RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Church and State
part of the State whose object has been the complete separation of Church and State. In this new
departure the United States took the 8. Tendency lead. Since then, strange to say, this Toward essentially Calvinistic idea has been Separation, carried out by such Roman Catholic
countries as Mexico, Brazil, Cuba, and most recently by France. One might almost say that the separation of the Church from the State is recognized by a republican government as an obligation. Such separation is due to hostility toward the Church, and its object is the subordination of the Church. The Protestant sees nothing objectionable in this. In his view the fact that the State claims a certain surveillance over the outward organization of the Church has no significance for the inner life of faith. The Roman Catholic, on the other hand, who carries his religious sentiment into these external things, strenuously opposes any influence of the State in this direction. The Toleranzantrag of the Center, which was introduced in the German Reichstag in 1900, is suggestive. Under the guise of demanding freedom for the Church in general, it embodies the complaints of the Roman Catholics. It demands, among other things, complete freedom for the cure of souls throughout the empire, for the erection of church buildings and the holding of religious worship, and also demands the removal of the placetum and of all restrictions placed by the State upon religious societies and associations. It is this last point, the question of religious orders, that is not so easily conceded. Here economic interests come into consideration; and it is imlikely that the existing laws limiting the acquisition of property by mortmain will be changed in the interest of religious orders. This Toleranzantrag makes no mention of ministerial education. The State now provides for the education of ministers, but whether it will be able to nationalize the clergy, and thus remove present religious dissensions, is doubtful. The Evangehcal Church gives the State no occasion to resort to radical measures; but naturally a separation of the Roman Catholic Church from the State carries with it a similar separation as regards the Evangelical Church. This is illustrated by recent events in France.
While the old territorial state rendered a magnificent service in rescuing the Gospel, the close
embrace of the State now threatens 9- Deca- the Church with suffocation. The dence of Evangelical Church in Germany has Protestant- completely lost the support of the ism in masses. For them it is an institution Germany, of the State, or of the aristocracy, and
part of the system wliich they oppose. It IS regarded as une partie du gouvernement, just as was the Roman Catholic Church in France in the eighteenth century. But how is any other condition possible under a church regiment whose fundamental princi])le is that the Church must subserve the political interests of the State? As the Russian state law puts it, the Church must show 'gentleness and tolerance in doctrine and behayior,'- and it " must abstain from all interference in pnvate and family affairs." It must maintain
" quiet and order," " quiet and peace "; and that is the main consideration for the State. This program is carried out by German officials with perfect fidelity to duty, and with as much love to the Church as the Church, in its present depressed condition, is able to inspire in them. Naturally, the legal pastor must fit into this regime. The result is that in any great rehgious movement, for instance against Rome, the ecclesiastical organization may leave a Protestant people completely in the lurch. Political interests predominate; but such interests, which come and go with ministries, do not coincide with those of the Evangelical Church, whose chief interest is to extend the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
While it would be a mistake for the Evangelical Church in Germany to aim at immediate separation
from the State, the remedy for exist- 10. Self- ing evils lies in that direction. There is Government no doubt that complete separation is for Church only a question of time; but for the the Remedy, present what the Protestant Church
needs is that measure of independence whicli, in theory, the modern State accords to it. The attainment of self-government is the serious task that the Church now confronts. But those who uphold the old territorial system ask if this is practicable. Here the only thing worthy of earnest consideration is the question of the continued existence of the state church. It has been argued that independence for the Church would bring with it a dissolution of the religious body into innumerable sects, thus destroying the national character of the Church. Although the small religious society offers advantages in the way of individual freedom, it must be admitted that the large community best provides for the service of the Master. The fear, however, that the Church would disintegrate if released from the grasp of the State is ungrounded. The removal of the antiquated territorial system does not mean necessarily that henceforth there would be no relation whatsoever between Church and State. Between the territorial system and the French system of sheer separation there is a mean. Self-government for the Church constitutes this mean. Under such a system the Church would be freed from the stifling domination of the State, without being reduced to the position of a mere company, or association. Such a relationship for the Church would not be inconsistent with its popular character. In France the two branches of the Evangelical Church have been placed in the position of secular organizations; but even in such a guise they continue to flourish as national churches. The various branches of the Protestant Church in the United States are also popular in character, the general impression to the contrary notwithstanding. In each case the Church is something more than the aggregate of local organizations. Over and above the local society stands the denomination, the Church, to which others than tfie members of such organizations belong. It is a spiritual body; but as such it is formally organized. It is provided with a constitution, and is recognized by law.
From a juristic point of view the relations be-
Church and State