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• established church
  established church

  noun

  a church that is recognized by law, and sometimes financially supported, as the official church of a nation.
• Established Church
  Established Church

  noun

  a Church that is officially recognized as a national institution, esp the Church of England

established church

American  

noun

1. a church that is recognized by law, and sometimes financially supported, as the official church of a nation.

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Established Church British  

noun

1. a Church that is officially recognized as a national institution, esp the Church of England

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established church ¹ Cultural  

1. A church supported by the government as a national institution. The Church of England is an established church in England, as is the Lutheran Church in the countries of Scandinavia and the Presbyterian Church in Scotland.

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established church ² Cultural  

1. A religious denomination that receives financial and other support from the government, often to the exclusion of support for other denominations. (See under “World Literature, Philosophy, and Religion.”)

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Etymology

Origin of established church

First recorded in 1650–60

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

established church Established Church

Before it was formed after the American Revolution, Anglicanism was the established church of the Virginia colony.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 14, 2022

“Cures and charms go way beyond the established church, it predates Christianity,” Dr. Moore said.

From New York Times ● Dec. 20, 2021

When the United States was founded, most countries around the world had an established church or religion—an officially sponsored set of religious beliefs and values.

From Textbooks ● Jul. 28, 2021

It started with the Anglican Church, or Church of England, the first established church of the Virginia colony.

From Washington Times ● Aug. 8, 2020

"A relic of the established church of colonial days," I remarked.

From In Jeopardy by Van Tassel Sutphen

When romance conflicts with the canons of the Established Church, and with the Briton's inbred view of royalty, it is no easy role.

From Time Magazine Archive

She could only hope that if she married outside the Established Church, of which her sister the Queen is head, even the church itself might in time prove forgiving.

From Time Magazine Archive

England's Established Church has little to do with nonconformists on the one side, Roman Catholics on the other.

From Time Magazine Archive

His inglorious job was to uphold the unpopular Established Church, put down the dissenting Covenanters with a heavy hand.

From Time Magazine Archive

The best proof that Church endowments do not check, but rather encourage, private beneficence is the amount of money donations to the Established Church during the present age.

From Social Transformations of the Victorian Age A Survey of Court and Country by T. H. S. (Thomas Hay Sweet) Escott