Broadly speaking, 'State Shinto' was the use of Shinto practices to shore up public unity, while in a narrow sense it was Shinto that was controlled by the Bureau of Shinto Shrines of the prewar Ministry of Home Affairs, as opposed to 'Sect Shinto,' which was regarded as a 'religion.'
「国家神道」は広義には神道的な実践を国民統合の支柱とするもの、狭義には「宗教」とされた「教派神道」に対して内務省(日本)神社局によって統制されたものをいう。