View source for Theocracy

{{short description|Form of government with religious leaders}}
{{Redirect|Hierocracy|the medieval theory|Hierocracy (medieval)}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Distinguish|Theocratic government}}
{{forms of government}}
{{Religious freedom}}
'''Theocracy''' or '''ethiocracy''' is a form of [[autocracy]]<ref name="e971">{{cite book | last1=Wintrobe | first1=Ronald | last2=Padovano | first2=Fabio | title=The Political Economy of Theocracy | chapter=Theocracy, Natural Spiritual Monopoly, and Dictatorship | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US | publication-place=New York | date=2009 | isbn=978-1-349-37763-3 | doi=10.1057/9780230620063_5 | pages=83–118}}</ref> or [[oligarchy]] in which one or more [[deity|deities]] are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries, with executive, legislative, and/or judicial power, who manage the government's daily affairs.<ref>Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language (1989 edition).</ref><ref>{{cite dictionary |url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/theocracy |title=Theocracy, n. |dictionary=[[Oxford English Dictionary]] |date=2015 |access-date=28 June 2015 |archive-date=21 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130721163810/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/theocracy |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Etymology ==
The word theocracy originates from the {{langx|grc|θεοκρατία}} ({{lang|grc-latn|theocratia}}) meaning "the rule of God". This, in turn, derives from [[:wikt:θεός|θεός]] (theos), meaning "god", and [[:wikt:κρατέω|κρατέω]] (''krateo''), meaning "to rule". Thus the meaning of the word in Greek was "rule by god(s)" or human [[incarnation]](s) of god(s).

The term was initially coined by [[Flavius Josephus]] in the first century AD to describe the characteristic government of the [[Jew]]s. Josephus argued that while mankind had developed many forms of rule, most could be subsumed under the following three types: [[monarchy]], [[oligarchy]], and [[democracy]]. However, according to Josephus, the government of the Jews was unique. Josephus offered the term ''theocracy'' to describe this polity in which a god was sovereign and the god's word was law.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2849/2849-h/2849-h.htm |title=Against Apion by Flavius Josephus, Book II, Chapter 17 |via=gutenberg.org |date=October 2001 |access-date=2015-03-20 |archive-date=2020-02-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215025705/http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2849/2849-h/2849-h.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Josephus' definition was widely accepted until the [[The Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] era, when the term took on negative [[connotation]]s and was barely salvaged by [[Hegel]]'s commentary.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Moked |first=Oran |date=2004 |title=The Relationship between Religion and State in Hegel's Thought |journal=Hegel Bulletin |language=en |volume=25 |issue=1–2 |pages=96–112 |doi=10.1017/S0263523200002032 |issn=2051-5367 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The first recorded English use was in 1622, with the meaning "[[sacerdotal]] government under divine inspiration" (as in [[History of ancient Israel and Judah|ancient Israel and Judah]]); the meaning "priestly or religious body wielding political and civil power" was first recorded in 1825.

== Definition ==
The term ''theocracy'' derives from the [[Koine Greek]] {{lang|grc|θεοκρατία}}, "rule of God", a term used by [[Josephus]] for the [[kingdoms of Israel and Judah]],<ref>English form the 17th century (''[[OED]]'').
The Greek term is explicitly coined by Josephus and isn't attested elsewhere in Ancient Greek; Josephus marks it as a [[Nonce word|nonce]] coinage by calling it a "strained expression".
W. Whiston tr. [[Josephus]], ''Against Apion'' ii. §17 (1814) IV. 340: "He [Moses] ordained our government to be what, by a strained expression, may be termed a Theocracy", translating {{lang|grc|ὡς δ'ἄν τίς εἴποι, βιασάμενος τὸν λόγον, θεοκρατίαν}}
</ref> reflecting the view that "God himself is recognized as the head" of the state.<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14568a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170716192010/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14568a.htm |date=2017-07-16 }} "A form of civil government in which God himself is recognized as the head."</ref> The common, generic use of the term, as defined above in terms of rule by a church or analogous religious leadership, may be more accurately described as an ecclesiocracy.<ref>Stephen Palmquist, [http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~ppp/bth ''Biblical Theocracy: A vision of the biblical foundations for a Christian political philosophy''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414204146/http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~ppp/bth |date=2012-04-14 }} (Hong Kong: Philopsychy Press, 1993), introduced these more precise uses of the terms in arguing that theocracy (in this pure sense) is the only political system defended in the Bible. While Palmquist defends theocracy in this pure form as a viable (though "non-political") political system, he warns that what normally goes by this name is actually ecclesiocracy, the most dangerous of all political systems.</ref>

In an ''hierocracy'', a specific type of theocracy, the governing body is composed of a hierarchical structure of religious officials or clergy. 

In an ''ecclesiocracy'', the religious leaders assume a leading role in the state, but do not claim that they are instruments of divine revelation.

