#state religions

[mapsontheweb]

Countries without state religion and countries with state religion

[unsolicited-opinions]

Just saying like . Of your countries list a lot of these Are heavily criticised by those who take a stance against Israel’s government and current political status. Turkey and Northern Ireland being listed are banger examples. Also of the countries you listed with official religions, the depth of which religion is involved in general affairs varies drastically. I’m Scottish, you listed Scotland, the Church of Scotland has literally no influence on politics and laws, its heritage / a left over item by English Protestants more than anything. I do in fact, firmly think any country having an official religion meddling in state affairs is bad, actually, but the list you pulled together has such massive variety it’s not really making a big point imo. Afghanistan and like Scotland have very different levels of religious control over government and every citizens life. Both shouldn’t be there but, not comparable aside from the simple fact they have an official religion 😭

Cool. Tell me more about what level of ethnic or religious identity you think is okay in a modern nation state? Not joking - I think that's an important conversation to have and I'd like to have it.

I agree that the UK's level of religious establishment is mostly harmless. There is real freedom of religion, despite the fact that the Monarch takes vows to protect the Church of England and the Church of Scotland. There is real freedom of religion despite the fact that public funds go to religious schools. I don't think those circumstances are ideal, but I think the UK lives up to Enlightenment Liberal values by truly protecting religious freedoms for religious minorities and having laws against religious discrimination.

The same cannot be said, for instance (as you mention) for Afghanistan, Iran, or Egypt.

Meanwhile, non-Jewish Israelis have the exact same legal rights as Jewish Israelis. (If you would like to dispute this fact, please cite sources). As every citizen of the UK has equal rights of religious freedom, so do the citizens of Israel. Israeli non-Jews are judges and members of Israel's parliament, the Knesset.

So, how does this differ from the UK?

I totally agree with you that ANY establishment of religion is potentially problematic- But if Israel's identity as a Jewish state is bothersome while it has true freedom of religion which none of its neighbors have, I'm asking why Israel is singularly bothersome to its detractors for having an ethnic/religious identity.

And, again, I really would like to hear *answers* to this question which leverage facts and reason.

Lastly, thank you for offering a differing view without resorting to slurs or telling me to kill myself. I value and appreciate your civility more than I can adequately express.

It is one of my life's ambitions to visit Scotland. I loved how the Scots responded to Trump's visit. David Tennant made my week with this one.

Wishing you well in these awful times.

[oxytocinatrocities]

A comic I drew about leaving the Mormon church.

Can also apply to other things. Ex. constitutional originalism in the US

[liberalsarecool]

Public schools are a public investment. They are not a christian religious school indoctrinating religious opinions.

Public money does not build churches. Public policy has no influence over church doctrine.

See how the separation works?

[statisticalcats2]

I feel like there's this weird like... mirroring of white man's burden where instead of the burden being to "civilize" non-whites, the burden is to help preserve their culture but in the most racist way possible by acting like BIPOC would never come up with concepts like democracy or gender/race/class equality or secularism on their own and it's not just bad for white people to force themselves into BIPOC cultures and try to change, it's also bad for the BIPOC cultures themselves to try and change and all the human rights activists, democracy supporters, and secularists are traitors brainwashed by the West and it's right for their governments to suppress, abuse, imprison, and murder them.

[divinum-pacis]

Costumed participants at the “traditional Mañanitas" at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (RNS photo/Fiona Murphy)

[blackflash9]

Beware Project 2025: A Disaster in the Making

This is Project 2025, and America's future hinges on the people's vote this November. THIS IS NOT A JOKE. WAKE UP AND GO VOTE PEOPLE!

[oh-no-its-bird]

Hear me out: warring states era Hatake who went on a mission somewhere in the land of waves and fell off the fucking map— where they then witnessed the Unspeakable Timeless Horrors Of The Sea And Spiral, then washed up on shore a solid years later, irreversible changed and tangibly Other.

