Religion or Religious States versus Secular Societies

A state religion (also called an official religion, established church or state church) is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state. Practically, a state without a state religion is called a secular state. The term state church is associated with Christianity, and is sometimes used to denote a specific national branch of Christianity. Closely related to state churches are what sociologists call ecclesiae, though the two are slightly different.

State religions are examples of the official or government-sanctioned establishment of religion, as distinct from theocracy. It is also possible for a national church to become established without being under state control. The first national church was the Armenian Orthodox Church which was established in 301 A.D.

Types of Churches: 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, a state may have a set of state-sponsored religious denominations that it funds; 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.

State church and State religion: There is also a difference between a “state church” and “state religion”. A “state church” is created by the state, as in the cases of the Anglican Church, created by Henry VIII or the Church of Sweden, created by Gustav Vasa. An example of “state religion” is Argentina’s acceptance of Roman Catholicism as its religion.

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: 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, much of this support is little more than nominal; many members of the church rarely attend it. But the population’s allegiance towards the state religion is often strong enough to prevent them from joining competing religious groups.

A denomination’s status as official religion does not always imply that the jurisdiction prohibits the existence or operation of other sects or religious bodies. It all depends upon the government and the level of tolerance the citizens of that country have for other religions.

Some countries with official religions have laws that guarantee the freedom of worship, full liberty of conscience, and places of worship for all citizens; and implement those laws more than other countries that do not have an official or established state religion.

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Disestablishment: is the process of depriving a church of its status as an organ of the state. Supporters of retaining an established church call themselves “antidisestablishmentarianists”, meaning Secular state status

Canada: 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, Roman Catholic schools are constitutionally protected and funded by taxes in some provinces.

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 head of the Church of England.

Scotland: 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. 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.

Wales: 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.

Ireland: In Ireland (then part of the United Kingdom and where the majority of the population were Roman Catholic) the (Anglican) Church of Ireland was disestablished in 1869 (effective 1871).

United States of America: The First Amendment to the US Constitution explicitly forbids the U.S. 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.

The Massachusetts system required every man to belong to some church, and pay taxes towards it; while it was formally neutral between denominations, in practice the indifferent would be counted as belonging to the majority denomination, and in some cases religious minorities had trouble being recognized at all.

The Fourteenth Amendment to the US 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 US Supreme Court, especially as the Court must now balance, on a state (similar, but not equivalent to province) 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. School prayer resulted in a controversy in contemporary US politics.

All current U.S. state constitutions include guarantees of religious liberty parallel to the First Amendment, but eight (Arkansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas) also contain clauses that prohibit atheists from holding public office.

However, these clauses have been held by the United States 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.

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Predominant (more than 90 percent of the population) religion in states which are secular;

Roman Catholic – Poland, Italy, Luxembourg, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Venezuela and East Timor
Lutheran – Sweden and Finland
Islam – Azerbaijan, Gambia, Maldives, Mali, Senegal, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
Buddhism – Burma
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Present state religions: Currently, the following religions are recognized as state religions in some countries: some form of Christianity, Islam and Buddhism.

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

Roman Catholic: Jurisdictions which recognize Roman Catholicism as their state or official religion:

• Argentina
• Costa Rica
• Liechtenstein
• Malta
• Monaco

Some Cantons of Switzerland:

• Appenzell Innerrhoden (declared “religion of the people of Appenzell Innerrhoden”)
• Aargau
• Basel-Country
• Berne
• Glarus
• Graubünden
• Nidwalden
• Schwyz
• Thurgau
• Uri

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Vatican City (Holy See) – Roman Catholic State
A number of countries give a special recognition to Catholicism in their constitution despite not making it the state religion include;

• Andorra,
• Dominican Republic,
• El Salvador,
• Italy,
• Indonesia,
• Haiti,
• Honduras,
• Paraguay,
• Peru,
• Poland,
• Portugal,
• Slovakia,
• Spain,

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

• Cyprus (Cypriot Orthodox Church)
• Greece (Church of Greece)
• Finland: Finnish Orthodox Church 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.
• Moldova
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Oriental Orthodox: Jurisdictions which recognize one of the Oriental Orthodox Churches as their state religion:
*Armenia (Armenian Apostolic Church)
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Lutheran: Jurisdictions which recognize a Lutheran church as their state religion:

• Denmark (Church of Denmark)
• Iceland (Church of Iceland)
• Norway (Church of Norway)
• 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. 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. 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.

