Religion in Switzerland
Encyclopedia
Switzerland
has no country-wide state religion
, though most of the cantons
(except for Geneva
and Neuchâtel
) recognize official churches (Landeskirche
n), in all cases including the Catholic Church and the Swiss Reformed Church
. These churches, and in some cantons also the Old Catholic Church
and Jewish congregations, are financed by official taxation of adherents
.
Christianity
is the predominant religion of Switzerland (91% of total resident population). 5% of the total population are irreligious. The largest minority religion is Islam
(4%, figures as of 2000).
As of 2000, about 91% of the Swiss adhered to Christianity
; about 5% were irreligious or refused to answer; Islam
was the largest minority religion, at about 4%.
The two major religious confessions are the Roman Catholic Church
(41.82% of the population) and the Swiss Reformed Church
(33.04%). The country is historically about evenly balanced between Catholic and Protestant regions. The larger cities (Bern, Zurich, Basel, Geneva) were and partly still are Protestant, while Central Switzerland and the Ticino are traditionally Catholic.
11.1% of the Swiss were irreligious
.
Immigration
has brought Islam
(4.26%) and Eastern Orthodoxy (1.8%) as sizeable minority religions.
Other Christian minority communities include Neo-Pietism
(0.44%), Pentecostalism
(0.28%, mostly incorporated in the Schweizer Pfingstmission
), Methodism
(0.13%), the New Apostolic Church
(0.45%), Jehovah's Witnesses
(0.28%), other Protestant denominations (0.20%), the Old Catholic Church
(0.18%), other Christian denominations (0.20%).
Minor non-Christian minority groups are Hinduism
(0.38%), Buddhism
(0.29%), Judaism
(0.25%) and "other religions" (0.11%). 4.3% did not make a statement.
Regarding personal belief, the 2005 Eurobarometer Poll
found that 48% of Swiss citizens expressed belief "that there is a God", 39% expressed belief in "some sort of spirit or life force" while 9% answered that that they did not believe that "there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force"
The Swiss constitution of 1848, written by the victorious pro-union Protestant cantons after the Catholic-Separatist Civil War of 1847, consciously defines a consociational state, allowing the peaceful co-existence of Catholics and Protestants.
However, the Catholic Jesuits (Societas Jesu) were banned from all activities in either clerical or pedagogical functions by Article 51 of the Swiss constitution in 1848. The reason was the perceived threat resulting from Jesuit advocacy of traditionalist Catholicism to the stability of the state. In June 1973, 54.9% of Swiss voters approved removing the ban on the Jesuits (as well as Article 52 which banned monasteries and convents from Switzerland); the vote reflected sharp divisions between the cantons, with 92% of Valais
supporting, but 71% of Neuchâtel opposing removing the ban.
The settlement restrictions placed on Swiss Jews in various instances between the 14th and 18th centuries were lifted with the revised Swiss Constitution of 1874.
A popular vote in March 1981 on the complete separation of church and state
was clearly opposed to such a change, with only 21.1% voting in support, to the effect of the retention of the Landeskirche
n system.
In November 2009
, 57.5% of Swiss voters (54% turnout) approved of a popular initiative to ban the construction of minaret
s in Switzerland. The four existing Swiss minarets, at mosques in Zurich
, Geneva
, Winterthur
and Wangen bei Olten
are not affected by the ban.
has been guaranteed since the revised Swiss Constitution of 1874 (Article 49).
During the Old Swiss Confederacy
, there had been no de facto freedom of religion, with persecution of Anabaptists in particular well into the 18th century. Swiss Jews had been given full political rights in 1866, although their right to settle freely was implemented as late as 1879 in the canton of Aargau
.
The current Swiss Constitution of 1999 makes explicit both positive and negative religious freedom in Article 15, paragraph 3--which asserts that every person has the right to adhere to a religious confession and to attend religious education--and paragraph 4, which asserts that nobody can be forced to either adhere to a religious confession or to attend religious education, thus explicitly asserting the right of apostasy
from a previously held religious belief.