Their wolf contract no longer works because there is something so deeply Wrong with them that animals (especially contract beats and spirits) can feel it. There is something tangibly, legitimately Other(tm) about them, and while they've been wholeheartedly accepted back into the clan, everyone knows this is not the same person who they lost a year ago

They gazed into the abyss and the abyss gazed back type shit fr

[demonictacobeard]

Charlie, trying to cheer Adam up: Hey I know Hell can be a bit much, and we do have bad stuff happen to us but it’s not all bad! There’s parts of Hell that are just so different, and it can be amazing. And hey, your son Cain is here! He’s actually kind of a big deal, the very first overlord and all. He’s retired now and is the leader of the biblical settlement outside of pentagram city if you want to……Adam?

Sinner Adam, staring down at Charlie with wide eyes because Heaven told him all his kids chose to be reincarnated because the winner and sinner system hadn’t been set up yet until when Adam died: Cain’s here?

Vaggie, going ice cold from surprise as she sees desperation on Adam’s face for the first time: Oh shit he was human underneath all that asshole

[olskuvallanpoe]

as a queer american with religious trauma and ALSO a bachelors degree in religion, what bishop mariann budde did moves me in ways i can’t even begin to explain fully. the sitting u.s. president has perverted religious beliefs to spread hate and vitriol, and bishop mariann edgar budde used true religious faith and values to call upon his conscience and ask him to give mercy towards the vulnerable people in this country.

so many anti-theist “leftists” will claim that religion has no place in revolution and yet not do anything while this brave, faithful, and revolutionary woman used that very thing to resist the fascist actions of the sitting u.s. president. she has more courage than i could ever imagine having, and i don’t think i’ll stop thinking about her anytime soon.

[blueberry-ry]

Star Wars fans that try to compare the Jedi to the Catholic Church because they both "collaborate with the state" have no fucking idea of what the Catholic Church actually does and what the problem with it being in power actually is, and it drives me fucking insane

[mapsontheweb]

Countries with state religions

by geo.ranking

[unsolicited-opinions]

I think that religion should not be the basis of a state, nor should it influences laws or customs. Like the abortion bans and hatred of queer ppl derived from Christianity here in the US. Many people are trying to get the US to be a truly secular society not just a culturally Christian one. All those ma countries in SWANA in which slavery is commonplace and misogyny is abound are not cool either. So, Israel is not justified in being based on Judaism or whatever.

I think all states should be for all people. Not just a particular bunch.

Anon meant these comments as condemnation of Israel, but let's apply Anon's criticisms to modern nation states and see which countries Anon would need to condemn:

There are currently three nations whose very names make clear that their national identity is based on Islam. These three are:

Anon wrote: "I think that religion should not be the basis of state..."

1. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan

2. The Islamic Republic of Mauritania

3. The Islamic Republic of Iran

Will you call for their dissolution?

Anon wrote: "I think that religion should not be the basis of state, nor should it influence laws or customs"

Okay, let's apply this standard to states which exist right now. This info is from Wikipedia, but I'll welcome any corrections if anyone can document errors here. This is nowhere near a complete list - these are just a handful of the nations in which Islamic faith and Sharia make laws to which non-Muslims are subject:

In Algeria, article 222 of the Family Code of 1983 specifies Sharia as the residuary source of laws.

...

Article 2 of Egypt's 2014 Constitution declares the principles of Sharia to be the main source of legislation. Egypt's law and enforcement system are in flux since its 2011 revolution; however, the declaration of Sharia's primacy in Article 2 is a potential ground for unconstitutionality of any secular laws in Egyptian legal code. Sharia courts and judges are run and licensed by the Ministry of Justice. The personal status law that regulates matters such as marriage, divorce and child custody is governed by Sharia. In a family court, a woman's testimony is worth half of a man's testimony.

...

In Mauritania, the Penal Code contains Sharia crimes such as heresy, apostasy, atheism, refusal to pray, adultery and alcohol consumption. Punishments include stoning, amputation and lashing. ...

How about Morocco? In 1956, a Code of Personal Status (Mudawana) was issued, based on dominant Maliki school of Sharia jurisprudence. Regional Sharia courts also hear personal status cases on appeal. In matters of family law, a woman's testimony is worth only half of that of a man. With 2003 reforms of its criminal law, Article 222 of its new criminal code is derived from Sharia; Articles 220–221, 268–272 of its criminal law similarly codify those activities as crimes that are prohibited under Sharia. Morocco adopted a new constitution in 2011; Article 41 of this constitution granted sole power to the Superior Council of the Ulemas to guide its laws through fatwas.

