The Religion of the State

The Roman state religion was in a way much the same in essence as that of the individual home, only on a much larger and more magnificent scale. State religion looked after the home of the Roman people, as compared to the home of an individual household.
Just as the wife was supposed to guard the hearth at home, then Rome had the Vestal Virgins guard the holy flame of Rome.
And if a family worshipped its lares, then, after the fall of the republic, the Roman state had its deified past Caesars which it paid tribute to.And if the worship of a private household took place under guidance of the father, then the religion of state was in control of the pontifex maximus.