The basic right protected by the constitution is that of public confession of adherence to a religious community and the performance of religious cult activities. Article 36 of the constitution introduces a limitation of these rights if they conflict with public interest or if they encroach upon the basic rights of others. Thus, ritual slaughter
is prohibited as conflicting with Swiss animal law
s. Performance of cultic or missionary activities or religious processions on public ground may be limited. On the other hand, the use of cantonal taxes to support cantonal churches has been ruled legal by the Federal Supreme Court
.
It is disputed whether the minaret ban
introduced in Article 72 of the Swiss Constitution in 2009 constitutes a further limitation of the freedom of religion.
s". The Gaulish Helvetii
, who became part of Gallo-Roman culture under the Roman Empire
, left only scarce traces of their religion
like the statue of dea Artio
, a bear goddess, found near Bern. A known Roman sanctuary to Mercury
was on a hill north-east of Baar
. St. Peter
in Zurich
was the location of a temple to Jupiter.
The Bishopric of Basel
was established in AD 346; the bishopric of Sion
, before 381; the bishopric of Geneva
. in ca. 400: the bishopric of Vindonissa
(now united as the Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg), in 517; and the Diocese of Chur
, before 451.
Germanic paganism
briefly reached Switzerland with the immigration, from the 6th century, of the Alemanni, who were gradually converted to Christianity
during the 6th and 7th centuries, with the establishment of the Bishopric of Constance
in ca. 585. The Abbey of St. Gall
rose as an important center of learning in the early middle ages.
The Old Swiss Confederacy
was Roman Catholic as a matter of course until the Reformation
of the 1520s, which resulted in a lasting split of the Confederacy into Protestantism and Catholicism. This split lead to numerous violent outbreaks in Early Modern times
and included the partitioning of the former canton of Appenzell into the Protestant canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden
and Catholic Appenzell Innerrhoden
in 1597. The secular Helvetic Republic
was a brief intermezzo and tensions immediately resurfaced after 1815, leading to the formation of the modern federal state in 1848, which recognizes Landeskirche
n on a cantonal basis: the Roman Catholic and the Reformed Churches in each canton, and since the 1870s (following the controversies triggered by the First Vatican Council
) the Christian Catholic Church
in some cantons.
The Jesuits (Societas Jesu) were the subject of a bitter controversy in 19th century Switzerland.
The order had been dissolved in 1773 by Clement XIV, but it was re-instated in 1814 by Pius VII.
Over the following years, the Jesuits returned to the Swiss colleges they had owned prior to 1773, in Brig (1814), Sion (1814), Fribourg (1818) and Lucerne (1845), and especially Fribourg became a center of the Council of Trent
. The Protestant cantons felt threatened by the re-appearance of the Jesuits and their program of traditionalist Catholicism, which contributed to religious unrest and the formation of the Sonderbund
of the Catholic cantons, and at the Tagsatzung
of 1844 in vain demanded the expulsion of the Jesuit order from the territory of the Swiss confederacy.
The Protestant victory of the Sonderbundskrieg of 1847 led to the realization of such a ban in the 1848 Swiss Constitution, expanded even further in the revised constitution of 1874, so that all activity of Jesuits either in clerical or in educational function was outlawed in Switzerland until 1973, when the paragraph was removed from the constitution by a popular vote.
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
has no country-wide state religion
State religion
A state religion is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state...
, though most of the cantons
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
(except for Geneva
Canton of Geneva
The Republic and Canton of Geneva is the French speaking westernmost canton or state of Switzerland, surrounded on almost all sides by France. As is the case in several other Swiss cantons The Republic and Canton of Geneva is the French speaking westernmost canton or state of Switzerland,...
and Neuchâtel
Canton of Neuchâtel
Neuchâtel is a canton of French speaking western Switzerland. In 2007, its population was 169,782 of which 39,654 were foreigners. The capital is Neuchâtel.-History:...
