Maritain on "separation" in America

I came across this today, in Maritain's Man and the State:

Let me say, as the testimony of one who loves this country, that a European who comes to America is struck by the fact that the expression “separation between church and state,” which is in itself a misleading expression, does not have the same meaning here and in Europe. In Europe it means, or it meant, that complete isolation which derives from century-old misunderstandings and struggles, and which has produced most unfortunate results. Here it means, as a matter of fact, together with a refusal to grant any privilege to one religious denomination in preference to others and to have a state-established religion, a distinction between the state and the churches which is compatible with good feeling and mutual cooperation. . . .  There's a historical treasure, the value of which a European is perhaps more prepared to appreciate, because of his own bitter experiences.  Please to God that you keep it carefully, and do not let your concept of separation veer around to the European one.