Secularity and European Constitutions

While Europe as a whole may be seen as increasingly secular, there are a surprising number of mentions of God, the church and religion in the constitutions of individual countries.  The table below gives an overview of these. The majority of mentions of ‘the church’ are in the context of its separation from the state. Religion is usually mentioned with regard to ‘freedom of religion’. This is usually defined as the freedom for an individual to practice their religion, with no mention of evangelism or conversion outside of their religious communities. 

Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Malta all have constitutional state churches.  Sweden, Finland and Spain have differing degrees of separation of church and state whilst maintaining a close relationship between the two.