) recognize official churches (Landeskirche
Landeskirche
In Germany and Switzerland, a Landeskirche is the church of a region. They originated as the national churches of the independent states, States of Germany or Cantons of Switzerland , that later unified to form modern Germany or modern Switzerland , respectively.-Origins in the Holy Roman...
n), in all cases including the Catholic Church and the Swiss Reformed Church
Swiss Reformed Church
The Reformed branch of Protestantism in Switzerland was started in Zürich by Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basel , Bern , St...
. These churches, and in some cantons also the Old Catholic Church
Old Catholic Church
The term Old Catholic Church is commonly used to describe a number of Ultrajectine Christian churches that originated with groups that split from the Roman Catholic Church over certain doctrines, most importantly that of Papal Infallibility...
and Jewish congregations, are financed by official taxation of adherents
Church tax
A church tax is a tax imposed on members of some religious congregations in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Sweden, some parts of Switzerland and several other countries.- Germany :About 70% of church revenues come from church tax...
.
Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
is the predominant religion of Switzerland (91% of total resident population). 5% of the total population are irreligious. The largest minority religion is Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
(4%, figures as of 2000).
Demographics
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
; about 5% were irreligious or refused to answer; Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
was the largest minority religion, at about 4%.
The two major religious confessions are the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
(41.82% of the population) and the Swiss Reformed Church
Swiss Reformed Church
The Reformed branch of Protestantism in Switzerland was started in Zürich by Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basel , Bern , St...
(33.04%). The country is historically about evenly balanced between Catholic and Protestant regions. The larger cities (Bern, Zurich, Basel, Geneva) were and partly still are Protestant, while Central Switzerland and the Ticino are traditionally Catholic.
11.1% of the Swiss were irreligious
Irreligion
Irreligion is defined as an absence of religion or an indifference towards religion. Sometimes it may also be defined more narrowly as hostility towards religion. When characterized as hostility to religion, it includes antitheism, anticlericalism and antireligion. When characterized as...
.
Immigration
Immigration to Switzerland
There has been significant immigration to Switzerland since the 1980s.By contrast, during the 19th century, emigration from Switzerland was more common, as Switzerland was economically a poor country where a large fraction of population survived on subsistence farming.As of 2008, 30.6% of Swiss...
has brought Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
(4.26%) and Eastern Orthodoxy (1.8%) as sizeable minority religions.
Other Christian minority communities include Neo-Pietism
Pietism
Pietism was a movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late 17th century to the mid-18th century and later. It proved to be very influential throughout Protestantism and Anabaptism, inspiring not only Anglican priest John Wesley to begin the Methodist movement, but also Alexander Mack to...
(0.44%), Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...
(0.28%, mostly incorporated in the Schweizer Pfingstmission
Schweizer Pfingstmission
The Swiss Pentecostal Mission is an umbrella organization of Pentecostal congregations in Switzerland and the Swiss affiliate of the Assemblies of God, the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world....
), Methodism
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
(0.13%), the New Apostolic Church
New Apostolic Church
The New Apostolic Church is a chiliastic church, converted to Protestantism as a free church from the Catholic Apostolic Church. The church has existed since 1879 in Germany and since 1897 in the Netherlands...
(0.45%), Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
(0.28%), other Protestant denominations (0.20%), the Old Catholic Church
Old Catholic Church
The term Old Catholic Church is commonly used to describe a number of Ultrajectine Christian churches that originated with groups that split from the Roman Catholic Church over certain doctrines, most importantly that of Papal Infallibility...
(0.18%), other Christian denominations (0.20%).
Minor non-Christian minority groups are Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
(0.38%), Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
(0.29%), Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
(0.25%) and "other religions" (0.11%). 4.3% did not make a statement.
