In a society, the degree of political separation between the church and the civil state is determined by the legal structures and prevalent legal views that define the proper relationship between organized religion and the state. The arm's length principle proposes a relationship wherein the two political entities interact as organizations each independent of the authority of the other. The strict application of the secular principle of "laïcité" is used in France, while secular societies such as Norway, Denmark, and England maintain a form of constitutional recognition of an official state religion.