what is a state church?

     A state church is the official church of a country--like the Lutheran church in Germany, or the Anglican church in England.  Different countries have different laws, so not all state churches are arranged in precisely the same way. Most state churches are supported by the state--that means that everyone who lives in the country with a state church pays taxes to support that church, whether or not they are members of that church.  In England, the bishops of the Anglican church sit in the House of Lords--like senators here in the United States. The British sovereign is head of the Anglican church. In other countries, the church may be headed by its own religious leaders, but it is still a state church. Remember that some of the first Europeans who settled in America were religious dissenters--they did not agree with the state church, and did not want to be members of it. As long as the British king or queen was head of the state church ( the Anglican church in England ), any dissent was seen as disloyal to the crown. One of the first things the founders of America did was to insist that it would not have a state church or religion.