Regarding personal belief, the 2005 Eurobarometer Poll
Eurobarometer
Eurobarometer is a series of surveys regularly performed on behalf of the European Commission since 1973. It produces reports of public opinion of certain issues relating to the European Union across the member states...
found that 48% of Swiss citizens expressed belief "that there is a God", 39% expressed belief in "some sort of spirit or life force" while 9% answered that that they did not believe that "there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force"
Legislation
However, the Catholic Jesuits (Societas Jesu) were banned from all activities in either clerical or pedagogical functions by Article 51 of the Swiss constitution in 1848. The reason was the perceived threat resulting from Jesuit advocacy of traditionalist Catholicism to the stability of the state. In June 1973, 54.9% of Swiss voters approved removing the ban on the Jesuits (as well as Article 52 which banned monasteries and convents from Switzerland); the vote reflected sharp divisions between the cantons, with 92% of Valais
Valais
The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley...
supporting, but 71% of Neuchâtel opposing removing the ban.
The settlement restrictions placed on Swiss Jews in various instances between the 14th and 18th centuries were lifted with the revised Swiss Constitution of 1874.
A popular vote in March 1981 on the complete separation of church and state
Separation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
was clearly opposed to such a change, with only 21.1% voting in support, to the effect of the retention of the Landeskirche
Landeskirche
In Germany and Switzerland, a Landeskirche is the church of a region. They originated as the national churches of the independent states, States of Germany or Cantons of Switzerland , that later unified to form modern Germany or modern Switzerland , respectively.-Origins in the Holy Roman...
n system.
In November 2009
Swiss referendum, November 2009
On 29 November 2009, the citizens of Switzerland voted on a referendum to decide on three proposals on the federal level:* a ban on the construction of new minarets , passed with 57% in favour; The referendum took place following a campaign to ban minarets in the country.* a ban on exporting...
, 57.5% of Swiss voters (54% turnout) approved of a popular initiative to ban the construction of minaret
Minaret
A minaret مناره , sometimes مئذنه) is a distinctive architectural feature of Islamic mosques, generally a tall spire with an onion-shaped or conical crown, usually either free standing or taller than any associated support structure. The basic form of a minaret includes a base, shaft, and gallery....
s in Switzerland. The four existing Swiss minarets, at mosques in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, Winterthur
Winterthur
Winterthur is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. It has the country's sixth largest population with an estimate of more than 100,000 people. In the local dialect and by its inhabitants, it is usually abbreviated to Winti...
and Wangen bei Olten
Wangen bei Olten
Wangen bei Olten is a municipality in the district of Olten in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland.-Minaret controversy:The construction of a high minaret in Wangen in 2005 led to a constitutional ban on their construction on 29 November 2009....
are not affected by the ban.
Freedom of religion
Full freedom of religionFreedom of religion
Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...
has been guaranteed since the revised Swiss Constitution of 1874 (Article 49).
During the Old Swiss Confederacy
Old Swiss Confederacy
The Old Swiss Confederacy was the precursor of modern-day Switzerland....
, there had been no de facto freedom of religion, with persecution of Anabaptists in particular well into the 18th century. Swiss Jews had been given full political rights in 1866, although their right to settle freely was implemented as late as 1879 in the canton of Aargau
Aargau
Aargau is one of the more northerly cantons of Switzerland. It comprises the lower course of the river Aare, which is why the canton is called Aar-gau .-History:...
.
The current Swiss Constitution of 1999 makes explicit both positive and negative religious freedom in Article 15, paragraph 3--which asserts that every person has the right to adhere to a religious confession and to attend religious education--and paragraph 4, which asserts that nobody can be forced to either adhere to a religious confession or to attend religious education, thus explicitly asserting the right of apostasy
Apostasy
Apostasy , 'a defection or revolt', from ἀπό, apo, 'away, apart', στάσις, stasis, 'stand, 'standing') is the formal disaffiliation from or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. One who commits apostasy is known as an apostate. These terms have a pejorative implication in everyday...
from a previously held religious belief.
