<P> Judges may not sit or vote in either House of Parliament (before the 2005 Act, they had been permitted to sit and vote in the House of Lords). </P> <P> The Church of England is the established church in England (i.e. not in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland). The monarch is ex officio Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and is required by the Act of Settlement 1701 to "join in communion with the Church of England". As part of the coronation ceremony, the monarch swears an oath to "maintain and preserve inviolably the settlement of the Church of England, and the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government thereof, as by law established in England" before being crowned by the senior cleric of the Church, the Archbishop of Canterbury--a similar oath concerning the established Church of Scotland, which is a Presbyterian church, having already been given by the new monarch in his or her Accession Council . All clergy of the Church swear an oath of allegiance to the monarch before taking office . </P> <P> Parliament retains authority to pass laws regulating the Church of England . In practice, much of this authority is delegated to the Church's General Synod . The appointment of bishops and archbishops of the Church falls within the royal prerogative . In current practice, the Prime Minister makes the choice from two candidates submitted by a commission of prominent Church members, then passes his choice on to the monarch . The Prime Minister plays this role even though they themselves are not required to be a member of the Church of England or even a Christian--for example Clement Attlee was an agnostic who described himself as "incapable of religious feeling". </P> <P> Unlike many states in continental Europe, the United Kingdom does not directly fund the established church with public money (although many publicly funded voluntary aided schools are run by religious foundations, including those of the Church of England). Instead, the Church of England relies on donations, land and investments . </P>

Parliamentary systems such as the one seen in britain have traditionally required that