REFERENCES TO THE DIVINE AND GOD IN NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONS

The following was taken from the Wikipedia article, ‘Constitutional references to God’.

Enactment Type of
Country English text or translation Original text (if not in English)
date reference
"In the Name of God the Merciful and
Algeria 1976 Invocatio
the Compassionate"[21]
"WHEREAS the People of Antigua
and Barbuda – 1. proclaim that they
are a sovereign nation founded upon
principles that acknowledge the
supremacy of God, the dignity and
worth of the human person, the
entitlement of all persons to the
Antigua and
1981 Nominatio fundamental rights and freedoms of
Barbuda
the individual, the position of the
family in a society of free men and
women and free institutions; (...)
NOW, THEREFORE, the following
provisions shall have effect as the
Constitution of Antigua and
Barbuda:"[22]
"We, the people of Albania, proud and
aware of our history, with
responsibility for the future, and with
Albania 1998 Nominatio
faith in God and/or other universal
values, ... We establish this
Constitution:"[23]
"Whereas the people of New South
Wales, Victoria, South Australia,
Queensland, and Tasmania, humbly
relying on the blessing of Almighty
Australia 1900 Nominatio
God, have agreed to unite in one
indissoluble Federal Commonwealth
under the Crown ... Be it therefore
enacted ... as follows:"[24]
(in Spanish) "Nos los representantes
del pueblo de la Nación Argentina,
reunidos en Congreso General
Constituyente por voluntad y
elección de las provincias que la
componen, en cumplimiento de
pactos preexistentes, con el objeto de
"We, the representatives of the people constituir la unión nacional, afianzar
of the Argentine Nation, ... invoking la justicia, consolidar la paz interior,
the protection of God, source of all proveer la defensa común, promover
Argentina 1853 Nominatio
reason and justice: do ordain, decree, el bienestar general, y asegurar los
and establish this Constitution for the beneficios de la libertad, para
Argentine Nation."[25] nosotros, para nuestra posteridad, y
para todos los hombres del mundo
que quieran habitar en el suelo
argentino: invocando la protección de
Dios, fuente de toda razón y justicia:
ordenamos, decretamos y
establecemos esta Constitución, para
la Nación Argentina."[26]
"Whereas Four hundred and eighty-
one years ago the rediscovery of this
Family of Islands, Rocks and Cays
Bahamas 1973 Nominatio
heralded the rebirth of the New
World; And Whereas the People of
this Family of Islands recognizing that
 Enactment Type of
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date reference
the preservation of their Freedom will
be guaranteed by a national
commitment to Self-discipline,
Industry, Loyalty, Unity and an
abiding respect for Christian values
and the Rule of Law; Now Know Ye
Therefore: We the Inheritors of and
Successors to this Family of Islands,
recognizing the Supremacy of God
and believing in the Fundamental
Rights and Freedoms of the
Individual, Do Hereby Proclaim in
Solemn Praise the Establishment of a
Free and Democratic Sovereign
Nation founded on Spiritual Values
and in which no Man, Woman or
Child shall ever be Slave or
Bondsman to anyone or their Labour
exploited or their Lives frustrated by
deprivation, and do Hereby Provide
by these Articles for the indivisible
Unity and Creation under God of the
Commonwealth of The Bahamas."[27]
"In the name of God on high, and with
His blessing, and with His help, we
Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Sovereign
of the Kingdom of Bahrain, in line
with our determination, certainty,
faith, and awareness of our national,
pan-Arab and international
Bahrain 2002 Invocatio
responsibilities; and in
acknowledgment of our obligations to
God, our obligations to the homeland
and the citizens, and our commitment
to fundamental principles and our
responsibility to Mankind, ... we have
amended the existing Constitution"[28]
"We, the representatives of the
(in Portuguese) "Nós, representantes
Brazilian People, ... promulgate, under
do povo brasileiro, ... promulgamos,
the protection of God, this
Brazil 1988 Nominatio sob a proteção de Deus, a seguinte
CONSTITUTION OF THE
CONSTITUIÇÃO DA REPÚBLICA
FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF
FEDERATIVA DO BRASIL."[30]
BRAZIL."[29]
"Whereas Canada is founded upon
principles that recognize the
Canada 1982 Nominatio
supremacy of God and the rule of
law"[31]
"IN THE HOLY NAME OF GOD,
THE ALMIGHTY, THE
EVERLOVING AND THE
EVERLASTING We, the people of
the Cook Islands, recognising the
Cook heritage of Christian principles, Cook
1965/1997[32] Invocatio
Islands Islands custom, and the rule of law,
remember to keep holy the Sabbath
Day, being that day of the week
which, according to a person's belief
and conscience, is the Sabbath of the
Lord."[33]
"WE, THE PEOPLE OF THE FIJI
Fiji 1988 Nominatio ISLANDS, SEEKING the blessing of
God who has always watched over
 Enactment Type of
