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Confessional states[a]
Christianity (unspecified doctrines)
Roman Catholicism
Eastern Orthodoxy
Protestantism
Islam (unspecified doctrines)
Sunni Islam
Shi'a Islam
Buddhism
A state religion (also called official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not a secular state, is not necessarily a theocracy. State religions are official or government-sanctioned establishments of a religion, but the state does not need to be under the control of the clergy (as in a theocracy), nor is the state-sanctioned religion necessarily under the control of the state.
Official religions have been known throughout human history in almost all types of cultures, reaching into the Ancient Near East and prehistory. The relation of religious cult and the state was discussed by the ancient Latin scholar Marcus Terentius Varro, under the term of theologia civilis (lit.'civic theology'). The first state-sponsored Christian church was the Armenian Apostolic Church, established in 301 CE.[28] In Christianity, as the term church is typically applied to a place of worship for Christians or organizations incorporating such ones, the term state church is associated with Christianity as sanctioned by the government, historically the state church of the Roman Empire in the last centuries of the Empire's existence, and is sometimes used to denote a specific modern national branch of Christianity. Closely related to state churches are ecclesiae, which are similar but carry a more minor connotation.
In the Middle East, the majority of states with a predominantly Muslim population have Islam as their official religion, though the degree of religious restrictions on citizens' everyday lives varies by country. Rulers of Saudi Arabia use religious power, while Iran's secular presidents are supposed to follow the decisions of religious authorities since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Turkey, which also has Muslim-majority population, became a secular country after Atatürk's Reforms, although unlike the Russian Revolution of the same time period, it did not result in the adoption of state atheism.
The degree to which an official national religion is imposed upon citizens by the state in contemporary society varies considerably; from high as in Saudi Arabia and Iran, to none at all as in Greenland, Denmark, England, Iceland, and Greece (in Europe, the state religion might be called in English, the established church.)
^The Inscrutable Guardian of Thunder and Silence: the Dragon (Druk) in Himalayan Symbology.
^"Mauritania". CIA World Factbook. 22 November 2021.
^Shelley, Toby (2004). Endgame in the Western Sahara: What Future for Africa's Last Colony. Zed Books. p. 174. ISBN 978-1-84277-341-3.
^ ab"Morocco". CIA World Factbook. 23 November 2021.
^"Tunisia". CIA World Factbook. 24 November 2021.
^"The 2012 Constitution of Egypt". Nivien Saleh. Translated by Nivien Saleh. 9 February 2013. Article 2. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
^United Kingdom's Constitution of 1215 with Amandments through 2013
^"Jordan". CIA World Factbook. 24 November 2021.
^"Iraq". CIA World Factbook. 22 November 2021.
^"Pakistan". CIA World Factbook. 30 November 2021.
^"Bangladesh". CIA World Factbook. 16 November 2021.
^"United Arab Emirates". CIA World Factbook. 23 November 2021.
^"Oman". CIA World Factbook. 30 November 2021.
^"Yemen". CIA World Factbook. 24 November 2021.
^"Maldives". CIA World Factbook. 23 November 2021.
^"Iranian Constitution". www.servat.unibe.ch. Article 12. Retrieved 2 January 2023. The official religion of Iran is Islam and the Twelver Ja'fari school, ...
^"Algeria". CIA World Factbook. 18 November 2021.
^Basic Law of Governance (Chapter one, Article one), saudiembassy.net, "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a sovereign Arab Islamic State. Its religion is Islam. Its constitution is Almighty God's Book, The Holy Qur'an, and the Sunna (Traditions) of the Prophet (PBUH). Arabic is the language of the Kingdom. The City of Riyadh is the capital."
^"Sri Lanka". CIA World Factbook. 3 October 2022.
^The Constitution of Afghanistan (Chapter one, Article two), afghan-web.com
^"Somalia". CIA World Factbook. 19 November 2021.
^Federal Constitution, agc.gov.my
^International Business Publications, USA (2007). Brunei Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'Izzaddin Waddaulah Handbook. Int'l Business Publications. pp. 133. ISBN 978-1-4330-0444-5.
^"Greece". CIA World Factbook. 29 November 2021.
^"Denmark". CIA World Factbook. 30 November 2021.
^Title VI, Article 75 of The Constitution of Costa Rica, costaricalaw.com.
^"Zambia's Constitution of 1991 with Amendments through 2009" (PDF). CIA World Factbook.
^The Journal of Ecclesiastical History. p. 268 by Cambridge University Press, Gale Group, C.W. Dugmore
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