Religion Past and Present

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State Cult
(1,973 words)

[German Version]

I. History of Religions

State cults in the narrow sense are religious ceremonies, governed by tradition or law, performed in the name of the state and for its benefit; typically they are addressed to extrasensory powers such as gods, demons, natural numina, or personalized cosmic forces. It is necessary to distinguish cults celebrated regularly at fixed times and places from those staged on a particular occasion such as …

Cite this page
Kleine, Christoph, Otto, Eckart, Kern, Martin and Pye, Michael, “State Cult”, in: Religion Past and Present. Consulted online on 28 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1877-5888_rpp_COM_024949>
First published online: 2011
First print edition: ISBN: 9789004146662, 2006-2013



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