ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with relativizing the principle of equal treatment with respect to religion in the relationship between the state and the private individual. Going forward, church and state relationships most likely will be characterized more by differentiation than by formalistic equal treatment, even in states with traditionally highly pluralistic societies and with longstanding traditions of equal treatment of religions. The chapter focuses on the shift towards differentiation rather than formal equal treatment of religions. In Italy and Spain, the Roman Catholic faith has traditionally been dominant; smaller numbers and geographical dispersal of minority religions make formal equal treatment by the state harder. This is not to be misunderstood as discrimination or unjustified equal treatment, but rather as differentiation on the basis of the diverse circumstances that religions find themselves in, in combination with social expectations, and actual state policy, rather than through classic legislation.