In a ''church-state'', a state where religious and political power are intertwined, often with the church having significant influence over the government

A related phenomenon is a secular government co-existing with a state religion or delegating some aspects of civil law to religious communities. For example, in [[Israel]] (which is sometimes referred to as a theocracy<ref>{{Cite news |last=Leifer |first=Joshua |date=2023-03-30 |title=Israel hasn't been a democracy for a long time. Now, Israelis need to face this fact |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/30/israel-hasnt-been-a-democracy-for-a-long-time-now-israelis-need-to-face-this-fact |access-date=2025-01-11 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ginat |first=Gitit |date=2025-01-09 |title=Israel's Protesters Refuse to Be Donkeys |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/07/24/israel-protests-haredim-secular-netanyahu-judicial-coup/ |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=Foreign Policy |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Should Israel Be a Theocracy? |date=2015 |work=Zionism and Judaism: A New Theory |pages=86–118 |editor-last=Novak |editor-first=David |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/zionism-and-judaism/should-israel-be-a-theocracy/34C46ECF15600CBF5EA84C4DD9964EBE |access-date=2025-01-11 |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/CBO9781316163719.006 |isbn=978-1-107-09995-1|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-01-09 |title=Netanyahu's Government Takes a Turn Toward Theocracy |url=https://govt.dartmouth.edu/news/2023/01/netanyahus-government-takes-turn-toward-theocracy |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=Department of Government |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Yashiv |first=Eran |title=Israel's future: A Jewish theocracy that resembles Iran {{!}} Opinion |url=https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2024-04-12/ty-article-opinion/.premium/israels-future-a-jewish-theocracy-that-resembles-iran/0000018e-ce0f-d4f3-ab9e-ef1f00b60000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250102125050/https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2024-04-12/ty-article-opinion/.premium/israels-future-a-jewish-theocracy-that-resembles-iran/0000018e-ce0f-d4f3-ab9e-ef1f00b60000 |archive-date=2025-01-02 |access-date=2025-01-11 |work=Haaretz.com |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Avishai |first=Bernard |date=2023-01-07 |title=Netanyahu's Government Takes a Turn Toward Theocracy |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/netanyahus-government-takes-a-turn-toward-theocracy |access-date=2025-01-11 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US |issn=0028-792X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-04-27 |title=75 years of Israel: A 'Jewish state' to a full theocracy? |url=https://www.tbsnews.net/features/panorama/75-years-israel-jewish-state-full-theocracy-622570?amp |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=The Business Standard |language=en}}</ref>), [[Marriage in Israel|marriage]] is governed by officially recognized religious bodies who each provide marriage services for their respected adherents, yet no form of civil marriage (free of religion) exists, nor marriage by non-recognized minority religions.

According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, there are two meanings for the word ''theocracy'': (1) government of a state by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided; and (2) a state governed by a theocracy.

== Current theocracies ==

=== Christian theocracies ===
{{Further|Christian state|theonomy}}

==== Holy See ====
{{Main|Holy See}}

Following the [[Capture of Rome]] on 20 September 1870, the [[Papal States]] including Rome with the [[Holy See|Vatican]] were annexed by the [[Kingdom of Italy]]. In 1929, through the [[Lateran Treaty]] signed with the Italian Government, the new state of [[Vatican City]] was formally created and recognised as an independent state from [[Fascist Italy]].<ref name="wfbvat">{{cite web |title=CIA World Factbook – Holy See |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/holy-see-vatican-city/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126204237/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/holy-see-vatican-city/ |archive-date=2022-01-26 |access-date=2009-08-10 |publisher=[[CIA]]}}</ref> The head of state of the Vatican is the [[pope]], elected by the [[College of Cardinals]], an assembly of high-ranking clergy.<ref name="wfbvat"/> The pope is elected for life, and either dies in office, or in extremely rare situations may resign. The cardinals are appointed by the popes, who thereby choose the electors of their successors.

Voting is limited to cardinals under 80 years of age.<ref name="wfbvat"/> A Secretary for Relations with States, directly responsible for international relations, is appointed by the pope. The Vatican legal system is rooted in [[Canon law (Catholic Church)|canon law]]. The Bishop of Rome, as the [[Supreme Pontiff]], "has the fullness of legislative, executive and judicial powers."<ref>''[[Fundamental Law of Vatican City State]]'', Art. 1 §1</ref> Although the laws of Vatican City come from the secular laws of Italy, under article 3 of the Law of the Sources of the Law, a provision is made for the application of the "laws promulgated by the Kingdom of Italy".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Vatican.html |first1=Stephen |last1=Young |first2=Alison |last2=Shea |title=Researching the Law of the Vatican City State |work=[[GlobaLex]] |date=November 2007 |access-date=24 April 2018 |archive-date=13 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180413231950/http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Vatican.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Mount Athos ====
{{Main|Monastic community of Mount Athos}}
Mount Athos is a mountain peninsula in [[Greece]] which is an [[Eastern Orthodox]] [[autonomous area]] consisting of 20 [[monasteries]] under the direct jurisdiction of the [[Primate of Constantinople]]. There have been almost 1,800 years of a continuous Christian presence on Mount Athos, and it has a long history of [[monasteries]], which dates back to at least 800 AD. The origin of [[self-rule]] at Mount Athos can be traced back to a royal [[edict]] issued by the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] Emperor [[John Tzimisces]] in 972, and reaffirmed by Emperor [[Alexios I Komnenos]] in 1095. Greece wrestled control of the area from the [[Ottoman Empire]] during the [[First Balkan War]] in 1912. However, it was formally recognized as part of Greece only after a diplomatic dispute with the [[Russian Empire]] was no longer an obstacle, after the latter's collapse during [[World War I]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/russian-federation/1928-01-01/holy-mountain |title=The "Holy Mountain" |first=William |last=Miller |magazine=[[Foreign Affairs]] |access-date=27 May 2019 |quote=An annex to the treaty of Sèvres of 1920 constituted the twenty monasteries of Mount Athos into a theocratic republic under the suzerainty of Greece [..] |archive-date=2018-11-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129120843/https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/russian-federation/1928-01-01/holy-mountain |url-status=live }}</ref>

