Th e fact that the church and the state are the two most important social groups, as was stated by sociologist Max Weber,1 shows us that the matter of the relationship of the church and the state deserves the most serious study. Naturally, it is very important to understand the role of church and state in human society. On the one hand, there is the theory that religion is merely a superstructure arising from socio-economic relations, and on the other hand, there is the understanding that religion is basic to human society. As Thomas Hobbes said, "Everything that is essential for salvation is condensed in two virtues: faith in God and devotion to the laws."2 Yugoslavian sociologist Ante Fiamengo, who may hold one of the most extreme views of religion, asks, "What is the social function of religion?" He suggests three basic elements in which the social function of religion is expressed: first, in the attitude that religion is a reactionary form of the ideology; second, in the attitude that religion is "the opiate of the people"; and third, in the attitude that religion is quite contrary to the basic postulates of morality. Fiamengo has also written, "Religion is total nonsense from the standpoint of dialectical materialism, which has been until recently the best evolved and the most exact world-view."3 Such extreme views cannot contribute to the realistic understanding of the role of the church in society. Classical Marxists such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and Vladimir Lenin also did not show much sympathy for religion. One of the contemporary sociologists in Yugoslavia, Esad Cimic, has expressed the opinion that "religious beliefs existing in a socialist