bank secrets

[kandrathe]

First, the state already is mixed into religion. Consider the state's long existent partnership with religion on the topic of matrimony.

My solution would be to disallow the state from performing marriages, and leave that entirely to the church. The state should offer instead, civil unions, which are the secular equivalent of marriage without all the religious baggage. A civil union would be in essence a contract or partnership. The part that troubles me about the concept of civil union would be when there are more than two people involved. It might get confusing.

It is interesting how things have changed. My study of my Swedish heritage has shown me just how intertwined Church and State can be. Research of genealogy here is greatly aided by the detailed church records kept, which amount to little more than strict state control. From the early 1500's up until 1991, everyone had to belong to THE Lutheran parish church, the crown was the leader of the church and the ministers are also government officials. Even church assemblies are chosen by direct elections.

Once a year the minister would visit every household in the parish and give the people an examination of catechism. If they did not pass, they were not allowed to hold some offices, participate in communion, and not allowed to marry. The parish Kyrkbök held all the information related to births, deaths, immigration, emigration, and the results of the examination. I believe the parish was also the mechanism for collecting the taxes for the crown. There are even kyrkoräkenskaper records extending back into the 1400's.

There were some positive side effects, other than aiding in my research. This law required that almost every person (men, women, children 15 and older) was literate enough to read the test and write the answers. By the early 1700's Sweden was a very literate nation. The repression of the Mission Covenant denomination was the reason many of my relatives sought the religious freedom offered by the USA.