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In 2013, North Carolina politicians proposed a bill that could have seen North Carolina establish an official religion for the state. [33] [34] An 2013 YouGov poll found that 34% of people would favor establishing Christianity as the official state religion in their own state, 47% would be opposed and 19% were undecided. [35]
Ruled by the British Empire until 1776, colonial America was dominated by English political and religious influence. In Maryland, Anglicanism was established as the official religion from 1702. The colony's Catholic subjects were barred from both voting and holding public office, although the right to worship privately was granted in 1712.
Most states interpret "freedom of religion" as including the freedom of long-established religious communities to remain intact and not be destroyed. By extension, democracies interpret "freedom of religion" as the right of each individual to freely choose to convert from one religion to another, mix religions, or abandon religion altogether.
In 2013, North Carolina politicians proposed a bill that could have seen North Carolina establish an official religion for the state. [79] [80] A 2013 YouGov poll found that 34% of people favored establishing Christianity as the official state religion in their own state, 47% opposed it, and 19% were undecided. [81]
The status of religious freedom in North America varies from country to country. States can differ based on whether or not they guarantee equal treatment under law for followers of different religions, whether they establish a state religion (and the legal implications that this has for both practitioners and non-practitioners), the extent to which religious organizations operating within the ...
A state church (or "established church") is a state religion established by a state for use exclusively by that state. In the case of a state church , the state has absolute control over the church, but in the case of a state religion , the church is ruled by an exterior body; for example, in the case of Catholicism, the Vatican has control ...
The No Religious Test Clause of the United States Constitution is a clause within Article VI, Clause 3: "Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ...
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, Pub. L. No. 103-141, 107 Stat. 1488 (November 16, 1993), codified at 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb through 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb-4 (also known as RFRA), is a 1993 United States federal law that "ensures that interests in religious freedom are protected."