Most modern democracies separate church and state. It’s become the norm. But 31 countries haven’t made that split—they still recognize an official state religion.
Muslim-majority nations make up most of the list. Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Somalia, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Iraq, Bahrain, Malaysia, Comoros, Maldives, and Mauritania—all 19 recognize Islam officially.
Europe has fewer. England’s Church puts bishops in the House of Lords where they vote on laws. Denmark taxes people to fund its Lutheran Church and participates in choosing bishops. Iceland has the same setup with its Lutheran Church. Greece wrote the Orthodox Church into law. Malta requires Catholic teaching in schools through its constitution.
Costa Rica, Zambia, Kiribati, and Fiji have Christianity. So do Vatican City, Monaco, and Liechtenstein.
Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Thailand, and Cambodia recognize Buddhism. Israel recognizes Judaism.
Over the past 25 years, the numbers changed:
Religion
~2000
2025
Christianity
13 countries
7 countries*
Islam
27 countries
19 countries
Buddhism
2 countries
4 countries
*Finland and Argentina have church relationships but no official status
The reality in Europe doesn’t match the paperwork anymore. France and the UK lost their Christian majorities between 2010 and 2020. Netherlands went from 45% non-religious to 56% in 14 years. Poland used to be one of Europe’s most Catholic countries—now 30% show up for Sunday mass. Eurobarometer tracked Christianity dropping from 72% of the EU in 2012 to 64% in 2019.
The shifts continue. Christians will probably make up 65% of Europe by 2050, down from 75% in 2010. Muslimscould go from 6% to 11%.
Pakistan aslo has a state religion and that is Islam… I think the author forgot to mention it.
israel has a state religion, judaism. Thats why its called the Jewish state.