...

Sharia has been previously declared the chief source of all legislation in Sudan's 1968, 1973 and 1998 Constitutions. In 2005, Sudan adopted an interim national constitution; it removed some references to Sharia, but included Sharia-derived criminal, civil and personal legal codes, as well as Sharia-mandated hudud punishments. The Criminal Act of 1991 prescribes punishments which include forty lashes for drinking alcohol, amputation of the right hand for theft of a certain value and stoning for adultery.

However, there is no record of either any amputation or stoning ever having taken place in Sudan. The use of Sharia in Sudan ended in September 2020, when Sudan officially became a secular state after Sudan's transitional government agreed to separate religion from the state, ending 30 years of Islamic rule and Islam as the official state religion in the North African nation. It also scrapped the apostasy law and public flogging. However, after 1 year of military coup took place, Sharia got installed once again and harsh punishment like floggings still exist according to article 146. ... In Iran, Article 167 of the constitution states that all judicial rulings must be based upon "authoritative Islamic sources and authentic fatwa". Book 2 of the Islamic Penal Code of Iran is entirely devoted to hudud punishments. Iranian application of Sharia has been seen by scholars as highly flexible and directly contradicting traditional interpretations of the Sharia.

...

In Iraq, Article 1 of the Civil Code identifies Sharia as a main source of legislation. The 1958 Code "made polygamy extremely difficult, granted child custody to the mother in case of divorce, [and] prohibited repudiation and marriage under the age of 16." In 1995, Iraq introduced Sharia punishment for certain types of criminal offenses. Iraq's legal system is based on Islamic Sunni and Jafari (Shi’ite) interpretations of Sharia. Article 41 of the constitution allows for personal status matters (such as marriage, divorce and inheritance) to be governed by the rules of each religious group. The article has not yet been put into effect, and a unified personal status law remains in place that builds on the 1959 personal status code. ...

The Constitution of Pakistan acknowledges God as the sole sovereign of the universe and the Parliament as a delegate. The Constitution of Pakistan requires that all laws conform with Islam and not conflict with the Quran or Sunnah. The Council of Islamic Ideology reviewed the British era legislation and found most of it did not conflict with Sharia. Sharia was declared the Supreme Law of Pakistan in the 1991 Enforcement of Shariat Act. Section 4 stipulates that courts select an interpretation of law consistent with Islamic jurisprudence and principles.

...

Sharia is the main source of Qatari legislation according to Qatar's Constitution. Sharia is applied to laws pertaining to family law, inheritance, and several criminal acts (including adultery, robbery and murder). In some cases in Sharia-based family courts, a female's testimony is worth half a man's and in some cases a female witness is not accepted at all.

Anon wrote: "I think states should be for all people. Not just a particular bunch."

I think it is very easy to say that when one is a Christian or a a Muslim...or even just culturally Christian or culturally Muslim.

There are 57 Muslim countries in the world, according to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's (OIC) member list. Among these, 49 countries have a Muslim-majority population. Will you call for their destruction?

Christians make up a majority of the population in 157 countries and territories. Today, several nations officially identify themselves as Christian states or have state churches. These countries include Argentina, Armenia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Denmark (incl. Greenland and the Faroes), England,Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, Norway, Samoa, Serbia, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vatican City, and Zambia. Will you call for their dissolution?

So why, Anon, do you single out the world's only Jewish state, a particularly small state, for special criticism? How do you expect Israelis and Jews to see this as something other than a double standard, hypocrisy, and antisemtism?

Neither Christian nations or Muslim nations have a good history of protecting the rights of Jews as a religious identity or as an enthic identity. The Jews who survived the ethnic cleansings of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa? They went to Israel. That's Israel's population. That's what Israel is.

