Established church

An established church is a Christian church formally recognized as a state’s official church, sometimes with legal privileges or public funding.

State religion: A religion formally adopted or endorsed by a state. An established church is a Christian form of state religion.
Church of England: The established church in England, with the monarch as its supreme governor. It is a prominent contemporary example of an established church.
Edict of Thessalonica: A decree issued in 380 that made Nicene Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. It marks an early imperial precedent for officially favored Christianity.
Religious discrimination: Unequal treatment based on a person’s religion or lack of religious belief. Privileges for an official church can produce unequal treatment of other groups.
Church and state: The relationship between religious institutions and government authority. Establishment defines one legal arrangement between churches and the state.
Church of Scotland: Scotland’s national Presbyterian church, recognized by law as distinct from the state. Its legal status shows that national recognition need not mean state control.
Constantinian shift: The fourth-century transformation of Christianity from a persecuted movement into a favored imperial religion. Imperial patronage helped lay foundations for later Christian establishments.
Religious pluralism: The coexistence of multiple religious traditions within a society. Plural societies test whether establishment can coexist with equal religious standing.
Religious establishment clause: A constitutional rule prohibiting government establishment of religion. In the United States, this clause bars the kind of official church status at issue here.
Church of Denmark: The Evangelical Lutheran Church that the Danish constitution designates as the established church. Denmark provides a constitutional example of explicit establishment.

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