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Anglican: Jurisdictions that recognise an Anglican church as their state religion:

   * England (Church of England)
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Reformed: Jurisdictions which recognize a Reformed church as their state religion:

• Scotland (Church of Scotland)
• Tuvalu (Church of Tuvalu)

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Old Catholic: Jurisdictions which recognize an Old Catholic church as their state religion:

Some cantons of Switzerland (Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland):

• Aargau
• Basel-Country
• Bern

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Islam:

Political aspects of Islam, Sharia, Caliphate, Religious police and Islamism

Although the separation of church and state was first theorized by Averroes, most Muslim-majority countries recognize Islam as the state religion, but most of them do not place Sharia Law as the constitution itself.

• Afghanistan (Islamic state)
• Algeria
• Bahrain
• Bangladesh (Islamic state)
• Brunei
• Comoros
• Egypt
• Indonesia (Uses Islamic jurisprudence in private law; and in Aceh special territory as a basic law. Officially also recognize Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism as religion, but they have much less influence in government and law).
• Iran (Islamic state)
• Iraq
• Jordan
• Kuwait
• Libya
• Malaysia (Not exactly an Islamic state but does have Sharia courts along with the secular courts)
• Maldives
• Mauritania (Islamic state)
• Morocco
• Oman
• Pakistan (Islamic state)
• Qatar
• Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
• Saudi Arabia (Islamic kingdom)
• Somalia (the newly established coalition government announced in March 2009 that it would implement shari’a as the nation’s official judicial system.)
• Tunisia
• United Arab Emirates
• Yemen (Islamic state)

Sunni Islam States:

• Algeria
• Bangladesh
• Comoros
• Malaysia
• Maldives
• Mauritania
• Saudi Arabia (as state-sanctioned religion)
• Somalia
• Jordan
• Indonesia (Aceh Special Province Only)
  

 Shi’a Islam State:
    *Iran (as state-sanctioned religion)

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

Bhutan (Drukpa Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism)
Cambodia (Theravada Buddhism)
Kalmykia, a republic within the Russian Federation (Tibetan Buddhism – sole Buddhist entity in Europe)
Sri Lanka (Theravada Buddhism) – The constitution accords Buddhism the “foremost place,” but Buddhism is not recognized as the state religion.
Thailand (Theravada Buddhism)
Tibet Government in Exile (Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism)

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Judaism:

Israel is defined in several of its laws as a “Jewish and democratic state” (medina yehudit ve-demokratit).

The term “Jewish“ is a polyseme that can relate equally to the Jewish people or religion. 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 Judaism as the state’s religion.

However, the State of Israel supports religious institutions, in particular Orthodox Torah Judaism and recognizes the “religious communities” as carried over from those recognized under the British Mandate. These are:

• Orthodox Judaism  
• Christian (Eastern Orthodox,
• Latin [Catholic],
• Gregorian-Armenian,
• Armenian-Catholic,
• Syrian [Catholic],
• Chaldean [Uniate],
• Greek Catholic
• Melkite,
• Maronite,
• Syrian Orthodox)
• Islam: The fact that the Muslim population was not defined as a religious community as a vestige of the Ottoman period during which Islam was the dominant religion and does not affect the rights of the Muslim community to practice their faith. 

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,
• the Bahá’í

These groups have their own religious courts as official state courts for personal status matters ( 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.

Non-recognition of other streams of religions is the cause of some controversy. As of 2010, there is no civil marriage in Israel, although there is recognition of marriages performed abroad.

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Hindu
Nepal was once the world’s only Hindu state, but has ceased to be so following a declaration by the Parliament in 2006.
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The Philippines is constituted as a de facto Roman Catholic-state 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.

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. However, these religions are not established as state religions.
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Ancient State Religions

Egypt and Sumer: 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,
• 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,
• Pharaohs were often thought of as embodiments of the god Horus.

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 Persian Empire:

• Zoroastrianism was the state religion of the Sassanid dynasty which lasted until 651,
• 651 – Persia was conquered by the forces of Islam.

However,  Zoroastrianism 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.
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Greek city-states: 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,
• Thebes had Demeter

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Roman Religion and Christianity: 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.