Country English text or translation Original text (if not in English)
date reference
these islands: RECALLING the
events in our history that have made
us what we are, especially the
settlement of these islands by the
ancestors of the indigenous Fijian and
Rotuman people; the arrival of
forebears of subsequent settlers,
including Pacific Islanders,
Europeans, Indians and Chinese; the
conversion of the indigenous
inhabitants of these islands from
heathenism to Christianity through the
power of the name of Jesus Christ; the
enduring influence of Christianity in
these islands and its contribution,
along with that of other faiths, to the
spiritual life of Fiji: ... WITH GOD
AS OUR WITNESS, GIVE
OURSELVES THIS
CONSTITUTION"[34]
(in German) "Im Bewußtsein seiner
"Conscious of their responsibility
Verantwortung vor Gott und den
before God and man, (...) the German
Menschen (...) hat sich das Deutsche
Germany 1949 Nominatio people, in the exercise of their
Volk kraft seiner
constituent power, have adopted this
verfassungsgebenden Gewalt dieses
Basic Law."[35]
Grundgesetz gegeben."[36]
"In the name of the Holy and (in Greek) "Εν ονόματι της Αγίας και
Greece 1975 Invocatio Consubstantial and Indivisible Ομοουσίου και Αδιαιρέτου
Trinity."[37] Τριάδος."[37]
"... Atas berkat rahmat Allah Yang
"... By the grace of God Almighty and Maha Kuasa, dan dengan
urged by the lofty aspiration to exist didorongkan oleh keinginan luhur
as a free nation, Now therefore, the supaya berkehidupan kebangsaan
people of Indonesia declare herewith yang bebas, maka rakyat Indonesia
their independence, ..." menyatakan dengan ini
Indonesia 1945 Invocatio kemerdekaannya, ..."
"... which is to be established as the
State of the Republic of Indonesia "... yang terbentuk dalam suatu
with sovereignty of the people and susunan Negara Republik Indonesia
based on the belief in the One and yang berkedaulatan rakyat dengan
Only God, ..."[38] berdasarkan kepada, Ketuhanan Yang
Maha Esa,..."
"The Constitution of the Islamic
Republic of Iran advances the cultural,
social, political, and economic
Iran 1979 Nominatio institutions of Iranian society based on
Islamic principles and norms, which
represent an honest aspiration of the
Islamic Ummah."[39]
(in Irish)"In Ainm na Tríonóide Ró-
"In the Name of the Most Holy Naofa is tobar don uile údarás agus
Trinity, from Whom is all authority gur chuici, ós í is críoch dheireanach
and to Whom, as our final end, all dúinn, is dírithe ní amháin
actions both of men and States must gníomhartha daoine ach gníomhartha
be referred, We, the people of Éire, Stát, Ar mbeith dúinne, muintir na
Ireland 1937 Invocatio humbly acknowledging all our hÉireann, ag admháil go huiríseal a
obligations to our Divine Lord, Jesus mhéid atáimid faoi chomaoin ag Íosa
Christ, who sustained our fathers Críost, ár dTiarna Dia, a thug
through centuries of trial, (...) do comhfhurtacht dár sinsir i ngach
hereby adopt, enact, and give to cruatan ina rabhadar ar feadh na
ourselves this Constitution."[40] gcéadta bliain, (...) Atáimid leis seo
ag gabháil an Bhunreachta seo
 Enactment Type of
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date reference
chugainn, agus á achtú agus á
thíolacadh dúinn féin."[41]
"In the name of Allah, the Beneficent,
the Merciful, We, Abdullah al-Salim
Kuwait 1962 Invocatio
al-Sabah, ... do hereby approve this
Constitution and promulgate it."[42]
"We the People of the Republic of
Liberia: Acknowledging our devout
gratitude to God for our existence as a
Free, Sovereign and Independent
State, and relying on His Divine
Liberia 1986 Nominatio
Guidance for our survival as a Nation;
... Do hereby solemnly make,
establish, proclaim, and publish this
Constitution for the governance of the
Republic of Liberia."[43]
"The sovereign Malagasy people,
profoundly attached to their cultural
and spiritual values, especially to the
Madagascar 1992 Nominatio
basis of national unity; affirming their
belief in God the Creator; ... declares:
..."[44]
"Trusting in the omnipotence of
Mauritania 1991 Nominatio Allah, the Mauritanian people
proclaims ..."[45]
"Our values remain from our Christian "Verdigrunnlaget forblir vår kristne
Norway 1814
and humanist heritage..." og humanistiske arv."
"Whereas sovereignty over the entire
Universe belongs to Almighty Allah
alone, and the authority to be
Pakistan 1973
exercised by the people of Pakistan
within the limits prescribed by Him is
a sacred trust"
WE, THE PEOPLE OF PAPUA NEW
GUINEA —

united in one nation, pay homage to

the memory of our ancestors — the
source of our strength and origin of
our combined heritage - acknowledge
the worthy customs and traditional
wisdoms of our people — which have
come down to us from generation to
Papua New generation pledge ourselves to guard
1975 Preamble
Guinea and pass on to those who come after
us our noble traditions and the
Christian principles that are ours now.
By authority of our inherent right as
ancient, free and independent peoples