Mount Athos is specifically exempt from the [[European Single Market|free movement of people and goods]] required by Greece's membership of the [[European Union]],<ref>Joint Declaration No. 5 attached to the Final Act of the [http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:42000A0922(06):EN: ''non''-accession treaty].</ref> and entrance is allowed only with express permission from the monks. The number of daily visitors to Mount Athos is restricted, with all visitors required to obtain an entrance permit. Only men are permitted to visit, and Eastern Orthodox Christians take precedence in the issuing of permits. Residents of Mount Athos must be men aged 18 and over who are members of the Eastern Orthodox Church and also either monks or workers.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/09/what-is-behind-vladimir-putins-curious-interest-in-mount-athos/ |title=What is behind Vladimir Putin's curious interest in Mount Athos? |first=Jeremy |last=Norman |magazine=[[The Spectator]] |date=10 September 2016 |access-date=27 May 2019 |quote=Mount Athos is one of the world's few remaining theocratic states, alongside Iran and the Vatican. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161001175036/https://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/09/what-is-behind-vladimir-putins-curious-interest-in-mount-athos/ |archive-date=1 October 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Athos is governed jointly by [[Monastic community of Mount Athos|a community consisting of members of the 20 monasteries]] and a [[Civil Administrator of Mount Athos|Civil Administrator]], appointed by the [[Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs]]. The monastic community is led by the ''[[Protos (monastic office)|Protos]]''.

=== Islamic theocracies ===
{{see also|Islamic state}}
An [[Islamic republic]] is the name given to several states that are officially ruled by [[Islamic laws]], including the Islamic Republics of [[Iran]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Mauritania]]. Pakistan first adopted the title under the constitution of 1956. Mauritania adopted it on 28 November 1958. Iran adopted it after the 1979 [[Iranian Revolution]] that overthrew the [[Pahlavi dynasty]].

The term "Islamic republic" has come to mean several different things, at times contradictory. To some Muslim religious leaders in the Middle East and Africa who advocate it, an Islamic republic is a [[Sovereign state|state]] under a particular [[Islam]]ic [[form of government]]. They see it as a compromise between a purely Islamic [[caliphate]] and secular nationalism and [[republicanism]]. In their conception of the Islamic republic, the [[penal code]] of the state is required to be compatible with some or all laws of [[Sharia]], and the state does not necessarily have to be a monarchy, as many Middle Eastern states presently are.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Government type - The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/government-type/#:~:text=Islamic%20republic%20-%20a%20particular%20form%20of%20government%20adopted%20by%20some%20Muslim%20states;%20although%20such%20a%20state%20is,%20in%20theory,%20a%20theocracy,%20it%20remains%20a%20republic,%20but%20its%20laws%20are%20required%20to%20be%20compatible%20with%20the%20laws%20of%20Islam. |access-date=2024-11-16 |website=www.cia.gov}}</ref>

==== Afghanistan ====
Afghanistan was an Islamic theocracy when the [[Taliban]] first ruled it from 1996 to 2001, and again since their reinstatement of the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] in 2021.

