This chapter examines domestic politics and religion in Rome, focusing on structures and interrelationships of the priesthoods among themselves and in relation to the Senate, political/religious disputes conducted in public political arenas, and the role of the populus Romanus in these controversies. After providing an overview of the extent of priestly authority in the Midde Roman Republic, the chapter considers the structural interrelationships of the priesthoods and the Senate, the oligarchic interpretation of republican politics and political life, and popular participation in politics. It then discusses the proportion of the total citizen population that could have participated in enactments of the state religion, along with the extent to which religious institutions served the personal physical and spiritual needs of the populace during the period. Finally, it discusses the ritual obsessions of the Roman ruling elite and the religious autonomy of nonelites.