Theocracy

For the computer strategy game, refer to Theocracy (computer game).

The term theocracy is commonly used to describe a form of government in which a religion or metaphysical faith plays the dominant role. It refers to a form of government in which the organs of the religious sphere replace or dominate the organs of the political sphere as clerical or spiritual representative(s) of god(s).

Word history

The word theocracy originates from the Greek theokratia "the rule of God" (Josephus), itself form Greek words θεος (theos, of unknown origin, perhaps not Indo-European), “god” and κρατειν (kratein), “to rule”, thus “rule by god(s)” or human incarnation(s) of god(s). Theocracy never had that literal meaning in English, as it entered the language in 1622, used for "sacerdotal government under divine inspiration" (as in Biblical Israel before the rise of kings); the meaning "priestly or religious body wielding political and civil power" is recorded from 1825.

Introduction

In the most common usage of the term theocracy, some civil rulers are leaders of the dominant religion (e.g., the Byzantine Emperor as patron of the head of the official Church); governmental policies are either identical with, or strongly influenced by, the principles of a religion, and typically, the government claims to rule on behalf of God or a higher power, as specified by the local religion. These characteristics apply also to a caesaropapist regime. The Byzantine empire however was not theocratic as the Patriarch answered to the Emperor, not vice versa. A theocracy may be monist in form, where the administrative hierarchy of the government is identical with the administrative hierarchy of the religion, or it may have two 'arms', but with the religious hierarchy dominating the state administrative hierarchy. Theocracy should be distinguished from other, secular forms of government which also have a state religion, and from some monarchies, in which the head of state legitimates the authority of the crown as being held By the Grace of God and tends to assume a sacral aura. Where there is a state or established religion, there is a long-term contract between the religious and political hierarchies. A monarchy which claims religious legitimation may also dominate the religious sphere (Caesaropapism), or it may be so dependent on the religious hierarchy for legitimation that the state has no autonomy from religion (theocracy). Typically, religiously endorsed monarchies fall between these two poles, according to the relative strengths of the religious and political organs.

Ecclesiocracy & Hierocracy

A more literal term for the exact meaning of "theocracy" is "ecclesiocracy," which denotes rule by a religious leader or body, whereas theocracy would literally mean rule by God.

Theocracy and ecclesiocracy should be distinguished from governments that are influenced by religious concepts, or in which religious believers have positions of power gained by political means. An ecclesiocracy or theocracy is rule by the hierarchy of a specific church or sect, not simply a government influenced by religious concepts.

Hierocracy is a term coined by Max Weber for the institutional forms of authority within a religious community. Despite its appearance it does not in fact refer to a form of government.

Perhaps a clearer way to distinguish between a theocracy and an ecclesiocracy is this: A pure theocracy would be a situation where the civil leader is believed to have a direct personal connection with God, like the Israelites when they were ruled by Moses or the early Muslims who were ruled by Mohammed - and therefore a situation where the law proclaimed by the ruler is also considered a divine revelation, and hence the law of God. An ecclesiocracy, on the other hand, is a situation where the religious leaders assume a leading role in the state, but do not claim that they are instruments of divine revelation. A good example would be the prince-bishops of the European Middle Ages, where the bishop was also the temporal ruler. The papacy in the Papal States, occupy a middle ground between theocracy and ecclesiocrasy, since the pope does not claim he is a prophet who receives revelation from God, but merely the infallible interpreter of already-received revelation.

History of the concept

The concept of theocracy was first coined by Josephus Flavius in the 1st century. He defined theocracy as the characteristic government for Jews. Josephus' definition was widely accepted until the enlightenment era, when the term started to collect more universalistic and undeniably negative connotations, especially in Hegel's hands. After that, the word "theocracy" has been mostly used to label certain politically unpopular societies as somehow less rational or developed. The concept is used in sociology and other social sciences, but the term is often used in an overly broad manner, especially in popular rhetoric.

Current states with theocratic aspects

Iran

Most observers would consider Iran a theocracy, since the elected president and legislature are constitutionally subject to the supervision of two offices reserved for Shiah clerics: the Supreme Leader of Iran (Rahbar) and the Guardian Council, which even decide who may run for office. Not every "Islamic Republic" is necessarily a theocracy, since in some the effective power is in the hands of a military-backed regime, functioning under an Islamic cloak.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is run according to a version of shari'a (traditional Islamic legislation) with the Koran declared to be the constitution and is sometimes incorrectly classified as theocratic, but it is officially and in fact a monarchy, with the monarch wielding near-absolute power and the organs of official religion subservient to them. This is known as caesaropapism: a state structure in which the government (Caesar) is also in control of the main organs of religion.

Israel

Many people see the justification of a Jewish state as theocratic, calling on Biblical references of “the children of Israel”. However, some conservative Jews see Zionism as a violation of biblical prophecies. Three Strong Oaths Neturei Karta Zionism was mostly a secular nationalist movement rather than a religious movement. The State of Israel is formally parliamentary democracy. One theocratic aspects are the marital courts, where each faith has its own marriage law: Muslim marriage and divorce is handled by Sharia courts, Jewish marriage and divorce is handled by Torah courts, and so on; however for Jews, rabbinical recognition as a Jew also suffices to be entitled to Israeli citizenship, regardless of the birth place and legal ancestry nationality.

