ABSTRACT
The liberal state placed its faith in the capacity of individuals, freed from any disrupting outside interference, to construct a well-organized and well-ordered civil society. Economic needs of churches are satisfied by state budgets earmarked for some religious denominations as in Spain, Italy, Greece, Belgium, Luxembourg, and, in general, in Eastern European countries. The meaning and significance of fundamental postulate of the liberal concept of church-state separation, which upholds the state's lack of jurisdiction in matters of religion, has now been reappraised. The concept of church-state separation is a very deeply felt issue that goes well beyond the historical and juridical forms that it has assumed from time to time in specific social and political systems. The progressive widening of the state's sphere of action has entailed a great increase in and, in particular, a qualitative change in legislation. The problem of the limits to the state's uncontrolled room for maneuver has been a central problem of the contemporary state.
