Common features of major human institutions:

Throughout history, 3 major institutions have dominated people's public and social lives: the temple, the palace and the market (or in modern terms, the church, the state and the corporation). These three institutions, while they may appear quite different, in fact have a lot of things in common, as far as their structure and practices are concerned. I propose that we examine commonalities and differences:

The church is a (usually) hierarchical institution, with an elected (or sometimes inherited) leader. It offers the service of spiritual guidance and support, in exchange for a donation from its adherents. Most of the money it receives is invested in one of four areas: further conversion, administration,  real estate (churches, temples, mosques, etc.) and other services to the community (aid to the poor, sometimes schooling and healthcare). The Church has defined symbols (the cross, the crescent, Om, etc.) and it has one or more "superstar" figures (prophets, wise men, living gods, etc.) who act as models for the population. Its methods also include ritual chants and slogans which are repeated throughout an adherent's life.

The state is a hierarchical institution, with an elected or inherited leader. It offers the service of security and support, in exchange for a donation (taxes) from its adherents (citizens). Most of the money it receives is invested in one of four areas: security  of current citizens and expansion (gaining more citizens), administration, real estate (infrastructure, government buildings, museums, etc.) and other services to the community (aid to the poor, usually schooling and healthcare). The State has defined symbols (the national flag) and it has one or more "superstar" figures (popular heroes, successful historical leaders, etc.) who act as models for the population. Its methods also include ritual chants (national anthems and other patriotic songs) and slogans which are repeated throughout a citizen's life.

The corporation is a hierarchical institution, with an elected (or sometimes inherited) leader. It offers various services or goods, in exchange for money from its clients. Most of the money it receives is invested in one of four areas: expansion or consolidation, administration, investments in real estate or finance and other services to the community (usually sponsoring community causes). The corporation has defined symbols (corporate logo) and it has one or more "superstar" figures (succesful executives and entrepreneurs) who act as models for the population. Its methods also include ritual chants (corporate jingles) and slogans  (advertising) which are repeated throughout an adherent's (a client or buyer's) life.

In general, we can usually observe which institution is the most powerful, by observing which one offers the most social services, and which one is predominant in controlling healthcare and education. Also, which institution is dominant also determines the culture of the region and era it dominates. Historically, the church has usually been the most stable of the three institutions. In Western history, it has dominated the Middle Ages from the fall of the Roman Empire until the Renaissance, when it slowly gave way to the state. The church usually ran hospitals and schools throughout this period. The state had a very solid hold over public life until very modern times, when it is slowly giving way to the corporation. During the last few hundred years, it has typically run hospitals and schools, but recently, especially in North America, we see a tendency of schools and hospitals becoming private (ie, corporate-owned)

Thank you Vivek, that's nice of you. gcle and Omar, thanks for the comments. I'm aware that my analysis is not 100% accurate, as generalizations seldom are. But that's the whole point of discussing such issues. We have peopel from different backgrounds here, and with different expertises, and hopefully they can provide different points of view.

I have a suspicion that my generalisation largely applies to the western society, and that the modern versions of the state and corporation have a common source in western history, namely the Roman Empire, as Omar said. This succesful structure later on spread around the world. I wonder: how does the structure of other significant churches, such as buddhist/lamaist differ from it? Or how about the structure of states which were not influenced by the Roman Empire, such as Imperial China or various Indian states?