the state Church of that country. In public schools, per article 16 of the Constitution of Liechtenstein, religious education is given by Church authorities.

Malta

The Civil Ensign of Malta

Section Two of the Constitution of Malta specifies the state's religion as being the Roman Catholic Apostolic Religion. 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".

Monaco

Article 9 of the Constitution of Monaco describes "La religion catholique, apostolique et romaine [the catholic, apostolic and Roman religion]" as the religion of the state.

Norway

File:Norwegian Bible.jpg

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." 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." 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." The administration of the Church "is shared between the Ministry for Church, Education and Research centrally and municipal authorities locally", and the Church of Norway "depends on state and local taxes". The Church of Norway is responsible for the "maintenance of church buildings and cemeteries". John T. Flint writes that "Over 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."

Tonga

Tonga became a Christian state under George Tupou I in the 19th century, with the Free Wesleyan Church, a member of the World Methodist Council, being established as the country's state Church. Under the rule of George I, there was established a "rigorous constitutional clause regulating observation of the Sabbath".

Tuvalu

The Church of Tuvalu, a Reformed Church in the Congregationalist tradition, is the state church of Tuvalu and was established as such in 1991. The Constitution of Tuvalu identifies Tuvalu as "an independent State based on Christian principles".

Vatican City

St. Peter's Square, Vatican City

Vatican City is a Christian state, in which the "Pope is ex officio simultaneously leader of the Roman 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."

Zambia

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

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.

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'."

See also

• Christian Reconstructionism
• Civil religion