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One of the most frequent symbols in vexillology is the presence of religious symbols.
The religious symbols incorporated in flags can be Christian (the most important being
the cross), Islamic (the most important being the crescent), Hinduistic or Buddhist.
The largest category of religious symbols in flags is Christian followed by Islamic.
So let’s begin with the Christian symbols in flags.
The Union Jack has Christian elements.
Indeed, it is in reality composed of three flags each superimposed on its other: the
English red St George’s cross, the Scottish diagonal St Andrew’s cross (the white one)
and the red diagonal St Patrick’s cross.
As a consequence, all flags which have the Union Jack on the top left corner have also
Christian symbolism like the Flag of Australia, New Zealand, Tuvalu, Fiji and Hawaii, as well
many other.
The next category of flags having Christian symbols are those having the Nordic crosses,
most importantly those of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland.
Those flags incorporate Christian symbolism while the shift of the cross towards the left
is a relatively recent development.
Other notable flags with Christian symbolism include the flags of Greece, with its white
cross, that of Portugal and of Moldova (with their crosses in their coat of arms) , the
flag of Switzerland , the flags of Slovakia , Malta, Georgia, Tonga , as well as flags
with a Christian crone like the flags of Serbia, Montenegro, Liechtenstein and Spain . Some
other countries also have the constellation of the Southern Cross which has Christian
connotations notable examples being the flags of Samoa and Papua New Guinea.
There are several other Christian symbols in flags mainly of territories of either the
United Kingdom like the flags of Niue or British *** Islands or the Nordic crosses like
the flag of the Faroe Islands.
So now let’s examine the flags with Islamic symbols.
In this category, the most notable flags are the flags with crescents like the flags of
Pakistan, Libya, Turkey, Tunisia, Algeria, Malaysia, Comoros, Azerbaijan, Mauritania,
Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Maldives.
However the Singaporean flag although is a non Muslim country bears a crescent which
in this case is meant to represent a young nation on the rise / ascendant.
Other flags with Islamic symbols are those of Saudi Arabia, which depicts in Calligraphic
Arabic the Islamic declaration of faith which declares that “There is no other god but
Allah and Muhammad is his Messenger”.
The flag of Iraq depicts the phrase “God is Great”.
The Jordanian flag shows a white star with seven points which stand for the unity of
the Arab people.
It is also said to stand for the seven verses of the first surah in the Quran.
The seven points also represent faith in one God, humanity, humility, national spirit,
virtue, social justice, and aspiration.
The flag of Bahrain features five white triangles symbolizing the Five Pillars of Islam.
The Islamic symbols on the flag of Iran consist of four crescents representing the colossal
faith of the nation to Islam with the sword in the middle symbolizing power and determination
to keep the faith.
The phrase “Allahu Akbar” “God is Great” is mentioned eleven times in white in the
upper and the lower parts of the flag.
Let’s move now to the flags depicting Buddhist or Hindu religious symbols.
The religious symbols become visible on five national flags.
It is of interest that in three of those flags the religious symbols depicted represent both
religions.
Thus, the flag of Cambodia, features the Angkor Wat which is easily associated with both Hinduism
and Buddhism.
The flag of Nepal depicts symbols of both religions since these represent the two predominant
religions in the country.
Finally, the flag of India shows the blue chakra which symbolizes the center of the
energy channels of the body (the so-called nadies) the one being the force of life (prana)
and the other that of the vital energy.
Nada is part of the Hindu and Buddhist theologies alike.
The flag of Israel is the only one featuring a Jewish religious symbol, that of the Star
of David in a white and blue striped background representative of the basic design of the
Tallit, the Jewish prayer scarf.
The flag of Japan depicts the hinomaru, the rising sun which in Shinto symbolizes spirituality
and harmony.
The flags of Uruguay and Argentina depict a shining golden sun deriving from the sun
God of Incas, Inti.
The Mexican flag features the symbol of the Aztec God Huitzilopochtliwhich, and it is
composed of an eagle sitting on a cactus with a snake held within its beak.
This eagle is thought to have appeared before the Aztecs urging them to build the city of
Tenochtitlan.
Several States of USA feature religious symbols on their flags like the States of Alabama
and Florida which show the St Andrew cross.
It should be also noted, that the State of New Mexico depicts a Native American religious
symbol.
In conclusion, religious symbols are still prevalent in flags around the world and they
represent a sizeable part of vexillology.
It is very important to further study and analyze them.