Church and State

Carl, Mark and me are all from different countries: England, Belgium and the Netherlands respectively. Our countries are all part of Northwestern Europe, but even so they differ a lot among each other in their church-state relationships. In England the queen is the formal head of the Anglican Church and the archbishop of Canterbury for one has a seat in the House of Lords. Belgium is a Catholic country and it shows by the State taking responsibility for church buildings and paying parish priests a monthly salary. In the Netherlands Church and State are farther apart, but even there it is possible to receive state subsidies for sectarian schools, as long as they meet the educational standards set by the State.

The differences between the three countries are due to each going through its own historical development. I do not claim to understand what the particular experience of each country was and how in the course of time they arrived at their present arrangements. I do not even know what the precise present arrangements are! All that I know are a few elements of an intricate structure.

The complexity of church-state relationships has more than one cause. It is not just a matter of law and the legal language it uses. It has as much to do with religion and the way it looks at itself. Religion claims to be based on a divine revelation and that puts religion over against the State, unless of course the State itself is sanctioned by religion. What can be confusing at times are the actuations of governments. Governments are not the State, but they may try to change the political system and remodel the State.

I was in the Philippines during the reign of President Ferdinand Marcos. He declared Martial Law and used the armed forces to alter the system of government into a one-man rule. The Catholic Church reacted ambiguously at first. They gave him the benefit of the doubt and felt that Romans 13, 1 still applied: "Everyone is to obey the governing authorities, because there is no authority except from God and so whatever authorities exist have been appointed by God". Others quoted rather Peter and John before the Sanhedrin in Acts 4, 19: "You must judge whether in God's eyes it is right to listen to you and not to God". In the end the Church turned massively against Marcos because he had lost all legitimacy by making a mockery of the political process.

Religions have their own way of judging governments and ultimately the State. They do not accept governments and states automatically. They need to be persuaded that it is the best thing to do.

Church-state relationships are not fixed once and for all. They are susceptible to change. Secularists may try to ban religion from the public domain into the private sphere. Religions may strive hard in having their particular views prevail in legislation and government policies. In the end it is all about the common good and the common good is something of everyone and for everyone.

Ton