Italy, Germany and Spain, for example, are called concordatarian countries because their relationship with religious groups is based on concordats (with the Roman Catholic Church) and agreements (with other denominations). The basic idea in these countries is that relations with religious groups (or at least with some of them, normally those which are larger in number or have been active in the country for a long time) are better regulated through bilateral provisions, negotiated between the State and each religious group. The State (or national) Church system is a feature of North Europe. Norway, Denmark, England have a State or a national Church. This Church frequently enjoys a preferential treatment, for example in the field of religious education in the schools or chaplaincies in prisons, hospitals or in the Army. On the other hand, the State exercises a strong control over the organisation and activities of the Church: the head of the State is the head or the governor of the Church, bishops are appointed by State agencies, etc. France, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands are" separatist" countries. It is a very heterogeneous group: Ireland, whose Constitution contains an invocation to the Holy Trinity, has little to do with France, that has constitutionally proclaimed the" laicité" of the State. Therefore it is correct to say that the separatist group is a residual group, into which the countries that have neither concordats nor State or national Churches are placed: an examination of the legal discipline of some central topics in Church-State relationships (financing of Churches, teaching of religion in State schools, etc.) confirms these countries have little in common. This traditional tripartition is culturally and legally outdated. Therefore it is of little use in understanding what is going on in the field of Church and State relations.

Legally the classification over-emphasises the formal side of the Church-State relationship and does not pay enough attention to their content. Belgium and Ireland are separatist countries, they have no concordats, yet the Roman Catholic Church enjoys a better legal position there than in some countries where a concordat has been concluded. The signing of a concordat does not