The basic right protected by the constitution is that of public confession of adherence to a religious community and the performance of religious cult activities. Article 36 of the constitution introduces a limitation of these rights if they conflict with public interest or if they encroach upon the basic rights of others. Thus, ritual slaughter
Ritual slaughter
Ritual slaughter is the practice of slaughtering livestock for meat in a ritual manner. Ritual slaughter involves a prescribed method of slaughtering an animal for food production purposes...
is prohibited as conflicting with Swiss animal law
Animal law
Animal law is a combination of statutory and case law in which the nature—legal, social or biological—of nonhuman animals is an important factor. Animal law encompasses companion animals, wildlife, animals used in entertainment and animals raised for food and research...
s. Performance of cultic or missionary activities or religious processions on public ground may be limited. On the other hand, the use of cantonal taxes to support cantonal churches has been ruled legal by the Federal Supreme Court
Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland
The Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland is the supreme court of Switzerland. It is located in Lausanne.According to the Constitution of Switzerland, the court has jurisdiction over violations of:*federal law;*public international law;*intercantonal law;...
.
It is disputed whether the minaret ban
Minaret controversy in Switzerland
The minaret controversy in Switzerland refers to construction of minarets, which has been subject to legal and political controversy in Switzerland during the 2000s and a Swiss referendum regarding this issue. In a November 2009 referendum, a constitutional amendment banning the construction of new...
introduced in Article 72 of the Swiss Constitution in 2009 constitutes a further limitation of the freedom of religion.
History
Traces of the pre-Christian religions of the area that is now Switzerland include the Bronze Age "fire dogFire dog
A fire dog is a device of metal or ceramic intended to hold logs above the hearth , or to hold skewers above the fire for cooking....
s". The Gaulish Helvetii
Helvetii
The Helvetii were a Celtic tribe or tribal confederation occupying most of the Swiss plateau at the time of their contact with the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC...
, who became part of Gallo-Roman culture under the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, left only scarce traces of their religion
Gallo-Roman religion
Gallo-Roman religion was a fusion of the traditional religious practices of the Gauls, who were originally Celtic speakers, and the Roman and Hellenistic religions introduced to the region under Roman Imperial rule. It was the result of selective acculturation....
like the statue of dea Artio
Artio
Artio was a Celtic bear goddess. Evidence of her worship has notably been found at Bern whose name according to legend is derived from the word Bär, "bear".-Representations and inscriptions:...
, a bear goddess, found near Bern. A known Roman sanctuary to Mercury
Mercury (mythology)
Mercury was a messenger who wore winged sandals, and a god of trade, the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter in Roman mythology. His name is related to the Latin word merx , mercari , and merces...
was on a hill north-east of Baar
Baar, Switzerland
Baar is a village in the canton of Zug in Switzerland.-Geography:Baar has an area, , of . Of this area, 55% is used for agricultural purposes, while 24.5% is forested...
. St. Peter
St. Peter, Zürich
St. Peter is one of the four main churches of the old town of Zurich, besides Grossmünster, Fraumünster and Predigerkirche.Located next to the Lindenhof hill, site of the former Roman castle, it was built on the site of a temple to Iuppiter. An early church of 10 by 7 metres is archaeologically...
in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
was the location of a temple to Jupiter.
Bishopric of Basel
The Diocese of Basel is a Roman Catholic diocese in Switzerland .Historically, the bishops of Basel were also secular rulers of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel ....
was established in AD 346; the bishopric of Sion
Bishop of Sion
The Diocese of Sion is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It is the oldest bishopric in the country and one of the oldest north of the Alps. The cathedral at Sion, "Notre-Dame du Glarier" was fortified by walls and crowns one of the two hills on which...
, before 381; the bishopric of Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. in ca. 400: the bishopric of Vindonissa
Vindonissa
Vindonissa was a Roman legion camp at modern Windisch, Switzerland. It was probably established in 15 AD. In an expansion around 30, thermal baths were added....
(now united as the Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg), in 517; and the Diocese of Chur
Diocese of Chur
The Diocese of Chur comprises the Swiss Cantons of Graubünden , Schwyz, Glarus, Zurich, Nidwalden, Obwalden and Uri.-History:A Bishop of Chur is first mentioned in 451/ 452 when its Bishop Saint Asimo attended the Synod of Milan, but probably existed a century earlier...
, before 451.
