In English history, the Established Church is the Church of England, the church which is established by the Government, supported by it, and of which the monarch is the titular head. The Church of Scotland at one time held an analgous position with regard to Scotland, as did the Church of Ireland to Ireland prior to 1869. A strong push was made by liberals and dissenters for disestablishment in England in the late 19th Century as well; although unsuccessful, the issue has never entirely gone away.

In a more general sense, the Established Church is the church officially sanctioned and supported by the government of a country, for example the Lutheran Church in the case of Sweden or the Roman Catholic Church in the case of Argentina.

See also: state religion