state church

American  

noun

1. established church.

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Etymology

Origin of state church

First recorded in 1720–30

Example Sentences

After midnight Saturday, the Church of England — the state church, whose supreme governor is the king — sanctioned same-sex couples to be blessed for the first time in its 489-year history.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 21, 2023

And a choir practice at a Washington state church was labeled by the CDC as an early “superspreading” event.

From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2020

I know today’s numbers for every candidate in every city, state, church and club, but a well-drawn image of any real candidate rarely appears.

From Washington Post • Jan. 31, 2020

That contributes to the wild marketplace of religion in America, where the lack of a state church has forced every faith group to scrap for adherents on its own merits.

From Slate • Jul. 8, 2015

The opposing congregations now declared, in 1877, their withdrawal from the state church, and constituted themselves as a “free Lutheran church in Hesse.”

From Church History, Vol. 3 of 3 by Kurtz, J. H.