Spreading from [[Kandahar]], the Taliban eventually captured [[Kabul]] in 1996. By the end of 2000, the Taliban controlled 90% of the country, aside from the opposition ([[Northern Alliance]]) strongholds which were primarily found in the northeast corner of [[Badakhshan Province]]. Areas under the Taliban's direct control were mainly Afghanistan's major cities and highways. Tribal khans and warlords had ''de facto'' direct control over various small towns, villages, and rural areas.<ref>Griffiths 226.</ref> The Taliban sought to establish [[Law and order (politics)|law and order]] and to impose a strict interpretation of Islamic ''[[Sharia law]]'', along with the religious edicts of Mullah [[Mullah Omar|Mohammed Omar]], upon the entire country of Afghanistan.<ref name="Matinuddin">{{cite book |last=Matinuddin |first=Kamal |author-link=Kamal Matinuddin |year=1999 |title=The Taliban Phenomenon: Afghanistan 1994–1997 |chapter=The Taliban's Religious Attitude |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BIyVMkjat2MC&pg=PA34 |location=[[Karachi]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |pages=34–43 |isbn=0-19-579274-2 |access-date=8 July 2020 |archive-date=19 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119145219/https://books.google.com/books?id=BIyVMkjat2MC&pg=PA34 |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the five-year history of the [[Emirate|Islamic Emirate]], the Taliban regime interpreted the ''Sharia'' in accordance with the [[Hanafi]] [[Fiqh|school of Islamic jurisprudence]] and the religious edicts of [[Mullah Omar]].<ref name="Matinuddin"/> The Taliban forbade pork and alcohol, many types of consumer technology such as [[Music of Afghanistan|music]],<ref name="Matinuddin"/> [[Television in Afghanistan|television]],<ref name="Matinuddin"/> and [[Cinema of Afghanistan|film]],<ref name="Matinuddin"/> as well as most forms of art such as [[paintings]] or [[photography]],<ref name="Matinuddin"/> male and female participation in [[sport]],<ref name="Matinuddin"/> including [[association football|football]] and [[chess]];<ref name="Matinuddin"/> [[Recreation|recreational activities]] such as [[Kite|kite-flying]] and keeping [[pigeons]] or other [[pets]] were also forbidden, and the birds were killed according to the Taliban's ruling.<ref name="Matinuddin"/> [[Movie theater]]s were closed and repurposed as [[mosque]]s.<ref name="Matinuddin"/> Celebration of the [[New Year's Day|Western]] and [[Nauruz in Afghanistan|Iranian New Year]] was forbidden.<ref name="Matinuddin"/> Taking photographs and displaying pictures or portraits was forbidden, as it was considered by the Taliban as a form of [[Idolatry#Islam|idolatry]].<ref name="Matinuddin"/> Women were [[Taliban treatment of women#Employment|banned from working]],<ref name="Matinuddin"/> girls were [[Taliban treatment of women#Education|forbidden to attend schools or universities]],<ref name="Matinuddin"/> were requested to observe [[purdah]] and to be accompanied outside their households by male relatives; those who violated these restrictions were punished.<ref name="Matinuddin"/> Men were forbidden to shave their beards and required to let them grow and keep them long according to the Taliban's liking, and to wear turbans outside their households.<ref name="Matinuddin"/><ref name="cr">{{cite web |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/sa/8222.htm |title=US Country Report on Human Rights Practices – Afghanistan 2001 |publisher=State.gov |date=4 March 2002 |access-date=4 March 2020 |archive-date=10 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310082903/https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/sa/8222.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Communist]]s were systematically executed. [[Salah|Prayer]] was made compulsory and those who did not respect the religious obligation after the ''[[Adhan|azaan]]'' were arrested.<ref name="Matinuddin"/> [[Gambling in Islam|Gambling]] was banned.<ref name="Matinuddin"/> Thieves were punished by [[Islam and violence#Islam and crime|amputating their hands or feet]].<ref name="Matinuddin"/> In 2000, the Taliban leader Mullah Omar officially banned [[Opium production in Afghanistan|opium cultivation]] and [[Illegal drug trade|drug trafficking]] in Afghanistan;<ref name="Matinuddin"/><ref name="drugpolicy2005">{{cite journal |last1=Farrell |first1=Graham |last2=Thorne |first2=John |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/28576871 |title=Where Have All the Flowers Gone?: Evaluation of the Taliban Crackdown Against Opium Poppy Cultivation in Afghanistan |date=March 2005 |journal=[[International Journal of Drug Policy]] |publisher=[[Elsevier]] |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=81–91 |doi=10.1016/j.drugpo.2004.07.007 |via=[[ResearchGate]] |access-date=8 July 2020 |archive-date=15 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815132213/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/28576871_Where_have_all_the_flowers_gone_Evaluation_of_the_Taliban_crackdown_against_poppy_cultivation_in_Afghanistan |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Maziyar2019">{{cite book |last=Ghiabi |first=Maziyar |chapter=Crisis as an Idiom for Reforms |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HoOWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA101 |year=2019 |title=Drugs Politics: Managing Disorder in the Islamic Republic of Iran |location=[[Cambridge]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |pages=101–102 |isbn=978-1-108-47545-7 |lccn=2019001098 |access-date=8 July 2020 |via=[[Google Books]] |archive-date=19 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119145157/https://books.google.com/books?id=HoOWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA101 |url-status=live }}</ref> the Taliban succeeded in nearly eradicating opium production (99%) by 2001.<ref name="drugpolicy2005"/><ref name="Maziyar2019"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://opioids.com/afghanistan/index.html |title=Afghanistan, Opium and the Taliban |access-date=4 March 2020 |archive-date=7 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207055512/http://opioids.com/afghanistan/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Under the Taliban governance of Afghanistan, both drug users and dealers were severely prosecuted.<ref name="Matinuddin"/>

