I see; I did not realize the Act of Union (or perhaps acts supplemental to it) was so comprehensive, but that does explain much subsequent Scottish as well as American history. And the below linked British statute, which reads like a more specific version of the US Tenth Amendment.


Ah, thanks for clearing up my confusion. The question was mostly facetious, but I confess I had always thought of pre-Norman England as completely Saxon, barring the odd Viking incursion.


Well, but there is the rub, no? Disestablishing the state church by definition requires removing the church from public life, at least in any official capacity. It does not mean public officeholders must be non-religious, or preclude them making political appeals to fellow members of their church, but does make public offices and functions distinct from religious ones. If the state declares a public holiday on an explicitly religious basis, the state promotes religion; if it does so exclusively (and repeatedly) for one religion, it promotes that religion to the exclusion of (and thus discriminates against) all others.

I have not dug into it enough to be certain, but in Norways case it seems to depend on whom one asks. Initially I was told it was a simple matter of removing state authority over the church, but further investigation suggests there is, or rather was, some church involvement with purely secular matters that will now cease.