Religion in Belgium

Practical current

Official recognition

At the origin, the liberal Middle-class Belgian as well as catholic is linked against the authoritarianism of William of Orange (Union of the oppositions, 1828) and concludes an agreement on the relationship between the Église and the State, whose great principles had been emitted in France by the priest Félicité on Lamennais, but these principles were applied only in Belgium. It is about a pluralist Laïcité : the State does not recognize any religion as official but recognizes them all according to the principles which have just been recalled. There is besides for example no Concordat between Belgium and the the Vatican and the Belgian Constitution as of 1830 does not mention nowhere the word God , even if, however, the country were with more 90 % catholic and if the clergy were very influential there.

In 1830, this way mennaisienne, although contradictory of the official doctrines of Rome, was not criticized there. It allowed a political type of agreement between laymen and catholics whom one baptized unionism. The currency of Belgium “United we stand, divided we fall” was adopted in 1828 by the liberals and catholics in this spirit of tolerance, pluralism and separation of the civilian and the monk. In the broad outlines, the principles mennaisiens continued to inspire the relationship between the monk and the civilian, just as the way in which the catholics through a series of organizations (Syndicat S, left, school S, etc), intended to extend their influence, not in the shade of a favorable civil capacity (doctrines of Rome), but by playing the game of liberalism and the Démocratie like Lammennais wanted it. Since, the situation strongly developed with the Déchristianisation and the recognition of other religions which the Catholicism which was competed with into 1830 only the Judaïsme and the Anglicanisme.

Today, the worships can receive an official recognition. The criteria of are the following: to gather a significant number the faithful ones; to have a body which represents the worship concerned in its relationship with the authorities; to be established in the country since several decades; to have a social utility; not to develop any contrary activity with the social order.

It is the Minister for the Justice which examines the requests for recognition. The August 26th 2005, the Erzdiözese Church, i.e. the orthodoxe syriaque Church of Antioche, lodged such a request for recognition. The Belgian Buddhist Union also contacted the cabinet of Laurette Onkelinx and a delegation was received for the first time the February 10th 2006, but did not introduce a file yet.

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