100 Examples of Lay States

It is known as Secular state to those countries whose form of government is independent of any religious organization, so that the The decisions of politicians will not be linked to any religious order other than their own decisions or those of their match. For example: South Korea, Syria, Venezuela, Slovenia.

The definition The strict rule of secular states leaves very few countries within the group, since it reserves the presence for those who do not have any kind of inference in any of the public powers.

For many people, the secularism of the state is a principle of concord between the different human beings that inhabit the country, which is based on what unites them and not on what separates them.

The principle of neutrality of the State with respect to the different options of particular conscience presumes the existence of different creeds within a country and guarantees normal coexistence, which is a very strong and favorable position to Liberty conscience, equal rights and universality of public action.

Examples of lay states

Characteristics of these states

However, it is common for total separation between religious institutions and the State is not fulfilled for almost any country. Then, certain conditions are established that a State must meet to be considered secular, even when it may have an official religion:

Confessional (non-secular) states

The opposite of secular states is the group of Confessional states, those who adhere to a specific religion called official. The confessional states can be the product of the customs and traditions of a nation, or of the established legislation.

In the same way as in the case of the laity, there are different shades among confessional countries, the most extreme in the world being those that adopt a religion as the foundation ideological for all its political institutions, called theocracies, where the heads of government coincide with the leaders religious. In this group are the Vatican City, Iran, Saudi Arabia.

In this way, more than two categories, there are many nuances in the level of ascription to a religion that a State can have. The following list includes some of the countries that formally comply with all the characteristics of a secular state.

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