[[Cabinet (government)|Cabinet]] ministers and deputies were mullahs with a "[[madrasah]] education." Several of them, such as the Minister of Health and Governor of the State bank, were primarily military commanders who were ready to leave their administrative posts to fight when needed. Military reverses that trapped them behind lines or led to their deaths increased the chaos in the national administration.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rashid |first=Ahmed |date=2010 |orig-date=2000 |title=Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=9780300163681 |url={{GBurl|Cv8_EAAAQBAJ}} |page=100}}</ref> At the national level, "all senior [[Tajiks|Tajik]], [[Uzbeks|Uzbek]] and [[Hazaras|Hazara]] bureaucrats" were replaced "with Pashtuns, whether qualified or not." Consequently, the ministries "by and large ceased to function."<ref name="rashid 101-102">{{Harvnb|Rashid|2010|pp=101–102}}.</ref>

Journalist [[Ahmed Rashid]] described the Taliban government as "a secret society run by [[Kandahar]]is ... mysterious, secretive, and dictatorial."<ref name="Rashid 2000 98"/> They did not hold elections, as their spokesman explained:

{{blockquote|The ''[[Sharia]]'' does not allow politics or political parties. That is why we give no salaries to officials or soldiers, just food, clothes, shoes, and weapons. We want to live a life like the Prophet lived 1400 years ago, and jihad is our right. We want to recreate the time of the Prophet, and we are only carrying out what the Afghan people have wanted for the past 14 years.<ref>{{Harvnb|Rashid|2010|p=43}} Interview with Mullah Wakil, March 1996</ref>}}

They modeled their decision-making process on the Pashtun tribal council (''[[jirga]]''), together with what they believed to be the early Islamic model. Discussion was followed by a building of a consensus by the "believers".<ref>{{Harvnb|Rashid|2010|p=95}}</ref> Before capturing Kabul, there was talk of stepping aside once a government of "good Muslims" took power, and law and order were restored.

As the Taliban's power grew, decisions were made by Mullah Omar without consulting the ''jirga'' and without consulting other parts of the country. One such instance is the rejection of Loya Jirga decision about expulsion of [[Osama bin Laden]]. Mullah Omar visited the capital, Kabul, only twice while in power. Instead of an election, their leader's legitimacy came from an oath of allegiance ("[[Bay'ah]]"), in imitation of [[Muhammad|the Prophet]] and the [[Rashidun|first four]] [[Caliph]]s. On 4 April 1996, Mullah Omar had "the [[Cloak of Muhammad]]" taken from its shrine, [[Kirka Sharif]], for the first time in 60 years. Wrapping himself in the relic, he appeared on the roof of a building in the center of Kandahar while hundreds of Pashtun [[mullah]]s below shouted "[[Amir al-Mu'minin]]!" (Commander of the Faithful), in a pledge of support. Taliban spokesman Mullah Wakil explained:

{{blockquote|Decisions are based on the advice of the Amir-ul Momineen. For us, consultation is not necessary. We believe that this is in line with the ''Sharia''. We abide by the Amir's view even if he alone takes this view. There will not be a head of state. Instead, there will be an Amir al-Mu'minin. Mullah Omar will be the highest authority, and the government will not be able to implement any decision to which he does not agree. General elections are incompatible with ''Sharia'' and therefore we reject them.<ref>
Interview with Taliban spokesman Mullah Wakil in Arabic magazine ''Al-Majallah'', 1996-10-23.</ref>}}

The Taliban were reluctant to share power, and since their ranks were overwhelmingly Pashtun they ruled as overlords over the 60% of Afghans from other ethnic groups. In local government, such as the Kabul city council<ref name="Rashid 2000 98">{{Harvnb|Rashid|2010|p=98}}</ref> or Herat,<ref name="rashid 39-40">{{Harvnb|Rashid|2010|pp=39–40}}</ref> Taliban loyalists, not locals, dominated, even when the [[Pashto]]-speaking Taliban could not communicate with roughly half of the population who spoke [[Dari]] or other non-Pashtun tongues.<ref name="rashid 39-40"/> Critics complained that this "lack of local representation in urban administration made the Taliban appear as an occupying force." After the collapse of the government following the [[Fall of Kabul (2021)|fall of Kabul]] in August 2021, the Taliban returned to power and reestablished an authoritarian theocracy. They declared the restoration of the [[Afghanistan|Second Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]], with their governance rooted in their strict interpretation of Sharia law.<ref name="rashid 101-102"/>

