Catholicism's Constitutional Establishment in Malta

Malta's constitution names Roman Catholicism the religion of Malta and requires Catholic religious teaching in state schools, though it simultaneously guarantees freedom of conscience and worship for other faiths, an establishment arrangement unusual within the European Union for its explicit constitutional wording rather than the more informal or partial establishment found in countries such as England or Denmark. Divorce remained illegal in Malta until a narrowly passed 2011 referendum, one of the last countries in Europe to permit it, reflecting the Catholic Church's sustained influence over Maltese family law and social policy well after most of Western Europe had liberalized comparable statutes; abortion remains entirely illegal in Malta even after 2023 amendments permitted narrow exceptions where the mother's life is at risk, making it the only European Union member state with such comprehensive restriction.

Same-sex marriage was legalized in 2017 despite continued Church opposition, illustrating a gradual but real loosening of Catholic institutional influence over Maltese law even as the Church retains a uniquely prominent constitutional and cultural position within the European Union. Malta's small Muslim and Orthodox communities have grown modestly through recent immigration.