Meanwhile, let's look at religious freedom in Israel, the world's only Jewish state, which you single out for criticism:

The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel (1948) guarantees freedom of religion for all. Each religious community is free, by law and in practice, to exercise its faith, to observe its holidays and weekly day of rest, and to administer its internal affairs. Each has its own religious council and courts, recognized by law and with jurisdiction over all religious affairs and matters of personal status such as marriage and divorce. Each has its own unique places of worship, with traditional rituals and special architectural features developed over the centuries.

Please tell me what rights the Jewish state denies to non-Jewish Israelis?

Tell me how Israel fails to protect the rights of women?

Tell me how Israel fails to protect the rights of its LGBTQ+ communities?

Please compare Israel to its neighbors on these things, Anon, and you'll understand why your attempt to suggest Israel is no better than it's neighbors is genuinely offensive to people who know better. When you hear anyone call Israel "Jewish Supremacist" or "apartheid state" or "theocracy," you know immediately that that person is either painfully ignorant of verifiable facts or a dishonest propagandist.

I don't know you, Anon. I assume you're young and not a student of history or political science.

I'm assuming that you're ignorant, not malicious. I think that this is the case for a majority of the Western, Leftist anti-Israel activists. I don't think you seek to be a bigot, I think your bigotry is a product of ignorance and I want to provide the verifiably truthful information you're missing.

I appreciate, though, how @#&*ing tired many Israelis and Jews are of dealing with these hypocritical double standards and the denial that they continue only because the anti-Israel crowds have one standard for Jews...and a different standard for everyone else.

It's ridiculous. It can't be supported by reason, it's not ideologically or logically consistent, so it's just bigotry.

When confronting these absurd circumstances where Israel is held to a standard which is applied to no other nation on earth, Jews in the US mostly find it both outrageous and frightening because we thought we shared the same values as our liberal non-Jewish friends.

But Israeli Jews, I think, don't have any more fucks to give about western Leftist ignorance or malice...and I don't blame them.

Meanwhile, here in the US, we have a xenophobic, Christian Nationalist president-elect set to take power in January with his party in majority in both our national legislative houses, and a Conservative Christian majority on the Supreme Court. I'm much more worried about the continuance of religious freedoms for religious minorities in the US than in Israel in 2025. I fear the rise of an American Christian Taliban, but I think (and hope) Israeli politics will keep their Israeli parallels (like Ben-Gvir and Smotrich) in check. Trump is likely to attack US Muslims. He will likely apply another travel ban. I fear he'll erode religious freedoms for all, but I'm particularly worried about potential attacks by Trump's party on US Muslim communities. The ADL's leader, Jonathan Greenblatt, was appalled in 2015 and 2016 when Trump proposed a Muslim Registry in the US. Know what he said?

"If one day Muslim Americans will be forced to register their identities, then that is the day that this proud Jew will register as a Muslim."

That's emblematic of who most US Jews are and I'm very proud of that. That's why we're the only polled religious group in the US which overwhelmingly voted for Harris. We know what Trump is. We recognize the signs. Harris supported Liberal values, Trump threatens them.

Read history, Anon. Read political science and political theory. Learn what the modern nation state *is*

A modern nation state is made up of a geographical territory and a people who identify as a nation. By definition, that's always a "particular bunch." That doesn't mean necessarily religiously or ethnically uniform (thank goodness), but there are no successful states without a broadly shared sense of national identity, and that is frequently built on identities which are based on ethicity, religion, or ideology (including civic, secular, pluralistic ideology). Read about naturalization processes in nations you think are good and successfully supporting a pluralistic society.

Please feel free to send more asks or messages.

Wishing you a happy new year and hoping that you, wherever you live, enjoy as much freedom as non-Jewish Israelis will continue to enjoy in 2025.

[candela888]

Largest religious denomination in the USA by county

Btw this doesn’t show atheism/irreligion, so like in Los Angeles, 60-70% of religious people are Catholic, it’s not that 60-70% of Angelenos are Catholic, just the ones who profess a religion.

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

The world if people stopped applying their understanding of "conservatism" and "religion/christianity" through a very modern, deeply American view onto Death Note (a manga from the Early-mid 2000s which is very much set in the cultural and societal context of early-mid 2000s Japan and all that entails):

[divinum-pacis]

A truck carries an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe during a procession in New York City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (RNS photo/Fiona Murphy)