This project intends to contribute to the discipline by identifying the state policies toward religion in the former Soviet republic of Tatarstan, a constituting part of the Russian Federation, and offering an explanation to the approach employed by its governments toward religion. This project’s topic, the relationship between government and religion, is currently underdeveloped not only in the context of Central Asia and postcommunist studies, but in the social sciences in general. Concerning the policy-related aspect, this study is significant from the standpoint of both regional and global governments and NGOs as it assesses the issues related to national security and human rights, such as freedom of religion, freedom of peaceful association, and freedom of expression. The case of Tatarstan is especially interesting as it appears to adopt more accommodating and less regulatory strategies toward religion while most Central Asian Muslim cases do not. My question is why? A number of well-established competing theories purport to explain the trends in government policies toward religion, including the modernization theory; civilizational, or essentialist, approach; the state security explanation; and ideology. However, their explanatory power fades in addressing the proposed Eurasian case. This project intends to address this gap in the literature. I propose that the initial level of nationness, or national cohesion, at the end of Soviet Union is responsible for the lenient policies toward religion in Tatarstan. In doing so, I draw on democratization literature, which argues that for a successful transition and consolidation of democracy one of the necessary factors is the popular agreement on national identity and borders. In the Eurasian case of Tatarstan, this is a key factor that forces the former Communist Party bosses who currently run their republic as presidents, prime ministers, and the heads of parliament to employ relaxed policies toward religion. I hypothesize that in Tatarstan, where by the end of the communist rule Tatars came to be a minority in their home republics, religion was perceived as a potent tool for national revival and nation-building. I test the proposed theory using data from the printed sources and interviews.