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 heretical and schismatic groups, was declared to be the state religion of the Roman Empire on February 27, 380 by the decree De Fide Catolica of Emperor Theodosius I.
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Han Dynasty Confucianism
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.

The “Confucianism” advocated by the Han emperors may be termed as Confucian Legalism or “State Confucianism”.

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.

There is a debate over whether Confucianism (including Neo-confucianism) is a religion or purely a philosophical system.
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Empire of Japan
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.
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States without any state religion: These states do not profess any state religion, and are generally secular or laique. Countries which officially decline to establish any religion include:

• Albania
• Australia (Forbidden under the Constitution of Australia)
• Azerbaijan
• Brazil all states since 1988
• Bolivia
• Canada
• Chile
• Cuba
• People’s Republic of China
• Republic of China (Taiwan)
• East Timor
• Ecuador
• France
• Germany
• Hungary
• India
• Ireland
• Israel (which considers itself a “a Jewish and democratic state”, although “Jewish” might be construed to refer to the people rather than the religion)
• Italy
• Jamaica
• Japan (Shinto until end of WWII)
• Kosovo (Independence partially recognised)
• Laos
• 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.)
• Mexico
• Montenegro
• Nepal (declared a secular state on May 18, 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
• Philippines (forbidden explicitly under Article III Section 5 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, however the Roman Catholic Church is a de facto state religion in the country)
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Russia
• Serbia
• Slovenia
• Singapore
• South Africa
• South Korea
• Spain
• Sweden (Lutheran (Church of Sweden) until December 31, 1999.)
• Turkey
• United States (forbidden explicitly under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, as well as 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

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Established or dominant religions within the populations and former state religions

• Anhalt – Evangelical Church of Anhalt, Lutheran 1918
• Armenia - Armenian Apostolic Church, Oriental Orthodox 1921
• Austria - Roman Catholic Church 1918
• Baden - Roman Catholic Church and the Evangelical Church of Baden Catholic and Lutheran 1918
• Bavaria - Roman Catholic Church 1918
• Bolivia – Roman Catholic Church  2009
• Brazil - Roman Catholic Church  1890
• Brunswick – Lüneburg Evangelical Lutheran, State Church of Brunswick Lutheran 1918
• Bulgaria – Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox 1946
• Chile – Roman Catholic Church 1925
• Cuba - Roman Catholic Church  1902
• Cyprus – Cypriot Orthodox Church,  Eastern Orthodox 1977
• Czechoslovakia - Roman Catholic Church 1920
• Denmark - Church of Denmark, Lutheran
• England - Church of England,  Anglican
• Estonia – Church of Estonia , Eastern Orthodox 1940
• Ethiopia – Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox 1974
• Finland – Lutheran [see notes]
• France  – Roman Catholic Church 1905
• Georgia - Georgian Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox 1921
• Greece - Greek Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox
• Guatemala - Roman Catholic Church 1871
• Haiti - Roman Catholic Church 1987
• Hesse - Evangelical Church of Hesse and Nassau Lutheran 1918
• Hungary – Roman Catholic Church 1946
• Iceland - Lutheran Evangelical Church, Lutheran
• Ireland – Church of Ireland Anglican 1871
• Italy – Roman Catholic Church 1984
• Lebanon – Maronite Catholic Church/Islam Catholic/Islam
• Liechtenstein - Roman Catholic Church 
• Lippe - Church of Lippe Reformed 1918
• Lithuania - Roman Catholic Church 1940
• Lübeck - North Elbian Evangelical Church, Lutheran 1918
• Luxembourg - Roman Catholic Church 
• Republic of Macedonia – Macedonian Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox
• Malta - Roman Catholic Church
• Mecklenburg - Evangelical Church of Mecklenburg Lutheran 1918
• Mexico - Roman Catholic Church 1874
• Monaco – Roman Catholic Church 
• Mongolia - Tibetan Buddhism  1926
• Netherlands - Dutch Reformed Church Reformed 1795
• Norway – Church of Norway Lutheran
• Oldenburg – Evangelical Lutheran Church of Oldenburg Lutheran 1918
• Panama – Roman Catholic Church 1904
• Paraguay - Roman Catholic Church 1992
• Philippines - Roman Catholic Church 1898
• Poland – Roman Catholic Church 1947
• Portugal - Roman Catholic Church 1910
• Prussia - 13 provincial churches Lutheran 1918
• Quebec,Canada - Roman Catholic Church 1960
• Romania – Romanian Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox 1947
• Russia – Russian Orthodox Church Eastern Orthodox 1917
• Thuringia – Evangelical Church in Thuringia Lutheran 1918
• Saxony – Evangelical Church of Saxony Lutheran 1918
• Schaumburg-Lippe - Evangelical Church of Schaumburg-Lippe Lutheran 1918
• Scotland – Church of Scotland, Presbyterian 1638.
• Serbia - Serbian Orthodox Church Eastern
• Spain – Roman Catholic Church 1978
• Sweden - Church of Sweden, Lutheran 2000
• Switzerland - none since the adoption of the Federal Constitution (1848) 
• Turkey-  Islam 1928
• Uruguay – Roman Catholic Church 1919
• Waldeck - Evangelical Church of Hesse-Kassel and Waldeck Lutheran 1918
• Wales - Church in Wales, Anglican 1920
• Württemberg - Evangelical State Church in Württemberg Lutheran 1918

