[Makarov]

Originally Posted by Calgaryborn

The United church of Canada was formed by an act of Parliament:

http://web2.gov.mb.ca/laws/statutes/private/c20090e.php

Good grief. In no way whatsoever does that piece of Manitoba legislation grant the United Church status as the "state religion" of Canada (nor could it possibly do so, for so many reasons that I won't bother to list them here, even if it purported to do so.) Here is brief description by the Supreme Court of Canada in its decision, John Doe v. Bennett, 2004 SCC 17, of the legal effect of this sort of legislation:

11 The purpose for which ecclesiastical corporations sole like St. George's are created is to serve as a point of legal interface between the Roman Catholic Chruch and the community at the diocesan level. The Chruch is at one and the same time a spiritual presence in the community and a secular actor in the community. The task of the corporation sole is to provide a bridge between the two spheres for the diocese. On a secular level, the Chruch interacts with members of the diocesan community in a host of ways. It carries on a variety of religious, educational and social activities. It makes contracts with employees. It transports parishioners. It sponsors charitable events. It purchases and sells goods and property. To do these things, it requires a legal personality. That personality is the corporation sole. To restrict the purpose of the corporation sole to the acquisition, holding and administration of property is to capture only a portion of the purpose it is intended to serve and to artificially truncate its functions.

12 The role of the corporation sole as a legal interface between the Church and the community is set forth in the legislation creating it, An Act to Incorporate the Roman Catholic Bishop of St. George's, S.N. 1913, 3 Geo. V., c. 12. The Act, quite simply, incorporates the office of bishop, in all its aspects. It does not confine itself to the holding of property belonging to the diocese.

Perhaps its best that you leave interpretations of the US Constitution, the Canadian Constitution, and the legislation enacted pursuant to those founding documents, to lawyers and "activist judges."