This chapter explores Machiavelli’s analysis of religious experience and its central role in shaping popular belief within the State. The concept of awe (sbigottire) is key to this analysis, describing the sudden, collective experience of fear and reverence that strengthens community bonds and reinforces religious adherence. Machiavelli studies awe as both a tool of leaders—used to inspire or intimidate through orchestrated spectacles or sermons—and as a genuine shared experience that revives a group’s foundational fears and beliefs. Machiavelli views persuasion as a process that depends on a reciprocal ‘pact of belief’, grounded in the people’s natural inclination to trust credible, shared experiences. Unlike a purely manipulative ‘noble lie’, this persuasion respects the people’s capacity to detect deception, creating a dynamic balance between leaders and believers. Machiavelli also recognizes Christianity’s unique power to regulate both the individual and collective conscience, channelling self-censorship and submission in a way previously unmatched. This power is rooted in a profound shift from spectacular sacrifices to an intimate, mental adherence to values and beliefs, fostering both obedience and control.