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Additional Notes:

Finland’s State Church was the Church of Sweden until 1809. As an autonomous Grand Duchy under Russia 1809-1917, Finland retained the Lutheran State Church system, and a state church separate from Sweden, later named the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, was established. It was detached from the state as a separate judicial entity when the new church law came to force in 1870.

After Finland had gained independence in 1917, religious freedom was declared in the constitution of 1919 and a separate law on religious freedom in 1922.

Through this arrangement, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland lost its position as a state church but gained a constitutional status as a national church alongside with the Finnish Orthodox Church, whose position however is not codified in the constitution.
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In France the Concordat of 1801 made the Roman Catholic, Calvinist and Lutheran churches state-sponsored religions, as well as Judaism.
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In Hungary the constitutional laws of 1848 declared five established churches on equal status: the Roman 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 religion

In 1948 every distinction between the different denominations were abolished.
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The Polish March Constitution - Article 114 of 1921 declared the Roman 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.
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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.
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The Church in Wales was split from the Church of England in 1920 by Welsh Church Act 1914; at the same time becoming disestablished.
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The Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem also known as the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, is an autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church within the wider communion of Orthodox Christianity. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate considers itself to be the Mother Church of Jerusalem, to whose bishop patriarchal dignity was granted by the Council of Chalcedon in 451.

The Greek Orthodox Church (also termed Eastern orthodox) consists of a family of Churches all of which acknowledge the honorary primacy of the Patriarch of Constantinople. Historically, this Church developed from the Churches of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire.

Since 1054 it has been in schism with Rome. However, in 1964 a historic meeting between Pope Paul VI and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Athenagoras, was held in Jerusalem.

After 1099 and the Crusader conquest, the (Orthodox) patriarchate of Jerusalem, already in exile, was removed to Constantinople. Permanent residence in Jerusalem was not reestablished until 1845.

Since 1662, direction of Orthodox interests in the Holy Land has rested with the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher, which has sought to safeguard the status of the Orthodox Church in the Holy Places, and to preserve the Hellenistic character of the Patriarchate.

The parishes are predominantly Arabic-speaking and are served by Arab married priests as well as by members of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher. The community numbers about 120,000 in Jerusalem, the Galilee, Judea, Samaria and Gaza.

The Church celebrates its liturgy in the Byzantine rite, whose original language is Greek, and follows its own calendar of feasts, preserving the Julian calendar (that is thirteen days behind the Western (Gregorian) calendar).

The number of Orthodox Christians in the Holy Land are estimated at about 100,000 people. A majority of Church members are Arabs and there are also many Russians, Romanians, and Georgians. The Church’s hierarchy is dominated by Greeks, which in effect excludes the Arab-speaking majority from the Church’s upper ranks. This has been a point of endless contention between Greeks in the patriarchate, who are backed by the Greek government in this regard and the (Arab Orthodox Christians)

The headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is also often called (Greek: Sionitis Ecclesia, i.e. the “Church of Zion”). Christians believe that it was in Jerusalem that Christianity was established on the day of Pentecost with the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:1-41) and that the Gospel of Christ spread from Jerusalem. In the Apostolic Age, Christianity consisted of an indefinite number of local Churches that in the initial years looked to Jerusalem as its main centre and point of reference.

