Secular Shrine Theory (神社非宗教論, Jinja hishūkyōron) was a theory of religion from Japan. People came up with it in the Meiji period.[1] It was the idea that Shinto Shrines were secular in their nature rather than religious.[2] It said that Shinto was not a religion, but was a secular set of Japanese national traditions. This was used by State Shinto to argue that the state controlling and enforcing Shinto was not a violation of freedom of religion. It was subject to immense debate over this time and ultimately declined and disappeared during the Shōwa era.[3]