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Religious uniformity occurs when
/ref> In the United States, the
Religious uniformity occurs when government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
is used to promote one state religion
A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular state, secular, is not n ...
, denomination, or philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
to the exclusion of all other religious beliefs.History
Religious uniformity was common in many modern theocratic and atheistic governments around the world until fairly modern times. The modern concept of a separatecivil government
Civil authority or civil government is the practical implementation of a State (polity), state on behalf of its citizens, other than through military units (martial law), that enforces law and order (politics), law and order and that is distingui ...
was relatively unknown until expounded upon by Roger Williams
Roger Williams (21 September 1603between 27 January and 15 March 1683) was an English-born New England Puritan minister, theologian, and author who founded Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantation ...
, a Christian minister, in '' The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution'' (1644) shortly after he founded the American colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...
in 1636.James Emanuel Ernst, Roger Williams, ''New England Firebrand'' (Macmillan Co., Rhode Island, 1932), pg. 2/ref> In the United States, the
First Amendment to the Constitution
The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents the government from making laws that regulate an establishment of religion, or that prohibit the free exercise of religion, or abridge the freedom of speech, the f ...
(1791) prohibits the federal government from establishing or prohibiting a religion, and in 1947 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states cannot create established state churches in '' Everson v. Board of Education''.
See also
*Act of Uniformity 1549
The Act of Uniformity 1549, was an Act of the Parliament of England, passed on 21 January 1549.
It was the logical successor of the Edwardian Injunctions of 1547 and the Sacrament Act of the same year which had taken piecemeal steps towards ...
*Religious persecution
Religious persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religion, religious beliefs or affiliations or their irreligion, lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within soc ...
*Christian debate on persecution and toleration
The history of Christian thought has included concepts of both inclusivity and exclusivity from its beginnings, that have been understood and applied differently in different ages, and have led to practices of both persecution and toleration. ...
*Theocracy
Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deity, deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs.
Etymology
The word theocracy origina ...
References
{{Religious persecution Religious persecution Religion and government Religious pluralism