Germanic paganism
Germanic paganism
Germanic paganism refers to the theology and religious practices of the Germanic peoples of north-western Europe from the Iron Age until their Christianization during the Medieval period...
briefly reached Switzerland with the immigration, from the 6th century, of the Alemanni, who were gradually converted to Christianity
Germanic Christianity
The Germanic people underwent gradual Christianization in the course of Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. By the 8th century, England and the Frankish Empire were Christian, and by AD 1100 Germanic paganism had also ceased to have political influence in Scandinavia.-History:In the 4th...
during the 6th and 7th centuries, with the establishment of the Bishopric of Constance
Bishopric of Constance
The Bishopric of Constance was a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church and ecclesiastical state of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from about 585 until 1821. Its seat was Konstanz at the western end of Lake Constance in the south-west corner of Germany...
in ca. 585. The Abbey of St. Gall
Abbey of St. Gall
The Abbey of Saint Gall is a religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in present-day Switzerland. The Carolingian-era Abbey has existed since 719 and became an independent principality during the 13th century, and was for many centuries one of the chief Benedictine abbeys in Europe. It was...
rose as an important center of learning in the early middle ages.
The Old Swiss Confederacy
Old Swiss Confederacy
The Old Swiss Confederacy was the precursor of modern-day Switzerland....
was Roman Catholic as a matter of course until the Reformation
Reformation in Switzerland
The Protestant Reformation in Switzerland was promoted initially by Huldrych Zwingli, who gained the support of the magistrate and population of Zürich in the 1520s. It led to significant changes in civil life and state matters in Zürich and spread to several other cantons of the Old Swiss...
of the 1520s, which resulted in a lasting split of the Confederacy into Protestantism and Catholicism. This split lead to numerous violent outbreaks in Early Modern times
Early Modern Switzerland
The early modern history of the Old Swiss Confederacy , lasting from formal independence in 1648 to the French invasion of 1798 came to be referred as Ancien Régime retrospectively, in post-Napoleonic Switzerland.The early modern period was characterized by an increasingly...
and included the partitioning of the former canton of Appenzell into the Protestant canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden
Appenzell Ausserrhoden
Appenzell Ausserrhoden is a canton of Switzerland. The seat of the government and parliament is Herisau, judicial authorities are in Trogen. Appenzell Ausserrhoden is located in the north east of Switzerland, bordering the cantons of St...
and Catholic Appenzell Innerrhoden
Appenzell Innerrhoden
Appenzell Innerrhoden is the smallest canton of Switzerland by population and the second smallest by area, Basel-City having less area.-Foundation:...
in 1597. The secular Helvetic Republic
Helvetic Republic
In Swiss history, the Helvetic Republic represented an early attempt to impose a central authority over Switzerland, which until then consisted mainly of self-governing cantons united by a loose military alliance, and conquered territories such as Vaud...
was a brief intermezzo and tensions immediately resurfaced after 1815, leading to the formation of the modern federal state in 1848, which recognizes Landeskirche
Landeskirche
In Germany and Switzerland, a Landeskirche is the church of a region. They originated as the national churches of the independent states, States of Germany or Cantons of Switzerland , that later unified to form modern Germany or modern Switzerland , respectively.-Origins in the Holy Roman...
n on a cantonal basis: the Roman Catholic and the Reformed Churches in each canton, and since the 1870s (following the controversies triggered by the First Vatican Council
First Vatican Council
The First Vatican Council was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This twentieth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, held three centuries after the Council of Trent, opened on 8 December 1869 and adjourned...
) the Christian Catholic Church
Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland
The Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland is the Swiss member church of the Union of Utrecht, also known as Old Catholic Church, originally founded by the jansenists, with a later influx of discontented Catholics following their disappointment with the First Vatican Council. It has 14,000...
in some cantons.
The Jesuits (Societas Jesu) were the subject of a bitter controversy in 19th century Switzerland.
The order had been dissolved in 1773 by Clement XIV, but it was re-instated in 1814 by Pius VII.
