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Must a State Have a Neutral Religious Indentity? What Does Europe Do?


(Ha'aretz) Alexander Yakobson - In the discussions about Israel as a Jewish state, we see that many European countries have constitutions that are not religiously or culturally neutral at all. The Irish constitution starts with "in the Name of the Holy Trinity." That of Greece states: "The prevailing religion in Greece is that of the Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ." According to the constitution of Denmark, the Evangelical Lutheran Church "shall be the Established Church of Denmark." In Norway, "The Norwegian Church, an Evangelical-Lutheran Church, remains Norway's Church." In both Denmark and Norway, the monarch must belong to the Lutheran Church. The sign of the cross on these nations' flags is by no means "neutral." In Bulgaria, the constitution proclaims that "Eastern Orthodox Christianity is the traditional religion in the Republic of Bulgaria."
2014-05-30 00:00:00
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