How can a State have a Religious Identity and Remain Democratic: the European Model?

Professor Weiler gave a seminar on state and religion as a distinguished speaker. The event was very well attended by students and scholars from different disciplines and institutions. He stated that as a matter of constitutional theory is the notion that laicite – the secular State – is a position of neutrality and that, indeed, it is a constitutional imperative of neutrality which makes the laique State the only acceptable model within the common understanding of liberal democracies. He defined the purpose of the seminar to to outline a far more nuanced European approach state-religion relationship to be found both in the practice of European States and in constitutional theory.