state churches

(noun)

State churches are organizational bodies within a Christian denomination which are given official status or operated by a state.

Related Terms

Examples of state churches in the following topics:

  • The Ecclesia

    • The state churches of some European nations would fit this type.
    • State churches are organizational bodies within a Christian denomination that have been given official status by a state, or are directly operated by a state.
    • The Anglican Church of England, for example, is a state church that does not have the adherence of all English citizens.
    • Although the word "ecclesial" itself stems from the Greek word for "church" or "gathering," ecclesias are not necessarily churches.
    • The Catholic Church applies the word "Church" only to Christian communities that, in the view of the Catholic Church, "have true sacraments in light of Apostolic succession" and that possess a priesthood and the Eucharist.

  • The Christian Church

    • The Christian Church is the assembly of followers of Jesus Christ; in Christianity, a church is the building where its members meet.
    • The Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodoxy each claim to be the original Christian Church.
    • State churches are organizational bodies within a Christian denomination, given official status or operated by a state.
    • State churches are not necessarily national churches in the ethnic sense of the term, but the two concepts may overlap in a nation state where the state boundary largely corresponds to the distribution of a single ethnic group defined by a specific denomination.
    • State churches, by contrast, may also be minority denominations which are given political recognition by the state.

  • Religion in the U.S.

    • The separation of the church and state has allowed the private practice of diverse religions.
    • Bellah has argued that, although, the separation of church and state is grounded firmly in the Constitution of the United States, this does not mean that there is no religious dimension in the political society of the United States.
    • Kennedy: "Considering the separation of church and state, how is a president justified in using the word 'God' at all?
    • The answer is that the separation of church and state has not denied the political realm a religious dimension. "
    • Wood has argued that the United States is a model for the world in terms of how a separation of church and state—no state-run or state-established church—is good for both the church and the state, allowing a variety of religions to flourish.

  • The Church-Sect Typology

    • very closely allied with the state and secular powers - frequently there is overlapping of responsibilities and much mutual reinforcement
    • The classical example of a church is the Roman Catholic Church, especially in the past.
    • This is especially true of Catholicism in the United States.
    • The state churches of some European countries would fit this type.
    • similar to churches, but unlike sects, in being on relatively good terms with the state and secular powers and may even attempt to influence government at times

  • Catholicism

    • ., with the Catholic Church the single largest religious denomination in the United States.
    • The Catholic Church in the United States is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, or the Christian Church that is in full communion with the Pope.
    • By far, most Catholics in the U.S. belong to the Latin Church and the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church.
    • However, the Vatican II document Orientalium Ecclesiarum "Of the Eastern Churches" acknowledges that these Eastern Catholic communities are "true Churches" and not just rites within the Catholic Church.
    • There are 14 other Churches in the U.S. (23 within the global Catholic Church) that are in communion with Rome and fully recognized in the eyes of the Catholic Church.

  • Affiliation

    • The main religious preferences in the Unites States include (in order): Christianity, unaffiliate, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism.
    • Many faiths have flourished in the United States, including both later imports spanning the country's multicultural immigrant heritage, as well as those founded within the country; these have led the United States to become one of the most religiously diverse countries in the world.
    • Some surveys ask people to self-identify, while others calculate church memberships.
    • It is the sixth temple completed by the church, requiring 40 years to complete, and the fourth operating temple built since the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois.
    • The Hsi Lai Temple is the largest Buddhist temple in the United States.

  • Widespread Belief

    • Christianity is the largest religion in the United States, with around 77% of the population identifying itself as Christian.
    • Today, most Christian denominations in the United States are divided into three large groups: Evangelicalism, Mainline Protestantism and Roman Catholicism.
    • Islam is also the state religion in areas of Asia, the Middle East and North Africa .
    • This is next to the pulpit and baptismal font in Covenant Presbyterian Church, Long Beach, California, USA;
    • Identify the most common and popular religions in the United States

  • Protestantism

    • These early Protestant settlers represented a diversity of Protestant sects, including Anglicanism, Baptism, Congregationalism, Presbyterianism, Lutheranism, Quakerism, the Mennonite Church and the Moravian Church.
    • In 1787, Richard Allen and his colleagues in Philadelphia broke away from the Methodist Church and, in 1815, they founded the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church.
    • The Federal Council of Churches, founded in 1908, marked the first major expression of a growing, modern ecumenical movement among Christians in the United States.
    • In 1950, the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (usually identified as National Council of Churches, or NCC) represented a dramatic expansion in the development of ecumenical cooperation.
    • Today, the NCC is a joint venture of 35 Christian denominations in the United States.

  • Democracy in the U.S.

    • The United States is a federal constitutional republic in which the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.
    • In the United States, suffrage is nearly universal for citizens 18 years of age and older.
    • The United States is a federal constitutional republic in which the President of the United States (the head of state and government), Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.
    • These two parties have won every United States presidential election since 1852, and have controlled the United States Congress since at least 1856.
    • Other private interest groups, such as churches and ethnic groups, are more concerned about broader policy issues that can impact their organizations or their beliefs.

  • Social Institutions

    • Examples include the United States Congress, an institution that is designed to create the laws of the United States.
    • Another example is the Roman Catholic Church.
    • While violating the tenets of the Catholic Church is not in violation of law, the Church expects its members to adhere to its religious codes.
    • The United States Congress, housed in the Capitol Building, is one example of a formal institution.