state church

noun

often capitalized S&C

Examples of state church in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Justice Neil Gorsuch’s majority opinion in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District rejected the school district’s irrational view that allowing a single public employee to pray by himself was the equivalent of establishing a state church under the establishment clause. Dan McLaughlin, National Review, 27 June 2022 Before King Charles III ascended to the throne, Queen Elizabeth was the Supreme Governor and Defender of the Faith of the Church of England, the state church of England that broke with Roman Catholicism in the 16th century. Lyndsey Matthews, Good Housekeeping, 19 Sep. 2022 In each case, the Court recognized, allowing private citizens to choose their own religious faith in the public square is the antithesis of requiring conformity to a state church. The Editors, National Review, 1 July 2022 As Nelson tells it, the Danish kings basically governed the country through the apparatus of the state church, particularly at the lower levels. Win McCormack, The New Republic, 30 Dec. 2020 The twin constitutional pillars of religious liberty in the United States — the free-exercise clause and the establishment clause — don’t just protect liberty by disestablishing religion (by preventing the formation of a state church). David French, National Review, 12 Sep. 2019 Thanks to the state church, Britain also had unusually good birth and death records. Kelsey Piper, Vox, 20 Aug. 2019 Uncensored printing offered the possibility of choice, ending the state church’s monopoly on opinion-forming. The Economist, 4 Nov. 2017

Word History

First Known Use

1644, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of state church was in 1644

Dictionary Entries Near state church

Cite this Entry

“State church.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/state%20church. Accessed 24 Dec. 2024.

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