The state’s support in funding religious establishments

Mircea Cricovean
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Mircea Cricovean: West University of Timisoara, Romania

Theoretical and Applied Economics, 2014, vol. XXI, issue Special, 138-146

Abstract: The state should be involved in the funding of religious units. The religious units are constituent parts of the Church, having a major role in terms of their contribution to the spiritual welfare of the Romanian population. The present study involves two subdivisions, with the respective preliminary considerations, which both refer to the usefulness of the partnership between the state and the Church, but also to the legal grounds according to which such collaborations can exist. Through bilateral partnerships, the State and the Church put forward different social and cultural objectives that aim to promote spirituality and morality within the society. The State supports religious activities in Romania under the constitutional regulations and other laws that allow the construction of churches, the preservation and restoration of important religious buildings, some of them being considered national heritage. The State’s support is intended to help the budget of each ecclesiastical entity which is established by voluntary contributions of the parishioners. Also, religious denominations have the possibility of selling the manufactured religious objects, the state granting a certain support to regarding the salaries of the staff. The State may grant some tax breaks such as exemption from tax payable by religious establishments for products and services needed for the activity of the establishment. Given the results reached, we conclude that the state's financial support toward the Romanian Orthodox Church is minimal. As a general rule, the Romanian Orthodox Church is self-funded. Regarding the share of the ROC budgetary expenditures in the GDP, it had a downward trend after 2008, from 0.049% to 0, 036% in 2012.

Keywords: Church; financing; legislation; objectives; partnership; State. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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