Norway

While Norway's population is relatively non-religious in their day-to-day lives, the Norwegian state retains a few vestigial religious overtones. As in many constitutional monarchies, the Head of State is also the leader of the state church. The 12th article of the Constitution of Norway requires more than half of the members of the Norwegian Council of State to be a member of the state church. The second article guarantees freedom of religion, while also stating that Evangelical Lutheranism is the official state religion. The Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway

On July 9, 2006 a prominent member of HEF, Jens Brun-Pedersen, called for the Prime Minister to advocate the separation of church and state. He argues that the 12th article of the constitution is discriminatory, and that Norway can't criticise countries advocating sharia law when the constitution favours Lutheran members of society. Visionary or missionary? - Jens Brun-Pedersen, Dagbladet July 9, 2006

During the periods of 1997-2000 and 2001-2005 the centre-right coalition government's Prime Minister was a priest, Kjell Magne Bondevik. In these periods, the biotechnology laws in Norway were reformed into some of the strictest in the world.

The Vatican

The Vatican City State is theocratic in a very limited sense, since it has temporal rule over a small territory, but that is not its primary function.

Religious communities

Theocracy, as a form of ruling the state, should be distinguished from the internal order of a religious community. The monastery at Mount Athos is a non-sovereign entity that governs its members under Canon Law (traditional Christian legislation) according to the Greek constitution, but it would not normally be called a theocracy since no state is governed. The Knights Hospitaller is another religious order with an internal rule, but this does not make it a theocracy. Many states incorporate elements of religious law in their civil laws, but if these laws are administered by civil courts according to the logic of the state, this does not constitute a theocratic element in their constitutions.

Historical theocracies

The largest and best known theocracies in history were the Umayyad and early Abassid Caliphate, and the Papal States. And as with any other state or empire, pragmatism was part of the politics of these de jure theocracies.

In the past, several nations of varying faiths have been deemed theocracies. Although this appraisal was occasionally inaccurate or simplistic it does work in least in some cases. An example often given from Antiquity is Pharaohnic Egypt when the king was a divine or semi-divine figure who ruled largely through priests. Properly speaking this was originally a caesaropapist order, rather then a theocratic one, since the worldly rulers took charge of religion, rather than vice versa, but once the Pharaoh (since Ramses the Great) was recognized as a living (incarnated) god both definitions concurred.

In Christianity, Geneva during the period of John Calvin's greatest influence is often classed as a protestant theocracy. The same can be said of some sovereign prince of the church (mostly prince-bishop) regimes in Catholicism or Eastern Orthodox Christianity, but this classification is debatable as they simply unite in one office a clerical role and that of head of state and government of a feudal state (often with one or more such title(s), merged into the prelature, e.g. the bishops who who ducal or comital pairs de France) which functions in temporal matters almost identical to its hereditary counterparts. Montenegro offers a singular example of monarchs willingly turning their power to ecclesiastic authority, as the last of the House of Crnojevic (styled Grand Voivode, not sovereign princes) did, in order to preserve national unity before the Ottoman onslaught as a separate millet under an autochthonous Ethnarch. When Montenegro re-established secular dynastic succession by the proclamation of princedom in 1851, it did so in favor of the last Prince-bishop, who changed his style from Vladika i upravitelj Crne Gore i Brde "Vladika ^* and Ruler of Montenegro and Brda" to Po Bozjoj milosti knjaz i gospodar Crne Gore i Brde "By the grace of God Prince and Sovereign of Montenegro and Brda", thus rendering his de facto dynasty (the Petrovic-Njegos family since 1696) a hereditary one. The Papal States in Italy (and its Avignon version) were also a theocracy and ancestor of the current Vatican City State. Florence under the rule of Girolamo Savonarola is also at times considered a theocracy.

In Islam, the period when Medina was ruled by the Prophet Muhammad is, occasionally, classed as a theocracy. By 630, Muhammad established a theocracy in Mecca. Other plausible examples of Islamic theocracy might be Mahdist Sudan and the Taliban state in Afghanistan (1996-2001).

The period when Dalai Lamas ruled Tibet, especially before certain twentieth century reforms, has also been deemed a Lamaist (Budhist) theocracy till his government was forced into exile by the People's Republic of China which annexed the country. However the nature of Tibetan Buddhism makes the use of the term technically incorrect, since in Buddhism not divinities but 'saints' are reincarnated as bodhisattvas, rendered as 'living Buddhas', and often assume clerical, occasionally even political offices. Outer Mongolia also had a theocratic Lama (before the Soviets installed a satellite communist state), but there since the start in 1639, when the son of the Mongol Khan of Urga was named a Living Buddha (Bogdo gegeen), the dynasty espoused theocracy and secular aristocracy.

At other times in history a theocratic or semi-theocratic state is set up as a form of social protest or because of utopian idealism. The largest effort toward that end might be the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of nineteenth century China. Tenskwatawa's "Prophets Town" was also a religious city state of a kind, although was possibly more of an intentional community rather than a theocracy.

Critics of the Christian right in the United States frequently charge that movement with being "theocratic." The accuracy of this description is hotly debated. See (Christian right and Dominionism).

Parties and movements with theocratic aspects

A number of parties and movements have been accused of having theocratic aspects. See the article on the Islamic party. In many countries accusations of theocracy are considered slurs or political attacks.

For discussions of the Constitution Party having theocratic elements see Dominionism and Christian Reconstructionism.

Notes

Sources and external links

EtymologyOnLine
Is Judaism a Theocracy? chabad.org
Theocracy Watch - Details the rise of the religious right and dominionism within the Republican Party
Caliphate: The Future of Islamic Theocracy
WorldStatesmen- see ach nation; here Mongolia

Religion and politics | Religious law | Separation of church and state | Contemporary Theocracy

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