The First Amendment of the Constitution of the
United States of America, states...

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the exercise thereof"

Many countries have a "National or Established Religion".  Sunni Islam is the official national religion of Saudi Arabia. Roman Catholicism was the official religion in countries of Western Europe before the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century. The Eastern Orthodox Church was established in several countries in Eastern Europe. The Anglican Church is still the established church in England.

An established church has a relationship to the state as that of a “horse and carriage. The testimonial of clergy of an established church is a passport through government bureaucracy. Military and institutional chaplains are invariably clergy of the established church.

The Church of England is supported by funds from the Ecclesiastical Commission which manages the state granted real estate and other historic investment (effective date 1836) of the established church. The Commission comprises 33 commissioners, 6 of whom are government officials. While establishment lends prestige and economic security to the Church, it comes with a high institutional cost.

What are the costs of establishment? An established church is restricted in decision making. In England, for example, the archbishops of Canterbury and York and diocesan councils can only nominate bishops. Their nominees are vetted by the Prime Minister who makes an official nomination to the monarch who is the secular head of the established church. The clergy of the established church is obligated to serve the spiritual and civic needs of the entire population.

The Church loses its moral high ground when politicians appoint its leaders. Members of the church whose motivation is its prestige appeal, invariable lack the spiritual fire that is important for evangelism. People do best when they are free to compete for survival and development. That explains why members of “wealthy endowed parishes” are less motivated to do creative ministry. Churches with comfortable pews oftentimes plateau and subsequently decline. Clergy and laity are more earnest about parish development when they face budget shortfalls. The Church must be more than a comfortable club.

New church-plant congregations are invariably more dynamic and motivated to grow than are older comfortable congregations. Resource insecurity “lights a fire at our tails” and pushes us forward like jet engines. Believe it or not, a higher percentage of Christians worship in countries where restriction is on the freedom to worship.