Ecclesia refers to a religious organisation that claims to include most or all of the members of a society and is recognised as the national or official religion, often closely aligned with the state. In an ecclesia, there is typically no sharp distinction between the religious and secular spheres, and membership is often by birth rather than by conscious choice. The ecclesia tends to have a hierarchical structure and may exert significant influence over government policies and social norms. While the concept of ecclesia is less common in modern, pluralistic societies with a separation of church and state, historical examples include the Church of England or state-supported religions in some European countries. In sociological terms, ecclesia represents one end of a continuum of religious organisations, with sects and cults at the other end, and denominations falling somewhere in between.