Main entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem.

Before the outbreak of the First Jewish–Roman War (66-73 AD) and the destruction of the Jerusalem Jewish Temple in 70 AD by Titus, Christians led by Simeon fled to Pella in Decapolis (Jordan), where they remained until 135 AD. Some also found their way to Antioch, where they undertook evangelical efforts, and to whom the term “Christians” was first used.

The Hebrews/Jews of Judea once again revolted against Rome in the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136). By or during that time, the Christians had returned to Jerusalem. To punish the Jews for their revolt and to prevent further unrest, Jerusalem was made a Roman colony and renamed Aelia Capitolina by Hadrian.

In 135, the Metropolitan of Caesarea appointed Marcus as the first bishop of the renamed Church of Aelia Capitolina. He was the first gentile bishop of the Church of Jerusalem (or Aelia Capitolina), all the previous ones having been Greek Jewish converts.

The persecution of Jews by Roman authorities in Judea increased, with most of the Jewish and Christian population of Judea being enslaved and dispersed throughout the Roman Empire. The importance and place of the Church of Jerusalem in the life of the Christian Church diminished; though a Greek,  Jewish and Christian remnant always remained in Jerusalem and the Holy land.

Despite the strife, persecutions and meager population, bishops continued to be elected or named. Eusebius of Caesarea provides the names of an unbroken succession of thirty-six Bishops of Jerusalem up to the year 324. The first sixteen of these bishops were Greek Jewish converts from James the Just to Judas (135) and the remainder were Gentiles. The Metropolitans of Caesarea continued to appoint the bishops of Aelia Capitolina until 325.

At the First Council of Nicaea in 325, though the bishop of Aelia Capitolina was still subordinate to the Metropolitan of Caesarea, the Council accorded the bishop a certain undefined precedence in its seventh canon.

In a decree issued from the seventh session of the Fourth Ecumenical Council (the Council of Chalcedon) in 451 the Bishop of Jerusalem was elevated to the rank of Patriarch, ranked fifth after the Churches of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, and Antioch. Since then, the Church of Jerusalem has remained an autocephalous Church.

Jerusalem was established as a patriarchate because of the special significance acquired between the First and Fourth Ecumenical Councils; the erection of magnificent Churches; the conversion of the Holy Land to Christianity; the coming together of pilgrims from around the world; the importance of outstanding bishops, monks, and teachers of the Church of Jerusalem; the struggles of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre on behalf of Orthodoxy; and the support of various Emperors of Byzantium.

Eastern Orthodox priest in Jerusalem.

The Persians occupied Jerusalem in 614 and took Patriarch Zachariah prisoner, along with the palladium of Christianity, the Precious Cross. Chrysostomos Papadopoulos writes in his history of the Patriarchate: “The Churches and the monasteries, inside and outside Jerusalem, were destroyed; the Christians and Jews were brutally slaughtered and thousands of prisoners purchased by Muslims were slaughtered. Anything good that existed was destroyed or was plundered by the invaders. The monks were slaughtered mercilessly, especially those of St Savvas Monastery.”

In 637, after a long siege of Jerusalem, Patriarch Sophronius surrendered Jerusalem to Muslim Caliph Umar, but secured the Covenant of Umar I, which recognised Christian rights to protection.

In 638, the Armenian Apostolic Church began appointing its own bishop in Jerusalem.

After 638, Christians suffered many persecutions. Christian shrines were repeatedly ransacked and defaced by the Muslim successors of Umur, and there was great persecution all around. The most deadly persecution occurred during the time of the Fatamid Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (1007-1009), named the “Nero of Egypt” for his merciless acts.

Fatamid Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah persecuted ferociously both Christians and Jews. He ordered that in public Jews were to wear masks representing the head of an ox and bells around their necks; Christians were to wear mourning apparel and crosses one yard in length. Also, Al-Hakim ordered the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In the eleventh century, the Caliph Ali az-Zahir, under a treaty with Byzantium, permitted the reconstruction of the shrines.

In the Great Schism of 1054, the Patriarch of Jerusalem joined those of Antioch, Constantinople and Alexandria as the Eastern Orthodox Church, under the jurisdiction of Constantinople. All Christians in the Holy Land came under the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem.

