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A secular state is a concept of secularism, whereby a state is or purports to be officially neutral in matters of religion, supporting neither religion nor irreligion.〔Madeley, John T. S. and Zsolt Enyedi, (Church and state in contemporary Europe: the chimera of neutrality ), p. 14, 2003 Routledge〕 A secular state also claims to treat all its citizens equally regardless of religion, and claims to avoid preferential treatment for a citizen from a particular religion/nonreligion over other religions/nonreligion. Secular states do not have a state religion (established religion) or equivalent, although the absence of a state religion does not necessarily mean that a state is fully secular; however, a true secular state should steadfastly maintain national governance without influence from religious factions; i.e. Separation of church and state.〔http://www.allabouthistory.org/separation-of-church-and-state.htm〕 ==Origin and practice== Secular states become secular either upon creation of the state (e.g. United States of America or China) or upon secularization of the state (e.g. France or Nepal). Movements for laïcité in France and for the separation of church and state in the United States defined modern concepts of secularism. Historically, the process of secularizing states typically involves granting religious freedom, disestablishing state religions, stopping public funds to be used for a religion, freeing the legal system from religious control, freeing up the education system, tolerating citizens who change religion or abstain from religion, and allowing political leadership to come to power regardless of religious beliefs.〔Jean Baubérot (The secular principle )〕 Not all legally secular states are completely secular in practice. * In France for example, many Christian holy days are official holidays for the public administration, and teachers in Catholic schools are salaried by the state.〔Richard Teese, (Private Schools in France: Evolution of a System ), ''Comparative Education Review'', Vol. 30, No. 2 (May, 1986), pp. 247-259 〕 In some European states where secularism confronts monoculturalist philanthropy some of the main Christian sects and sects of other religions depend on the state for some of the financial resources for their religious charities. It is common in Corporate law and Charity law to prohibit them from using those funds to organize religious worship in a separate place of worship or for conversion; the religious body itself must provide the religious content, educated clergy and lay-persons to exercise its own functions and may choose to afford part of their time to the separate charities. To that effect some of those charities establish secular organizations that manage part of or all of the donations from the main religion(s). Religious and non-religious organizations can apply for equivalent funding from the government and receive subsidies either based on assessed social results where there is indirect religious state funding, sometimes that assessment is simply the number of beneficiaries of those organisations.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Department for Education )〕 This resembles Charitable choice in the United States. Overt direct state funding of religions is on the whole doubtfully in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights though it would not yet appear to have been decided at supranational level in ECtHR case law stemming from the rights in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which mandates non-discrimination in affording its co-listed basic social rights; specifically, funding certain services would not accord with non-discriminatory state action.〔(and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina (application nos. 27996/06 and 34836/06) found a violation of the non-discrimination overarching right vis-à-vis all other rights on a wider subject from often arbitrary funding of social charities viz. rights afforded by law Art. 1 of Prot. No. 12, namely protecting "any right set forth by law". The convention introduces a general prohibition of discrimination in legally enshrined state action, as well as where rights under the convention such as an education or health care are funded. A superior level of services supported by religious bodies is permitted. )〕 Many states that nowadays are secular in practice may have legal vestiges of an earlier established religion. Secularism also has various guises which may coincide with some degree of official religiosity. In the United Kingdom, the head of state is still required to take the 1688-enacted Coronation Oath swearing to maintain the Protestant Reformed religion in the United Kingdom and preserve the established Church of England.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Coronation Oath )〕 The United Kingdom also maintains positions in the House of Lords for 26 senior clergymen of the Church of England known as the Lords Spiritual.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=How members are appointed )〕 The reverse progression can also occur, a state can go from being secular to a religious state as in the case of Iran where the secularized state of the Pahlavi dynasty was replaced by the Islamic Republic (list below). Over the last 250 years, there has been a trend towards secularism.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Harris Interactive: Resource Not Found )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Secularization and Secularism - History And Nature Of Secularization And Secularism To 1914 )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Secular state」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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