State religion

==Former state religions==
{{see also|Secular state}}

=== Roman religion and Christianity ===
{{Main|Roman imperial cult|Christianity as the Roman state religion}}
In Rome, the office of ''[[Pontifex Maximus]]'' came to be reserved for the Emperor, who was occasionally [[Apotheosis|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.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}

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 ''[[Augustus (title)|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.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Constantine called up the [[First Council of Nicaea]] in 325, although he was not a baptized 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 [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenia]], [[Kingdom of Iberia (antiquity)|Iberia]], and [[Kingdom of Aksum|Aksum]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}

[[Religion in ancient Rome|Roman religion]] ([[Neoplatonic]] [[Religion in ancient Greece|Hellenism]]) was restored for a time by the Emperor [[Julian (emperor)|Julian]] from 361 to 363. Julian does not appear to have reinstated the persecutions of the earlier [[Roman emperors]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}

[[Catholic]] Christianity, as opposed to Arianism and other ideologies deemed [[heresy|heretical]], was declared to be the [[State church of the Roman Empire|state religion of the Roman Empire]] on 27 February 380<ref>{{cite web |title=The Theodosian Code |url=http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/latinlibrary/theod.html |work=The Latin Library at Ad Fontes Academy|publisher=Ad Fontes Academy |access-date=2006-11-23}}</ref> by the decree ''[[Edict of Thessalonica|De fide catolica]]'' of Emperor [[Theodosius I]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Theodosian Code XVI.i.2 |url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/theodcodeXVI.html |work=Medieval Sourcebook: Banning of Other Religions |first=Paul |last=Halsall |date=June 1997 |publisher=Fordham University |access-date=2006-11-23 |archive-date=27 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070227120555/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/theodcodeXVI.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Han dynasty Confucianism ===
In China, the [[Han dynasty]] (206 BCE – 220 CE) advocated [[Confucianism]] as the ''de facto'' state religion, establishing tests based on Confucian texts as an entrance requirement into government service—although, in fact, the "Confucianism" advocated by the Han emperors may be more properly termed a sort of Confucian [[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Legalism]] or "State Confucianism". This sort of Confucianism continued to be regarded by the emperors, with a few notable exceptions, as a form of state religion from this time until the [[1911 Revolution|collapse]] of the [[Monarchy of China|Chinese monarchy]] in 1912. Note, however, there is a debate over whether Confucianism (including [[Neo-Confucianism]]) is a religion or purely a philosophical system.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Reln471/Confucian%20religiosity%20bib.htm|title=Sources on Confucian religiosity}}</ref>

=== Yuan dynasty Buddhism ===
During the Mongol-led [[Yuan dynasty]] of China (1271–1368 CE), [[Tibetan Buddhism]] was established as the ''de facto'' state religion by the [[Kublai Khan]], the founder of the Yuan dynasty. The top-level department and government agency known as the [[Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs]] (Xuanzheng Yuan) was set up in [[Khanbaliq]] (modern [[Beijing]]) to supervise [[Buddhist monk]]s throughout the empire. Since Kublai Khan only esteemed the [[Sakya (Tibetan Buddhist school)|Sakya]] sect of Tibetan Buddhism, other religions became less important. Before the end of the Yuan dynasty, 14 leaders of the Sakya sect had held the post of [[Imperial Preceptor]] (Dishi), thereby enjoying special power.<ref>''History of civilizations of Central Asia.: A.D. 750 to the end of the fifteenth century''. Part two: The achievements, p. 59</ref>

=== Golden Horde and Ilkhanate ===
The Mongol rulers [[Ghazan]] of Ilkhanate and [[Öz Beg Khan|Uzbeg]] of Golden Horde converted to [[Islam]] in 1295 CE because of the Muslim Mongol emir [[Nawrūz (Mongol emir)|Nawruz]] and in 1313 CE because of [[Sufi]] [[Bukhara]]n [[sayyid]] and [[sheikh]] [[Ibn Abdul Hamid]] respectively. Their official favoring of Islam as the state religion coincided with a marked attempt to bring the regime closer to the non-Mongol majority of the regions they ruled. In Ilkhanate, [[Christians|Christian]] and [[Jewish]] subjects lost their equal status with Muslims and again had to pay the poll tax; Buddhists had the starker choice of conversion or expulsion.<ref>''Medieval Persia 1040–1797'', [[David Morgan (historian)|David Morgan]] p. 72</ref>

=== Former state churches in British North America ===
{{Main|Separation of church and state in the United States#State churches in British North America prior to the Revolution}}

