There are approximately 195 countries¹ in the world and according to a 2014 study by the Pew Research Center, 64 of them have religious symbols on their flags with 31 (48%) of them being Christian.

Several countries include a stylized cross, such as the UK which incorporates crosses of St. George, St. Patrick and St. Andrew in its Union Jack.

Of the countries that include Christian symbols, only one has a Bible and that belong to the Caribbean island nation, Dominican Republic.

According to an article on Evangelical Focus, this was sharply brought to the attention of the world during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when Marileidy Paulino raised the Dominican flag in one hand and a Bible in her other after winning silver in the 400 meter race. She was the first Dominican woman to win an individual metal at the Olympics.

At the central point of the Dominican Flag is the country’s coat of arms which is placed on top of a St. George’s white cross seen in the image above.

The country’s coat of arms (right) has an open Bible placed near the bottom of a gold cross. The Bible displays John 8:32 and the words, “They will know the truth and the truth will set them free”.

On top of the Coat of Arms is a blue ribbon that reads in English, ‘God, Homeland and Freedom‘, and on the bottom a red ribbon with the name Dominican Republic.

The Coat of Arms which came into effect in 1913, was designed by Casimiro Nemesio de Moya. Over the years, some politicians have come under criticism when they started using an older version of the flag that did not include the country’s Coat of Arms.

Obviously, having Christian symbols on a country’s flag does not reflect its current spiritual state. Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark, which are some of the world’s most secular countries, have a Nordic or Scandinavian cross, representing Christianity, as part of their flags.

Flags with non-Christian religious symbols

Twenty-one countries (31%) have Muslim symbols including either the Islamic crescent or star, or in the case of Turkey, five triangles, that represent the five pillars of Islam. Most are found in the Middle East and Northern and sub-Saharan Africa.

Five Asian countries have Hindu or Buddhist symbols on their flag including India and Nepal that have both.

Two countries, Uruguay and Argentina, have a shining golden sun that represent Inti, an Inca god.

The rising sun on the Japanese flag represents its Shinto roots and Mexico’s flag has an eagle with a snake in its beak which signifies the Aztec god Huitzilopochtli.

Israel is the only country in the world that includes a Jewish symbol, the star of David, on its flag.

1. The number varies based on whether Kosovo, the Vatican, Palestine and Taiwan are recognized as countries ↩︎