During the nineteenth and early twentieth century, the separation of stare and church was an issue of great importance for liberal politicians and parties in European politics. Liberals all over Europe tried to encourage the separation of religious institutions and the state. After the Second World War this issue seemed to become more and more irrelevant, as the separation was more or less achieved in some countries, or, the existing ties did not lead to major troubles or inequalities. Recently the matter has become relevant again, because of questions raised by integration of immigrants with different ethnical, religious and cultural backgrounds.

The separation of church and state developed, due to historical, cultural, social and political reasons, in very different ways in each of the member states of the European Union. The European Liberal Forum - a network of European liberal think tanks in connection with the European Liberal Party (ELDR) - organized several seminars on the topic of secularism. During these discussions the variety of developments in the relation between state and church showed, and so came the idea to publish a book on this matter. The purpose of the book is to provide evidence and ideas that could be used in the different countries in Europe for reforms clarifying the roles of religious organizations in relation to the state. This is of the utmost importance now that Europe is becoming more multireligious, multi-ethnic and multicultural.

In this volume on the Separation of Church and State in Europe several ELF, member organisations wrote an article on the situation in their country. The result is a book with views on the separation of church and state in Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Slovenia and Greece. The contributions are preceded by an introductory chapter which deals with the liberal principles of the separation, followed by a short bibliography for further reading. A second introductory chapter focuses on secularism debates within the European Union institutions and clashes between European and national policies.