CHURCH AND STATE

Evening Star, Issue 20984, 24 December 1931, Page 11

CHURCH AND STATE

The Spanish National Assembly’s decision that “no official State religion exists” in Spain reduces the number of European countries that . still havo established churches to eight. Tha Lutheran Church is established in tha Scandinavian countries, Denmak, Norway, Sweden, and Fr.laud; the Roman Catholic in Italy, and the Orthodox in Greece and Bulgaria; in the British Isles there arc two established churches —the Anglican in' England and tha Presbyterian in Scotland, says tha ‘ New York Times.’ In the United States a national church is prohibited in the first amendment to the Constitution, which says that Congress shall make no law' respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting exercise thereof.” In Canada—as in all other British selfgoverning dominions—and in Mexico,Church and State have also been kept separate. In Central America, Costa Rica is the only country with an established church—the Roman Catholic. In tho Dominican Republic also Roman Catholicism is recognised as the national religion. Of tho eleven South . American 'countries, five—Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay—have established the Roman Catholic Church.! The others have no State religion. The fact that a country has no established church does not mean that there is complete separation of Church and State. In the-’ Netherlands, for example, tho State grants allowances to each of tho churches —Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jansei.ist, and Jewish.In Belgium the State pays part of the salaries of ministers of all denominations.

On the other hand, the fact that a’ church is established in a country docs not mean that followers of other beliefs have not full freedom of conscience or that they are barred front public office by reason of their faith. On the contrary, religious toleration is the general rule. When a church is disestablished, as in Spain, it is not always disendowed as well. Brazil, for example, abolished the connection between Church and State without alienating the church’s property. Disendowme'ut as well as disestablishment occurred in England at the time of Henry VIII.; the Catholic Church’s position as the State religion w r as abolished, its monasteries and funds were sequestrated, and the Anglican Church was established in its stead. In France the State took possession of all religious buildings, and now requires all who wish to use them to form "associations for public worship.” And in Mexico no ecclesiastical institution is permitted to hold landed property.