Conclusion: Emerging issues in the study of church-state relations

A survey of the foregoing contributions suggests eight areas of investigation into church-state relations in Europe which remain ripe for further research. This conclusion lists and attempts to outline them in a way which does justice to the complexity of the structures and dynamics concerned as they continue to evolve particularly but not exclusively in those societies which are still currently undergoing processed of transition to full liberal democracy. It links them to some of the wider concerns which have occupied the attention of political scientists in recent years.