Within the Federal Republic of Germany, the relationship between Church and State comes principally under the responsibilities of the various "Lan der." In accordance with Federal Law, the Basic Law provides only a frame work which, above all, guarantees the religious freedom of the individual and the right of self-determination of the Churches. The national ecclesias ticallegal order, which is thus the responsibility of the Lander, is in many ways based upon history. The national ecclesiastical legal conditions have developed differently in the various territories of the Rhenish-Westphalian...