==== Iran ====
[[File:جوان پیشرو، دلیل امید.jpg|thumb|500px|[[Supreme Leader of Iran|Supreme Leader]] [[Ali Khamenei]] poster]]
[[Iran]] has been described as a "theocratic republic" by various sources,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tzUlDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22theocratic+republic%22+%22iran%22&pg=PA27 |title=Iran: Stuck in Transition (The Contemporary Middle East)|via=Routledge |date=2017 |isbn=978-1-351-98545-1 |last1=Ehteshami |first1=Anoushiravan |publisher=Taylor & Francis }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nyUMNew7j70C&dq=%22theocratic+republic%22+%22iran%22&pg=PA137 |title=Iran|via=Benchmark Books|date=2004 |isbn=978-0-7614-1665-4 |last1=Rajendra |first1=Vijeya |last2=Kaplan |first2=Gisela T. |last3=Rajendra |first3=Rudi |publisher=Marshall Cavendish }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=05GNDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22theocratic+republic%22+%22iran%22&pg=PA195|title=Iran and the West : cultural perceptions from the Sasanian Empire to the Islamic Republic|via=Benchmark Books|date=2018 |isbn=978-1-83860-876-7 |last1=Whiskin |first1=Margaux |last2=Bagot |first2=David |publisher=Bloomsbury }}</ref> including the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] [[The World Factbook|World Factbook]].<ref name="wfbiran">{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/iran/ |title=CIA World Factbook – Iran |publisher=[[CIA]] |access-date=2009-08-10 |archive-date=2021-01-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110162554/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/iran |url-status=live }}</ref>  Its constitution has been described as a "hybrid" of "theocratic and democratic elements" by [[Francis Fukuyama]].<ref>While articles One and Two vest sovereignty in God, article six "mandates popular elections for the presidency and the Majlis, or parliament." source: [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203946904574300374086282670 July 27, 2009, "Iran, Islam and the Rule of Law". Francis Fukuyama] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102204314/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203946904574300374086282670 |date=January 2, 2015 }}</ref> Like other Islamic states, it maintains religious laws and has religious courts to interpret all aspects of law. According to Iran's constitution, "all civil, penal, financial, economic, administrative, cultural, military, political, and other laws and regulations must be based on Islamic criteria."<ref name=servat>{{cite web |title=Iran – Constitution |url=http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/ir00000_.html |publisher=International Constitutional Law (ICL) |access-date=21 April 2015 |date=24 October 1979 |archive-date=21 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180821093931/http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/ir00000_.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In addition, Iran has a religious ruler and many religious officials in powerful governmental positions. The head of state, or "[[Supreme Leader of Iran|Supreme Leader]]", is a ''[[faqih]]'' (scholar of Islamic law)<ref>article 109 of the constitution states that among the "essential qualifications and conditions for the Leader" are "scholarship, as required for performing the functions of mufti in different fields of fiqh" [http://www.iranonline.com/iran/iran-info/government/constitution-8.html Chapter 8 – The Leader or Leadership Council] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123063337/http://www.iranonline.com/iran/iran-info/Government/constitution-8.html |date=2010-11-23 }} Constitution of Iran</ref> and has more power than [[President of Iran|the president of Iran]]. Iran's current Supreme Leader is [[Ali Khamenei]], a role he has held since 1989. The Leader appoints the heads of many powerful governmental positions: the commanders of [[Military of Iran|the armed forces]], the director of the [[Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting|national radio and television network]], the heads of powerful [[Bonyad|major religious and economic foundations]], the [[Chief Justice of Iran|chief justice of Iran]], the attorney general (indirectly through the chief justice), special tribunals, and members of [[Supreme National Security Council|the supreme national security council]] who are dealing with defense and foreign affairs. He also co-appoints the 12 jurists of the [[Guardian Council]].<ref name="who">"Who's in Charge?" by Ervand Abrahamian ''London Review of Books'', 6 November 2008</ref>

The Leader is elected by the [[Assembly of Experts]]<ref name="wfbiran"/><ref>[[Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran]], [http://www.iranonline.com/iran/iran-info/government/constitution-8.html ''Articles 107–112''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123063337/http://www.iranonline.com/iran/iran-info/Government/constitution-8.html |date=2010-11-23 }}.</ref> which is made up of [[Ijtihad|mujtahids]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/iranian.studies/Policy%20Brief%201.pdf |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20070630133328/http://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/iranian.studies/Policy%20Brief%201.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2007-06-30 |title=Understanding Iran's Assembly of Experts |access-date=2012-07-28 }}</ref> who are Islamic scholars competent in interpreting ''[[Sharia]]''. The [[Guardian Council]], has the power to reject bills passed by [[Islamic Consultative Assembly|the Parliament]]. It can also approve or reject candidates who want to run for the Presidency, Parliament, and the Assembly of Experts. The council supervises elections, and can allow or ban investigations into elections.<ref name="wfbiran"/> Six of the twelve council members are [[Faqīh|faqih]] and have the power to approve or reject all bills passed by [[Islamic Consultative Assembly|the Parliament]], whether the faqih believes that the bill is in accordance with Islamic laws and customs (''Sharia'') or not. The other six members are lawyers appointed by the chief justice, who is a cleric and appointed by the Leader.<ref>[http://www.iranonline.com/iran/iran-info/government/constitution-11.html Constitution of Iran] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410013835/http://www.iranonline.com/iran/iran-info/Government/constitution-11.html |date=2008-04-10 }}, Article 157:
''In order to fulfill the responsibilities of the judiciary power in all the matters concerning judiciary, administrative and executive areas, the Leader shall appoint a just Mujtahid well versed in judiciary affairs and possessing prudence, and administrative abilities''</ref>

