Separation of church and state

This unresolved contradiction in ultimate control of the Church led to power struggles and crises of leadership, notably in the Investiture Controversy, which was resolved in the Concordat of Worms in 1122.

By this concordat, the Emperor renounced the right to invest ecclesiastics with ring and crosier, the symbols of their spiritual power, and guaranteed election by the canons of cathedral or abbey and free consecration.

Penal Laws requiring ministers, and public officials to swear oaths and follow the Established faith, were disenfranchised, fined, imprisoned, or executed, for not conforming.

After the American Colonies revolted against George III of the United Kingdom, the Establishment Clause regarding the concept of the separation of church and state was developed but was never part of the original US Constitution.

In that letter, referencing the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, Jefferson writes: Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.

The prohibition against religious tests has allowed former Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane Peter Hollingworth to be appointed Governor-General of Australia, the highest domestic constitutional officer; however, this was criticised.

With the rise of the Empire of Brazil, although Catholicism retained its status as the official creed, subsidized by the state, other religions were allowed to flourish, as the 1824 Constitution secured religious freedom.

[65] More specifically, Article 3 of the Greek constitution argues the following: Moreover, the controversial situation about the no separation between the State and the Church seems to affect the recognition of religious groups in the country as there seems to be no official mechanism for this process.

The article 25 of the constitution guarantees freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion subject to public order, morality, health and Fundamental Rights.

Matters which are purely religious are left personal to the individual and the secular part is taken charge by the state on grounds of public interest, order and general welfare.

The Singaporean government claimed that this was justified because members of Jehovah's Witnesses refuse to perform military service (which is obligatory for all male citizens), salute the flag, or swear oaths of allegiance to the state.

The public authorities shall take into account the religious beliefs of Spanish society and shall consequently maintain appropriate cooperation relations with the Catholic Church and other confessions."

A degree of freedom of worship (for foreign residents only) was achieved under the rule of Gustav III (1771–92), but it was not until the passage of the Dissenter Acts of 1860 and 1874 that Swedish citizens were allowed to leave the state church – and then only provided that those wishing to do so first registered their adhesion to another, officially approved denomination.

The State has a Directorate of Religious Affairs, directly under the President bureaucratically, responsible for organizing the Sunni Muslim religion – including what will and will not be mentioned in sermons given at mosques, especially on Fridays.

[94] The High Court of the United Kingdom has ruled in favour of challenges, brought by pupil families supported by the British Humanist Association, to secondary-level religious studies exam syllabuses that excluded non-religious worldviews.

[citation needed] An identification with the "Protestant" or "Roman Catholic" community is sought on equal opportunities-monitoring forms regardless of actual personal religious beliefs; as the primary purpose is to monitor cultural discrimination by employers.

The First Great Awakening (c. 1730–1755) had increased religious diversity in the Thirteen Colonies, and this combined with the American Revolution prompted the five southernmost states to disestablish the Church of England between 1776 and 1790.

[101][102] Williams was motivated by historical abuse of governmental power and believed that government must remove itself from anything that touched upon human beings' relationship with God, advocating a "hedge or wall of Separation between the Garden of the Church and the Wilderness of the world" in order to keep religion pure.

[103] Through his work Rhode Island's charter was confirmed by King Charles II of England, which explicitly stated that no one was to be "molested, punished, disquieted, or called in question, for any differences in opinion, in matters of religion".

[106]According to Frank Lambert, Professor of History at Purdue University, the assurances in Article 11 were: ...intended to allay the fears of the Muslim state by insisting that religion would not govern how the treaty was interpreted and enforced.

In that letter, referencing the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, Jefferson writes: Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof", thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.

It recognizes the Catholic Church the domain of all temples that have been totally or partially built with funds from the National Treasury, excepting only the chapels intended for the service of asylums, hospitals, prisons or other public establishments.

[124] The secularization of the country, however, began at the beginning of the 20th century during the first administration of President José Batlle y Ordoñez as part of the reforms that sought the firm positioning of the State in the public sphere.

The Constitution of Medina which is often discussed as an early form of secular governance, providing equal religious and ocmunal rights to Muslims, Jewish people, and pagans while treating them as together in the identity of the nation state.

In its section on National Reform, the Book of Discipline of the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection states, with respect to Church and state relations:[131][132] It shall be the duty of the ministers and members of the Wesleyan Methodist Connection to use their influence in every feasible manner in favor of a more complete recognition of the authority of Almighty God, in the secular and civil relations, both of society and of government, and the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ as King of nations as well as King of saints.

"[138] Francis Cardinal Arinze explains that lay persons "...are called by Baptism to witness to Christ in the secular sphere of life; that is in the family, in work and leisure, in science and cultural, in politics and government, in trade and mass media, and in national and international relations".

For its part, just as the non-denominational status of the State implies the civil Authority's abstention from interference in the life of the Church and of the various religions, in the spiritual realm it enables all society's members to work together at the service of all and of the national community.

For example, the Catholic bishops in the United States adopted a plan in the 1970s calling for efforts aimed at a Constitutional amendment providing "protection for the unborn child to the maximum degree possible".

[146] Benedict XVI regards modern idea of freedom (meaning the Church should be free from governmental coercion and overtly political influence from the state) as a legitimate product of the Christian environment,[147] in a similar way to Jacques Le Goff.

The French Catholic philosopher and drafter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Jacques Maritain, noted the distinction between the models found in France and in the mid-twentieth century United States.