South-America-Formation
How was South America formed? Anton Balazh/Shutterstock

Being the head of state for a country is a tremendous honor -- it requires the vision to lead, the intelligence and heart to make a difference and the power to change the world. According to Pew Research Center, 15 percent of the world's countries -- that's 30 nations -- have laws mandating that their heads of state be affiliated with a specific religion. And if you think that is ridiculous, then know that there are some countries where the heads of state are mandated to have no religious affiliation.

The PRC notes that there are eight countries where there are no laws preventing individuals of specific religious beliefs, but ironically, they prevent clergy. And seven of these eight countries are Latin American! The Latin American countries, include: Bolivia, Costa Rica, the Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Venezuela and El Salvador.

In the United States, one of the principles and goals of our founding fathers was to have a separation of church and state. "In the United States, the Constitution specifically prohibits any kind of “religious test” as a qualification for holding federal or state public office," writes PRC's Angelina Theodorou. "At the same time, a number of states still have laws on the books prohibiting nonbelievers from holding office. However, the Supreme Court has ruled that First Amendment’s prohibition on the establishment of religion clearly prohibits states from requiring office-holders to profess a belief in God."

That belief is not one that resonates across the globe, especially in the 30 states that dictate the religion of a head of state, but can also argue that preventing a member of clergy could be just as prejudicial as specifying religion. That said, one could argue that clergy is prohibited in the eight nations -- the eight non-Latin American country is Burma -- to prevent conflict of interest.

What do you think?

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