Abstract
The author uses the contemporary Kingdom of Jordan to illustrate his conception of religion and the State. In this State, the official regulation of the religious field works directly towards its main objective, that is, to give effective protection to adherents to the different religions existing in contemporary Jordan. First, the State restrains any political competition based on religious values or associated with religious groups. Second, the State supports the moderate tendency among the political competitors. Third, the State's authorities promote the security of minorities, such as the Bedouins, the Christians and the Cherkessy. Their loyalty and political support are needed to maintain the stability and the solidarity of the country. The protection of those minorities constitutes a subtle and clever means for the Jordanian monarchy to establish and to promote a neutral public space. In such public space, debate among the ethnic and religious groups can take place without disturbing the public order. According to the author, this kind of regulation has not been used enough by the other Arabic States.