In 1099, the Crusaders captured Jerusalem, setting up the Kingdom of Jerusalem and establishing a Latin hierarchy under a Latin Patriarch, and expelling the Greek Orthodox Patriarch. The Latin Patriarch resided in Jerusalem from 1099 to 1187, while Greek Patriarchs continued to be appointed, but resided in Constantinople. In 1187, the Crusaders were forced to flee Jerusalem, and the Greek Patriarch returned to Jerusalem. The Catholic Church continued to appoint Latin Patricarchs, though the office holder resided in Rome until 1847, when they were permitted to return to the Middle East by the Ottoman authorities.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchs claims to be the uninterrupted line of Apostolic succession to the see of Jerusalem.

The Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre, which is closely linked to the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, remains the custodian of many of the Christian Holy places in the Holy Land, sometimes jointly with the Roman Catholic Church and the Oriental Churches (Egyptian and Ethiopian Coptics and Armenian Orthodox Christians).

Recent history: There has been criticism of the Greek Orthodox Church leadership by some of the members (known as Arab Orthodox) who accuse the Greek-speaking and largely Greek-born leadership of squandering their money and treating their Arabic-speaking members as second-class members. The (Arab Orthodox) have expressed the desire to have local Arab leaders in positions of authority in their respective districts, in contrast to the tradition (since Ottoman times) of the higher authority positions being occupied by ethnic Greeks.

The Greek Orthodox Church is sometimes compared unfavourably in this respect to the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, which has Arabic as its official and liturgical language.

Recent political controversies: Theophilos III became patriarch of the Church at a very difficult time in its history. The politics of the Middle East and the delicacy of the relations with the Arab Palestinian Authority, Israel and Jordan continues to make the role and place of the Patriarch and the Patriarchate very challenging.The Patriarchate alleges to be the subject of continuing allegations of political impropriety, from various political sources.

In 2005, a crisis occurred in the Church when Patriarch Irenaios was stripped of his authority as patriarch by the Holy Synod of Jerusalem after he had allegedly sold church property in a very sensitive area of East Jerusalem to Israeli investors. The locum tenens (steward) until the election of a new patriarch was Metropolitan Cornelius of Petra [Jordan]. On August 22, 2005, the Holy Synod of the Church of Jerusalem unanimously elected Theophilos, the former Archbishop of Tabor, as the 141st Patriarch of Jerusalem.

In May 2007, the Government of Jordan revoked its previous recognition of Theophilos III, but on 12 June 2007 the Jordanian cabinet reversed its decision and announced that it is once again officially recognising Theophilos as patriarch. Archbishop Theodosios (Hanna) of Sebastia had also called for a boycott of Theophilos.

In December 2007, the Israeli government granted Theophilos full recognition. Irenaios appealed this decision to the Israeli Supreme Court, but that court ruled in favor of Theophilos.

The Greek Orthodox Church has property holdings in Jerusalem and throughout Israel and the Palestinian occupied territories. In addition to numerous churches, seminaries and other properties used for religious purposes, church property holdings include the land on which the Knesset and the prime minister’s residence are located, as well as an array of historic buildings in Jerusalem’s Old City, including the Imperial and Petra hotels inside the Jaffa Gate of the Old City. It is the intention of (Arab Orthodox Christians and the Arab Palestinian Authority ) to expropriate these holdings from the Greek Orthodox Church.

Hierarchy of the Throne:

• Metropolitan of Caesaria : Basilios (Christos Blatsos)
• Metropolitan of Scythopolis : Iakobos (George Kapenekas)
• Metropolitan of Petra : Cornelios (Emmanuel Rodousakis)
• Metropolitan of Ptolemais : Palladios (Vasilios Antoniou)
• Metropolitan of Nazareth : Kyriakos (Andreas Georgopetris)
• Metropolitan of Neapolis : Ambrosios (Nikolaos Antonopoulos)
• Metropolitan of Capitolias : Isyhios (Elias Condogiannis)
• Metropolitan of Bostra: Timotheos (Theodoros Margaritis)
• Metropolitan of Eleutheropolis : Christodoulos (Christos Saridakis)
• Metropolitan of Philadelphia : Benediktos (George Tsekouras)
• Archbishop of Gerasa : Theophanis (Theodosios Hasapakis)
• Archbishop of Tiberias : Alexios (Moschonas)
• Archbishop of Abila : Dorotheos (Demetrios Leovaris)
• Archbishop of Joppa : Damaskinos (Anastasios Gaganiaras)
• Archbishop of Constantina : Aristarchos (Antonios Peristeris)
• Archbishop of Mount Thabor : Methodios (Nikolaos Liveris)
• Archbishop of Jordan : Theophylactos (Theodosios Georgiadis)
• Archbishop of Sebastia : Theodosios (Nizar Hanna)
• Archbishop of Askalon : Nicephoros (Nikolaos Baltadgis)
• Archbishop of Diocaesarea : Vacancy