=== Other states ===
* The [[State of Deseret]] was an unrecognised provisional [[U.S. state|state]] of the United States, proposed in 1849, by [[Mormon]] settlers in [[Salt Lake City]]. The provisional state existed for slightly over two years, but attempts to gain recognition by the United States government floundered for various reasons. The [[Utah Territory]] which was then founded was under Mormon control, and repeated attempts to gain statehood met resistance, in part due to concerns that the principle of separation of church and state conflicted with the practice of members of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] placing their highest value on "following counsel" in virtually all matters relating to their church-centered lives. The state of [[Utah]] was eventually admitted to the union on 4{{nbsp}}January 1896, after the various issues had been resolved.<ref>[http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/statehood_and_the_progressive_era/struggleforstatehood.html Struggle For Statehood] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190110224120/http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/statehood_and_the_progressive_era/struggleforstatehood.html|date=10 January 2019}} [[Edward Leo Lyman]], ''Utah History Encyclopedia''</ref>
* {{flag|Kingdom of Hawaii}}: From 1862 to 1893 the [[Church of Hawaii]], an Anglican body, was the official state and national church of the [[Kingdom of Hawaii]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}
* {{flag|Japanese Empire|1870}}: see details in the [[State Shintō]] article.
* {{Flag|Netherlands}}: Article 133 of the 1814 [[Constitution of the Netherlands|Constitution]] stipulated the [[King of the Netherlands|Sovereign Prince]] should be a member of the [[Dutch Reformed Church|Reformed Church]]; this provision was dropped in the 1815 Constitution.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.denederlandsegrondwet.nl/9353000/1/j9vvihlf299q0sr/vi6ei64fdgg2|title=Artikel 133: Vorst belijdt de christelijke hervormde Godsdienst – Nederlandse grondwet|access-date=23 February 2017}}</ref> The 1815 Constitution also provided for a state salary and pension for the priesthood of established religions at the time (Protestantism, Catholicism and Judaism). This settlement, nicknamed ''de zilveren koorde'' (the silver cord), was abolished in 1983.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.denederlandsegrondwet.nl/9353000/1/j9vvihlf299q0sr/vi6jejckwezy|title=Artikel 194: Traktementen, pensioenen en andere inkomsten – Nederlandse grondwet|access-date=23 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rug.nl/research/portal/files/14622151/Deontknopingvandezilverenkoorde21.pdf!null |title=Info |website=rug.nl}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0003640/1994-01-01|title=wetten.nl – Regeling – Wet beëindiging financiële verhouding tussen Staat en Kerk – BWBR0003640|access-date=23 February 2017}}</ref>
* {{flag|Nepal}} was the world's only [[Hindu]] state until 2015, when the new constitution declared it a [[secular state]]. [[Proselytizing]] remains illegal.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/nepal-adopts-first-full-democratic-charter-today-1219574|title=Nepal Adopts New Constitution, Becomes a Secular State: 5 Facts|date=20 September 2015|publisher=[[NDTV]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/np/np029en.pdf|title=The Constitution of Nepal|date=20 September 2015|website=wipo.int}}</ref>
* {{flag|Ottoman Empire}}: the [[Millet (Ottoman Empire)|Millet system]] ({{IPA-tr|millet|lang}}; {{lang-ar|مِلَّة}}) was the independent [[court of law]] pertaining to "personal law" under which a [[confessional community]] (a group abiding by the laws of Muslim [[Sharia]], Christian [[Canon law]], or Jewish [[Halakha]]) was allowed to rule itself under its own laws.
* {{flag|Sudan}} had [[Islam in Sudan|Islam]] as the official religion during the rule of [[Omar al-Bashir]] according to the [[Constitution of Sudan]] of 2005.<ref>[[Constitution of Sudan]], [https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Sudan_2005.pdf?lang=en Article 5, paragraph 1].</ref> It was declared a secular state in September 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gulfnews.com/world/africa/sudan-ends-30-years-of-islamic-law-by-separating-religion-state-1.1599359147751|title=Sudan ends 30 years of Islamic law by separating religion, state|website=gulfnews.com|date=6 September 2020 }}</ref>
* {{flag|Tokugawa shogunate|Mon}} sanctioned [[Japanese Buddhism|Buddhism]] and [[Confucianism]] as the state religions.<ref>{{cite book |last=Yamagishi |first=Keiko |editor-last1=Ferrari |editor-first1=Silvio |editor-last2=Cristofori |editor-first2=Rinaldo |title=Law and Religion, An Overview |year=2016 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FzcrDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA458 |volume=1 |page=458 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-4094-3600-3 |access-date=16 March 2024 |quote=The Tokugawa Shogunate had sanctioned Buddhism as a state religion. |archive-date=31 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531204856/https://books.google.com/books?id=FzcrDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA458 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Calabresi2021">{{cite book |last=Calabresi |first=Steven Gow |author-link=Steven Calabresi |title=The History and Growth of Judicial Review |year=2021 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gBYoEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA458 |volume=2 |page=116 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=9780190075750 |access-date=16 March 2024 |quote=Confucianism, with its emphasis on harmony, was the prevailing "state religion", although it coexisted with Shintoism, a religion that worshipped nature gods and that was personified by the emperor. |archive-date=31 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531204855/https://books.google.com/books?id=gBYoEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA458 |url-status=live }}</ref> Buddhism became an arm of the shogunate, and temples were used to resident registration. Distinctive schools of Japanese Buddhism such as [[Zen]], [[Pure Land Buddhism|Pure Land]], and [[Nichiren Buddhism|Nichiren]] structured Japanese religious life until the 19th century.<ref>{{cite web |last=Tucci |first=Giuseppe |authorlink=Giuseppe Tucci |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Buddhism/Korea-and-Japan |title=Buddhism § Korea and Japan |website=britannica.com |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |access-date=16 March 2024 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013194541/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Buddhism/Korea-and-Japan |url-status=live }}</ref> Confucian [[Zhu Xi]]'s teaching became a major intellectual force, and the [[Four Books]] became available to virtually every educated person.<ref>{{cite web |last=Tu |first=Weiming |authorlink=Tu Weiming |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Confucianism/The-Confucian-revival |title=Confucianism § The Confucian revival |website=britannica.com |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |access-date=16 March 2024 }}</ref>