Dear sirs,
Assalamu Alaikum. Please see the list of countries with state religion.State religion is neither against democracy or human rights or minority rights in principle. it is a different matter that this or for that matter any good thing or concept can be abused ( including democracy, freedom etc ).There is no reason to change state religion in Bangladesh.It has not been used for denying any civil or economic or religious right to Non-Muslims here .
You can see another list of US states( or provinces ) who have state religion in their state constitutions by google search ( I also sent them before to many of you.
State religion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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. [1]
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[edit] Present state religions
Currently, the following religions are recognized as state religions in some countries: some form of Christianity, Islam and Buddhism.
See also: List of state-established religions
[edit] Christian countries
The following states recognize some form of Christianity as their state or official religion (by denomination):
[edit] Roman Catholic
Jurisdictions which recognize Roman Catholicism as their state or official religion:
- Argentina[2]
- Andorra
- Costa Rica[5]
- Dominican Republic (in concordat with the Vatican)
- El Salvador
- Honduras
- Liechtenstein[6]
- Malta[7]
- Monaco[8]
- Paraguay (not official but as a special recognition based from the 1990 constitution)
- Peru
- Some Cantons of Switzerland
- Vatican City (follows theocracy, ecclesiatical state)
A number of countries, including Italy[9], Poland[10], and Spain[11] give a special recognition to Catholicism in their constitution despite of not making it the state religion.
[edit] Eastern Orthodox
Jurisdictions which recognize one of the Eastern Orthodox Churches as their state religion:
- Armenia (Armenian Apostolic Church)[12]
- Cyprus[13]
- Georgia (Georgian Orthodox Church)[14]
- Greece (Church of Greece)[15]
- Finland: Finnish Orthodox Church has a special relationship with the Finnish state.[16] 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.
[edit] Lutheran
Jurisdictions which recognize a Lutheran church as their state religion:
- Denmark (Church of Denmark)[17]
- Iceland (Church of Iceland)[18]
- Norway (Church of Norway)[19]
- 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.[16] 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.[20] 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.
[edit] Anglican
Jurisdictions that recognise an Anglican church as their state religion:
[edit] Reformed
Jurisdictions which recognize a Reformed church as their state religion:
[edit] Old Catholic
Jurisdictions which recognize an Old Catholic church as their state religion:
[edit] Islamic countries
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[citation needed].
- Afghanistan (Islamic state)
- Algeria
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Brunei
- Comoros
- Egypt
- Indonesia uses Islamic jurisprudence in private law[citation needed], 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[citation needed].
- Iran (Islamic state)
- Iraq
- Jordan
- Kuwait
- Libya
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mauritania (Islamic state)
- Morocco
- Oman
- Pakistan (Islamic state)
- Qatar
- Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
- Saudi Arabia (Islamic kingdom)
- Somalia
- Tunisia[21]
- United Arab Emirates
- Yemen (Islamic state)
[edit] 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)[22]
- Cambodia (Theravada Buddhism)[23]
- 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.[24]
- Thailand (Theravada Buddhism)
- Tibet Government in Exile (Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism)
[edit] Ancient state religions
[edit] Egypt and Sumer
See also: History of religion
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, and 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, where Pharaohs were often thought of as embodiments of the god Horus.
[edit] Persian empire
Zoroastrianism was the state religion of the Sassanid dynasty which lasted until 651, when Persia was conquered by the forces of Islam. However, it 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.
[edit] 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 Artemis, Delos had Apollo and Artemis, and Olympia had Zeus.
[edit] 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. Furthermore, 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[neutrality disputed] and schismatic groups, was declared to be the state religion of the Roman Empire on February 27, 380[28] by the decree De Fide Catolica of Emperor Theodosius I.[29]
[edit] Han Dynasty Confucianism and Sui Dynasty Buddhism
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 Han emperors appreciated the societal order which is a central concept of Confucianism. Confucianism would continue on as the state religion until the Sui Dynasty (581-618), when it was replaced by Buddhism. Neo-confucianism returned as the de facto state religion sometime in the 10th century. Note however, there is a debate over whether Confucianism (including Neo-confucianism) is a religion or purely a philosophical system.
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