Over the following years, the Jesuits returned to the Swiss colleges they had owned prior to 1773, in Brig (1814), Sion (1814), Fribourg (1818) and Lucerne (1845), and especially Fribourg became a center of the Council of Trent
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent was the 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It is considered to be one of the Church's most important councils. It convened in Trent between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods...
. The Protestant cantons felt threatened by the re-appearance of the Jesuits and their program of traditionalist Catholicism, which contributed to religious unrest and the formation of the Sonderbund
Sonderbund
The Sonderbund War of November 1847 was a civil war in Switzerland. It ensued after seven Catholic cantons formed the Sonderbund in 1845 in order to protect their interests against a centralization of power...
of the Catholic cantons, and at the Tagsatzung
Tagsatzung
The Swiss Tagsatzung was the legislative and executive council of the Swiss confederacy from the beginnings until the formation of the Swiss federal state in 1848. It was a meeting of delegates of the individual cantons...
of 1844 in vain demanded the expulsion of the Jesuit order from the territory of the Swiss confederacy.
The Protestant victory of the Sonderbundskrieg of 1847 led to the realization of such a ban in the 1848 Swiss Constitution, expanded even further in the revised constitution of 1874, so that all activity of Jesuits either in clerical or in educational function was outlawed in Switzerland until 1973, when the paragraph was removed from the constitution by a popular vote.
See also
- Reformation in SwitzerlandReformation in SwitzerlandThe Protestant Reformation in Switzerland was promoted initially by Huldrych Zwingli, who gained the support of the magistrate and population of Zürich in the 1520s. It led to significant changes in civil life and state matters in Zürich and spread to several other cantons of the Old Swiss...
- Swiss BrethrenSwiss BrethrenThe Swiss Brethren are a branch of Anabaptism that started in Zürich, spread to nearby cities and towns, and then was exported to neighboring countries...
- Swiss Brethren
- Roman Catholicism in SwitzerlandRoman Catholicism in SwitzerlandRoman Catholicism in Switzerland, organised in the six dioceses and two territorial abbeys, comprises approximately 3 million Catholics, about 42% of the Swiss population.The dioceses are the bishoprics of*Basel, currently headed by Bishop Felix Gmür...
- Islam in SwitzerlandIslam in SwitzerlandAccording to the Confederate census of 2001, a total number of 310,807 Muslims were living in Switzerland which made up 4.26% of the total population. In 2009 there were an estimated 400,000 Muslims in Switzerland, accounting to around 5% of the total population....
- Minaret controversy in SwitzerlandMinaret controversy in SwitzerlandThe minaret controversy in Switzerland refers to construction of minarets, which has been subject to legal and political controversy in Switzerland during the 2000s and a Swiss referendum regarding this issue. In a November 2009 referendum, a constitutional amendment banning the construction of new...
- Minaret controversy in Switzerland
- Jews and Judaism in Switzerland
- Buddhism in SwitzerlandBuddhism in SwitzerlandAccording to the 2000 census of Switzerland, 21,305 Swiss residents self-identified as Buddhists. About a third of them were born in Thailand.-History:...
- Hinduism in SwitzerlandHinduism in SwitzerlandThe 2000 census reported 27,839 residents of Switzerland self-identifying as Hindus . Most of them are Sri Lankan Tamils . Approximately 90% of Hindu adherents are foreign-born, and about a third of them have the status of refugee or asylum seeker...
- Sikhism in SwitzerlandSikhism in SwitzerlandSwiss Sikhs are a small religious minority in Switzerland, numbering no more than 500, with seven gurdwaras. The number of Sikhs had been higher in the mid-1980s, caused by the presence of some 3,000 Sikh asylum seekers.-Gurdwaras:...
- Demographics of SwitzerlandDemographics of SwitzerlandThis article is about the demographic features of the population of Switzerland, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....
- Religion by country
- Religion in EuropeReligion in EuropeReligion in Europe has been a major influence on art, culture, philosophy and law. The largest religion in Europe for at least a millennium and a half has been Christianity. Two countries in Southeastern Europe have Muslim majorities, while two more Muslim countries located mostly in Asia have...