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Theocracy
Theocracy, meaning "rule of God," is a form of government characterized by divine guidance.
448 Questions
What is the theory of theocracy?
The theory of theocracy is a political system in which religious leaders control the government, and the state's legal system is based on religious law. In a theocracy, authority is often believed to be divinely ordained, with leaders acting as intermediaries between the divine and the populace. This system can manifest in various forms, ranging from complete rule by religious authorities to a government that incorporates religious principles into its laws and policies. Theocracy can be seen in historical examples such as ancient Egypt and modern-day Iran.
This rulership generally breaks down in two ways:
People Who Claim to Be Gods: There have been numerous god-kings in history, such as those of Ancient Egypt and those of Pre-World War II Japan. These kings made the claim that they were actually gods themselves in human form and therefore knew the will of the Divine (their will).
High Priests: Often times, the gods seem disinterested in performing the daily tasks of governance it falls to those who claim to speak for these gods to rule. High Priests or Clerics claim the right to interpret the Divine Will and set laws in accordance with these beliefs. The current Supreme Council of Ayatollahs in Iran and Papacy in the Vatican both qualify.
What countries have a theocracy government?
A Theocracy is a government by religious priests. It is a TERRIBLE form of government as things are seen in black and white terms. Which is strange as most religions peace peace and love.
Examples of Theocracies are:
The Vatican state (the only Christian Theocracy).
Iran, Islamic State, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen, Gaza, Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and Mauritania are all Islamic Theocracies although some of them pretend to be democracies or monarchies.
How long does the leadership stay in power in a theocracy?
Usually for life as the older the ruling theocrat gets the more "venerated" they become.
What civilizations were a theocracy?
Several ancient civilizations operated as theocracies, where religious leaders held political power. Notable examples include ancient Egypt, where pharaohs were considered divine and served as intermediaries between gods and people. Similarly, the Sumerians in Mesopotamia had city-states governed by priest-kings, while the Aztec civilization in Mesoamerica also combined religious authority with political governance, with rulers seen as representatives of the gods.
The Leaders of the church have the power, and is derived from God.
Can theocracy coexist in monarchy?
Yes, theocracy could coexist with monarchy if the one on the throne considers himself/herself fulfilling the words of God and that he/she is inspired in all his/her doings and sayings by God.
What theoretical model does a ruler claim that acts against the church are traitorous?
Devine Right Theory
What are some countries governed by theocracy?
While there are many religious countries in the world, there are only a few true theocracies. The nation of Iran is ruled by the Supreme Council of Ayatollahs (although it also has an elected President). The Vatican is technically an independent nation, and it is ruled by the Catholic Church.
Is true or false that a land ruled by human kings is called a theocracy?
false a theocracy is a civilization ruled by religious leader ex:vatican city (ruled by the pope
What are the dangers of theocracy government?
Theocracy or religious rulers tend to enacct very strict (religiously based/inspired) laws and are intolerant towards any citicen who is not a member/follower of their religion. They also tend to see things in black and white - after all God's word is supreme and absolute - doing God's work is a justification for anything.
Was China a theocracy from 500 to 1500 CE?
From 500 to 1500 CE, China was not a theocracy in the traditional sense, as it was primarily governed by emperors who held political power rather than religious leaders. However, Confucianism, which emphasized moral governance and social harmony, deeply influenced the state ideology and bureaucratic system. Additionally, Buddhism and Daoism played significant roles in spiritual life, but the state maintained control over religious practices, ensuring that religion served the interests of the imperial authority rather than functioning as an independent governing force. Thus, while religion was integral to governance, China did not operate as a theocracy during this period.
No Iraq is not a theocracy at the moment.
Iraq, since before the formal naming of the Iraqi nation as Iraq and before many of the religions themselves, had been a civilized nation with a strong culture for millenniums. Religions were gradually embraced upon their arrivals with no particular revolutionary civil bloodshed or power grabs (in general) as was the case for many other nations. The exeptions of the pseudo theocracies of the Abbassids, Ottomans and Buyyids and similar caliphate empires are difficult to explain, but we will keep that aside for now.
Eventually Christianity and Islam were the main major remnants of followed religions in Iraq, (with Christians currently fleeing to other Christian majority Western nations with better economies and less impact from wars due to modern ease of international transportation). However since Independence, no theocracy existed. A brief monarchy followed by a military autocracy did, however. This was, despite not being "democratic", one of the finest times for Iraq and made it one of the richest nations in the world with, in line with its thousands of years of tradition, a highly civilized and beautiful country and culture.
Iraq has ranged in its type of government over the past century, including Pan-Arab Nationalism and Secularism, however, a theocracy has never been Iraq's profile. Not to say that theocracy was necessarily always bad, but it wasn't recently the form of government there.
Despite the existence of religious holy sites in Iraq, and a correspondingly culturally-conservative (yet extremely tolerant) culture, the Political-Islamic agendas notable in other Muslim majority countries do not exist locally due to the different Islamic School of thought adhered to by Iraqis than the contemporary Wahhabi-salafist extremist Ideology that is currently gaining popularity. Wahhabist school of thought was rejected historically by the majority of prominent Islamic schools until this day, yet is recently gaining popularity by petro dollars in other places such as Egypt and also due to historic hegemony of Western and previous Imperialism on the alternative of regional Arab Nationalism. This extremism is still widely frowned upon in Iraq. Western intervention in the region has often experienced difficulty (or appeared to experience difficulty) in differentiating between anti-occupational sentiment and their arch enemy of religious extremism, and generally upset the fragile balance of the region and make a huge mess that will eventually have worldwide reaching implications.
Even though one of the major school of thoughts followed, the Twelver Jaafari Jurisprudence, has showed potential to develop theocratic style political interpretation such as in Iran, such a model was not popular in Iraq and previously refused by many of the followers of that particular branch in Iraqi politics, such as the current Prime Minister.
The current constitution tries to ensure that all ethnicities of Iraqis of all the different religious backgrounds get represented in the central civil government, at the same time with the efforts of doing that through democratic elections. At the same time they are members of the Arab league and have a majority Arab population, a population who, as a whole, historically feel culturally threatened by Persians, Western Imperialism, Kurdish Separatists and Jewish Zionist Invasions.
Iraqis, however tough they may come across as, are kind, simple folk that can unfortunately sometimes be also easily manipulated and steered in particular directions Ideologically. So future outcomes can be difficult to predict.