WE, THE PEOPLE, do now establish

this sovereign nation and declare
ourselves, under the guiding hand of
God, to be the Independent State of
Papua New Guinea.
"The Paraguayan people, through their
(in Spanish) "El pueblo paraguayo,
legitimate representatives convening
por medio de sus legítimos
Paraguay 1992 Invocatio at the National Constituent Assembly,
representantes reunidos en
pleading to God, ... hereby approve
Convención Nacional Constituyente,
and promulgate this Constitution."[46]
 Enactment Type of
Country English text or translation Original text (if not in English)
date reference
invocando Dios, ... SANCIONA Y
PROMULGA esta Constitución."[47]
(in Spanish) "El Congreso
"The Democratic Constituent
Constituyente Democrático,
Congress invoking Almighty God, ...
Peru 1993 Invocatio invocando a Dios Todopoderoso, ...
has resolved to enact the following
ha resuelto dar la siguiente
Constitution:"[48]
Constitución:"[49]
We, the sovereign Filipino people,
imploring the aid of Almighty God, ...
Philippines 1987 Invocatio
do ordain and promulgate this
Constitution.[50]
"We, the Polish Nation – all citizens
of the Republic, both those who
(in Polish) "My, Naród Polski -
believe in God as the source of truth,
wszyscy obywatele Rzeczypospolitej,
justice, good and beauty, as well as
zarówno wierzący w Boga będącego
those not sharing such faith but
źródłem prawdy, sprawiedliwości,
respecting those universal values as
dobra i piękna, jak i nie podzielający
arising from other sources, (...)
tej wiary, a te uniwersalne wartości
Poland 1997 Nominatio beholden to our ancestors (...) for our
wywodzący z innych źródeł, (...) w
culture rooted in the Christian heritage
poczuciu odpowiedzialności przed
of the Nation and in universal human
Bogiem lub przed własnym
values, (...) recognizing our
sumieniem, ustanawiamy
responsibility before God or our own
Konstytucję Rzeczypospolitej
consciences, hereby establish this
Polskiej"[52]
Constitution of the Republic of
Poland"[51]
"The National Council for
Development, meeting as Constituent
Assembly on 30 May 1991; Trusting
Rwanda 1991 Nominatio
in God Almighty; ... Does establish
and adopt this Constitution for the
Republic of Rwanda"[54]
"May God protect our people.
Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika.
Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso.
South
1996 Nominatio God seën Suid-Afrika.
Africa
God bless South Africa.
Mudzimu fhatutshedza Afurika.
Hosi katekisa Afrika."[55]
"We CARL, by the Grace of God,
King of Sweden, the Goths, and the
Wends, &c., &c., &c., (...) "

Sweden "We, the undersigned Estates of the

(Act of 1810 Nominatio Realm of Sweden, (...) hereby make
Succession) known that (...) our present most
gracious King and Lord, Carl XIII,
after his death (be it long deferred by
the Grace of God Almighty) to be
crowned and hailed as King of
Sweden (...)"
(in German) "Im Namen Gottes des
Allmächtigen! Das Schweizervolk
und die Kantone (...) geben sich
"In the name of Almighty God! The
folgende Verfassung:"[57]
Switzerland 1999 Invocatio Swiss People and the Cantons (...)
(in French) "Au nom de Dieu Tout-
adopt the following Constitution:"[56]
Puissant! Le peuple et les cantons
suisses (...) arrêtent la Constitution
que voici:"[58]
"In the name of God, the
Tunisia 1959 Invocatio
Compassionate and Merciful ... We,
 Enactment Type of
Country English text or translation Original text (if not in English)
date reference
the representatives of the Tunisian
people, free and sovereign, proclaim,
by the Grace of God, the present
Constitution."[60]
"The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, (...)
aware of our responsibility before
Ukraine 1996 Nominatio God, our own conscience, past,
present and future generations, (...)
adopts this Constitution"[61]
"WE, the people of Vanuatu...
HEREBY proclaim the establishment
of the united and free Republic of
Vanuatu 1980 Nominatio
Vanuatu founded on traditional
Melanesian values, faith in God, and
Christian principles"