Since the goal of the religious policy of the Meiji Restoration was to restore the era when Shinto and the state were united, the government put Jingi (the Department of Shinto Affairs) at the top of Seven Departments in the "Office Organization" law, which was enacted on February 21, 1867, and proclaimed the "Edict of Separation of Shinto and Buddhism" in April of that year.
宗教的には、祭政一致の古代に復す改革であったから、1867年（慶応3年）旧暦1月17日(旧暦)に制定された職制には神祇を七科の筆頭に置き、3月(旧暦)には神仏分離が布かれた。