A model of state secularism

This paper posits a minimalist state interested in taxation and religion and explores the conditions conducive to the separation of state and religion. It shows that a ruler is secular and does not favour his religion as the state religion if he is absolutely tolerant, he faces a homogeneous, co-religionist society, and/or punishing violations of the state’s religious policy is prohibitively costly. Secular rulers are accordingly classified into three types: innately, coincidentally, and instrumentally secular. In the short run, individuals are equally well-off under different secular regimes. But among rulers, instrumentally secular rulers are relatively worse-off