Revisiting New Testament writings with Professor James Tabor as reported by Susan Wolf on Israel National News. In sharp contrast to the popular belief that Jesus was the Christian deity and preached so during his lifetime, Professor James Tabor stated that research clearly shows that Jesus was a normal human being and never claimed to be G-d. Speaking on Israel National Radio’s Tovia Singer show, Tabor charges that Jesus was a Jew who hoped to redeem Israel but never claimed to be G-d. “History clearly shows that Jesus was a Jewish human being, born through natural conception, and had a human father.

While Jesus died in 30 A.D., Paul of Tarsus only began to write twenty years later, in 50 A.D. Professor Tabor’s upcoming book on Paul will detail how there was no Christian following whatsoever before Paul. Even more contradictory, Paul refers to Jesus as the seed of David and not as a product of immaculate conception. It was only after his natural death that that the Christian religion emerged and Jesus became a god,” stated Prof. Tabor, the Chair of the Department of Religious studies at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. According to Tabor, the entire chronology of the New Testament is contradictory at best.
Professor Tabor’s research is described in full in his new book Restoring Abrahamic Faith. He just completed a manifesto of Biblical theology rooted in the Jewish Bible in which he presents novel ideas that present a fresh view of the origin of Christianity. Jesus knew nothing about Easter, Christmas or the Last Supper, he says. In actuality, the site of the “Last Supper” is merely the location where Jesus blessed on bread. The notion that Jesus commanded the drinking of his blood and the eating of his body has no historical basis whatsoever, Tabor adds; the Holy Communion developed only after the death of Jesus.

His previous book – The Jesus Dynasty – reached the New York Times best-seller list, shaking up even Ted Koppel of 20/20 nightline with its conclusions. His latest work, Restoring Abrahamic Faith, is based on four decades of research on the historical Jesus and explores the Bible without any preconceived notions. In The Jesus Dynasty, Tabor presented a historical investigation of Jesus and his family with ideas that naturally antagonize many from the Roman Catholic Church. When asked why he doesn’t consider conversion to Judaism, Tabor explains that alongside his love for Judaism and his knowledge that the Jews are G-d’s chosen people, he believes the Jews are meant to be a minority in G-d’s divine plan, and he is comfortable with his place as a declared Ben Noah or Noahide. The belief in Israel’s mission to bring light to the world does not necessitate that everyone be Jewish, he states. Prof. Tabor believes that he can accomplish substantially more from outside of Judaism, and therefore continues his research and writings with the hope that he can expose Christianity and all religions to a proper historical investigation.

Tabor believes that Jerusalem must remain under Israeli sovereignty. In addition, he explains that the Israelis are the most natural and fair broker for the region and are the only ones who actually maintain peace, whereas diverse religious groups, including Armenians, Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Egyptian Copts and other Christians cannot even agree on who should open the Holy Sepulcher in the morning, based on a tradition of passing around the key. It is only the Israelis who have prevented actual bloodshed amongst the various clergymen and have brought harmony to the region.

Although Restoring Abrahamic Faith may be controversial in many settings, Tabor has already received intense support and interest from Christian pastors. Tabor has proven that the foundations of Judaism, Christianity and Islam can be traced back to the great Abrahamic Faith, despite the different directions in which they all developed. His biblically-based expositions from the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings of the Hebrew Bible combine to present a stimulating viewpoint with a solid historical basis.

For more information on the story of G-d’s great plan, as it applies to all of mankind, visit Prof. Tabor’s website Genesis 2000 .org. Go to Israel National Radio to listen to the interviews.