As a matter of historical fact, the Bill of Rights was made binding upon the individual states, rather than upon the federal government exclusively, only after the various state churches had long been disestablished. Dicta regarding the applicability of the Establishment Clause to state governments first appeared in 1940 in the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Cantwell v. Connecticut and the first explicit ruling to that effect was not handed down until after World War II in a 1947 decision in Everson v. Board of Education. Modern states that have formalized a relationship with a church body by establishing it as the national religion have not done so in order to enforce either beliefs or practices upon their nationals. They have done so either to accommodate the needs of a pronounced majority of the populace or for reasons that are nationalistic and cultural in nature. Religion, even for the non-believer, is pedagogically potent.
Religion is recognized as an eloquent, symbolic and poetic means of transmitting moral values.
In Israel, establishment of Synagogue and State and enshrinement of the so-called status quo is designed to satisfy both purposes. Sociological surveys report that roughly one fifth of the Israel population is dati or Orthodox. Yet the number of Israelis who are selectively observant is far, far higher. Religious amenities, no less so than social amenities, are often best provided by government. Surely, for example, kashrut in the army and in public institutions can be guaranteed only by the government.