==== Saudi Arabia ====

In the [[Basic Law of Saudi Arabia]], [[Saudi Arabia]] defines itself as a sovereign Arab [[Islamic state]] with Islam as its official religion. However, some critiques describe Saudi Arabia as an Islamic theocracy. Religious minorities do not have the right to practice their religion openly. Conversion from Islam to another religion is punishable by death as [[apostasy]].<ref>{{cite book|quote=Saudi Arabia is a leading Islamic theocracy in the world today|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v-GEDwAAQBAJ&q=Saudi+Arabia+is+an+Islamic+theocracy&pg=PT172|title=Dispute Resolution in Islamic Finance: Alternatives to Litigation?|year=2019|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=9781351188890|first1=Adnan|last1=Trakic|first2=John|last2=Benson|first3=Pervaiz K|last3=Ahmed|access-date=2022-11-21|archive-date=2023-01-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119145156/https://books.google.com/books?id=v-GEDwAAQBAJ&q=Saudi+Arabia+is+an+Islamic+theocracy&pg=PT172|url-status=live}}</ref> Muhammad Al-Atawneh describes the current Saudi regime as a 'theo-monarchy, that draws power from long-standing religio-cultural norms.'<ref>{{cite journal |quote= Is Saudi Arabia a Theocracy? Religion and Governance in Contemporary Saudi Arabia |url= https://www.jstor.org/stable/40647150 |title= Is Saudi Arabia a Theocracy? Religion and Governance in Contemporary Saudi Arabia |year= 2009 |publisher= [[Routledge]] |issn= 0026-3206 |first= Muhammad |last= Al-Atawneh |journal= Middle Eastern Studies |volume= 45 |issue= 5 |pages= 721–737 |doi= 10.1080/00263200802586105 |jstor= 40647150 |s2cid= 144381914 |access-date= 2022-11-21 |archive-date= 2022-10-20 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221020111031/https://www.jstor.org/stable/40647150 |url-status= live }}</ref>

=== Central Tibetan Administration ===
The [[Central Tibetan Administration]], colloquially known as the Tibetan government in exile, is a [[Tibetan exile]] organization with a state-like internal structure. According to its charter, the position of head of state of the Central Tibetan Administration belongs ''ex officio'' to the [[Dalai Lama]], a religious hierarch. In this respect, it continues the traditions of the [[Ganden Podrang|former government of Tibet]], which was ruled by the Dalai Lamas and their ministers, with a specific role reserved for a class of monk officials.

On 14 March 2011, at the [[14th Dalai Lama]]'s suggestion, the parliament of the Central Tibetan Administration began considering a proposal to remove the Dalai Lama's role as head of state in favor of an elected leader.

The first directly elected [[Kalon Tripa|Kalön Tripa]] was [[Samdhong Rinpoche]], who was elected on 20 August 2001.<ref>Donovan Roebert, ''Samdhong Rinpoche: Uncompromising Truth for a Compromised World'' ([[World Wisdom]], 2006) {{ISBN|978-1-933316-20-8}} (On August 20, 2001, Venerable Professor Samdhong Rinpoche was elected Kalon Tripa (Prime Minister) of the Tibetan Government in Exile, receiving 84.5% of the popular exile vote.)</ref>

Before 2011, the [[Kalon Tripa|Kalön Tripa]] position was subordinate to the [[14th Dalai Lama]]<ref>[http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/t100000_.html The Charter of Tibetans in-Exile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110054857/http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/t100000_.html |date=2021-01-10 }}, Article 20 of the [[Constitution of Tibet]], retrieved 2010-03-19.</ref> who presided over the government in exile from its founding.<ref>[http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/t100000_.html The Charter of Tibetans in-Exile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110054857/http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/t100000_.html |date=2021-01-10 }}, Articles 19, 30, & 31 of the Constitution of Tibet, retrieved 2010-03-19.</ref> In August of that year, Lobsang Sangay received 55 percent of 49,189 votes, defeating his nearest rival Tethong Tenzin Namgyal by 8,646 votes,<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/Lobsang-Sangay-chosen-for-political-work/article14699924.ece |title=Lobsang Sangay chosen for political work |newspaper=The Hindu |access-date=9 January 2017|date=2011-04-27 }}</ref> becoming the second popularly elected Kalön Tripa. The Dalai Lama announced that his political authority would be transferred to Sangay.<ref>Dean Nelson [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/tibet/8688087/Lobsang-Sangay-profile.html Lobsang Sangay: profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119145747/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/tibet/8688087/Lobsang-Sangay-profile.html |date=2023-01-19 }}, The Telegraph, 08 Aug 2011</ref>

