British Religion in Numbers<\/a>, there are many ways of defining religious affiliation. \u201cBut, very clearly, we\u2019re at a point where, under any definition, a minority of the population \u2013 in practice, single figures \u2013 is Anglican. There can no longer be a majoritarian argument for an established church.\u201d<\/p>\nThe most visible manifestation of establishment, which dates back to the reformation, is the monarch\u2019s dual role as head of state and head of the church. But there are many elements: the 26 seats in the House of Lords reserved for Anglican bishops (the only other country to ringfence seats in its legislature for clerics is Iran); the formal appointment of bishops and archbishops by the monarch; the need for church laws to be approved by parliament; the requirement for the Church of England to minister to the whole population, with every inch of the country divided into C of E parishes; Anglican prayers at the start of parliamentary business each day; the legal requirement for every state school to hold an act of daily worship that is \u201cbroadly Christian in character\u201d. The legal prohibition on the monarch\u00a0marrying a Roman Catholic was lifted only five years ago<\/a>.<\/p>\nRead it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n