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Established Church. Establishment clause. 1960s use of "the Establishment." And antidisestablishmentarianism.
(or, ''Anglican Church'') . The English national church that traces its history back to the arrival of [[Christianity]] in Britain during the second century AD. The Church of England is a denomination of [[Protestant]]ism. It was formally organized by King [[Henry VIII]] of England, and the title "Defender of the Faith" remains one of the titles of the English monarch (currently, [[Elizabeth II]]). The American branch of the Anglican denomination is the [[Episcopalian]] church.
(or, ''Anglican Church'') . The English national church that traces its history back to the arrival of [[Christianity]] in Britain during the second century AD. The Church of England is a denomination of [[Protestant]]ism. It was formally organized by King [[Henry VIII]] of England, and the title "Defender of the Faith" remains one of the titles of the English monarch (currently, [[Elizabeth II]]). The American branch of the Anglican denomination is the [[Episcopalian]] church.
The Church of England is referred to as the "established church" of England. At the time of the American Revolution, it was a legal requirement in England that all public officials, including university professors, take an oath to uphold the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England. This is what the Constitution is referring to when it says in Article VI that "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States" and in the Bill of Rights when it says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."
In that context, the word "establishment" originally referred to the Church of England; in the United States during the 1960s, the word came to be used to refer to the social and political groups that were thought to have an analogous influence within this country.
In the late 1800s, there was a movement to disestablish the Church of England. It failed, but it had the incidental effect of giving the English language one of its longest words, "antidisestablishmentarianism."