The connection between religion and the state and politics, or between the state and politics and religion, has been one of the most ancient themes that emerged with the era in which humanity felt the need for governance. At the heart of this relationship lies the concepts of God-universe/world-humanity, and therefore religion-world-humanity, and their interconnectedness. Initially, religion was the state, the nation, and life—in other words, the world. God, however, created all of these, bestowed grace upon humanity, and tested it with His grace. Ultimately, everything—humanity, life, and the universe—will return to Him. Subsequently, this understanding shifted. The following question and answer well illustrate this change: Is God, like Aristotle's God, a deity who did not create the world and does not intervene in it, nor does He punish or reward, or is He, like Farabi's God, a deity who creates the world, intervenes in it, and punishes and rewards? Is religion one that does not interfere with the world and life at all, whose existence and acceptance are limited only to the individual's conscience, or one that intervenes in the world and life? Throughout history, the ties between religion, state and politics have largely been shaped by the answers societies have given to this question.
