State and church, they go together like a horse and carriage. With the Christian churches having roots in roman state power, and being power players the whole time, it is hard to come up with examples where they are relatively unaffected.

Well, for most of the 20th century smaller churches in Sweden were allied with the liberals against the privileges of the state church.

But for the Church of Sweden I think the formative thing is that it has been run for a long time as a civil service in a secular society. Church councils are elected in proportional elections with most of the main parties represented. The church has a higher percentage of visible nutters then the rest of society, but dominated by pretty reasonable people who have chosen a people-oriented career in a non-profit organisation.

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