==== Change to Sikyong ====
On 20 September 2012, the 15th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile unanimously voted to change the title of Kalön Tripa to ''Sikyong'' in Article 19 of the Charter of the Tibetans in exile and relevant articles.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=32159&t=1 |title=Tibetan Parliament changes 'Kalon Tripa' to 'Sikyong' |access-date=2013-01-31 |archive-date=2019-05-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502163748/http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=32159&t=1 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The Dalai Lama had previously referred to the Kalön Tripa as Sikyong, and this usage was cited as the primary justification for the name change. According to ''Tibetan Review'', "Sikyong" translates to "political leader", as distinct from "spiritual leader".<ref name="TR">{{cite news |url=http://www.tibetanreview.net/news.php?id=11207 |title=Kalon Tripa to be now referred to as Sikyong |date=2012-09-22 |access-date=2012-12-11 |publisher=Tibetan Review |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017051755/http://www.tibetanreview.net/news.php?id=11207 |archive-date=2013-10-17}}</ref> Foreign affairs Kalön [[Dicki Chhoyang]] stated that the term "Sikyong" has had a precedent dating back to the [[7th Dalai Lama]], and that the name change "ensures historical continuity and legitimacy of the traditional leadership from the Fifth Dalai Lama".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tibet.net/2012/11/16/international-support-groups-meet-in-dharamsala-to-deal-with-critical-situation-in-tibet/ |title=International Support Groups Meet in Dharamsala to Deal with Critical Situation In Tibet |date=2012-11-16 |publisher=Central Tibetan Administration |access-date=2013-01-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121121124452/http://tibet.net/2012/11/16/international-support-groups-meet-in-dharamsala-to-deal-with-critical-situation-in-tibet/ |archive-date=2012-11-21 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The online Dharma Dictionary translates sikyong (''srid skyong'') as "secular ruler; regime, regent".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/srid_skyong |title=srid skyong |work=tsadra.org |access-date=2013-05-14 |archive-date=2023-01-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119145749/https://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/srid_skyong |url-status=live }}</ref> The title ''sikyong'' had previously been used by [[regent]]s who ruled Tibet during the Dalai Lama's minority.

=== States with official state religions ===
{{main|State religion}}

Having a state religion is not sufficient to mean that a state is a theocracy in the narrow sense of the term. Many countries have a state religion without the government directly deriving its powers from a divine authority or a religious authority which is directly exercising governmental powers. Since few theocracies exist in the modern world, the word "theocracy" is now used as a descriptive term for a government which enforces a state religion.

==Historic societies with theocratic aspects==

=== Sumer ===
[[Sumer]]ian cities were probably theocratic and were most likely headed by a priest-king (''ensi''), assisted by a council of elders including both men and women.<ref name=Jacobsen>Jacobsen, Thorkild (Ed) (1939),"The Sumerian King List" (Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago; Assyriological Studies, No. 11., 1939)</ref>

=== Ancient Egypt ===
{{expand section|with=[[High Priest of Amun]]|date=June 2023}}
Ancient Egyptian society regarded its [[pharaohs]] as divine and associated them with [[Horus]], and after death, with [[Osiris]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.britannica.com/topic/pharaoh |title="pharaoh {{pipe}} Definition, History, & Facts" |website=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |access-date=15 May 2021 |archive-date=19 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119145749/https://www.britannica.com/topic/pharaoh |url-status=live }}</ref> While not considered equal to other members of the [[Egyptian pantheon]], the pharaoh had the responsibility of mediating between the gods and the people.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.britannica.com/place/ancient-Egypt/The-king-and-ideology-administration-art-and-writing |title= Ancient Egypt - The king and ideology: administration, art, and writing |website= Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=15 May 2021 |archive-date=17 April 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210417053956/https://www.britannica.com/place/ancient-Egypt/The-king-and-ideology-administration-art-and-writing |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Japan ===
The Japanese people have historically venerated their  [[Emperor of Japan|emperor]] as the descendant of the [[Shinto]] sun-goddess [[Amaterasu]]. Through this line of descent, the emperor was seen as a living god who was the supreme leader of the Japanese people. This status only changed with the [[Occupation of Japan]] following the end of the [[Second World War]] in 1945: on 1 January 1946 Emperor [[Hirohito]], at the request of [[Douglas MacArthur]], [[Humanity Declaration|declared that he was not a living god]] in order for Japan to reorganize into a democratic nation.<ref>{{cite web |title=3-1 Emperor, Imperial Rescript Denying His Divinity (Professing His Humanity) |url= https://www.ndl.go.jp/constitution/e/shiryo/03/056shoshi.html |website= National Diet Library |access-date=2 August 2020 |archive-date=13 May 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210513102943/https://www.ndl.go.jp/constitution/e/shiryo/03/056shoshi.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Ancient Israel ===
In biblical times,  [[History of ancient Israel and Judah|Early Israel]] was a [[kritarchy]], ruled by  [[Hebrew Bible judges|Judges]] before the institution of a monarchy under [[Saul]]. The Israelites regarded the Judges as representatives of God to dispense His judgement, and were often themselves prophets.

=== Ancient Rome ===
{{further|Imperial cult}}
[[File:Augusto come giove, 00-50 dc circa.JPG|thumb|[[Roman emperor]] [[Augustus]] as [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]], holding [[scepter]] and orb (first half of 1st century AD)]]
From {{circa | 27}} BCE the  [[Imperial cult (ancient Rome)|Imperial cult of ancient Rome]] identified [[Roman emperor]]s and some members of their families with the  [[Divine right of kings|divinely sanctioned]] authority (''[[auctoritas]]'') of the [[Roman State]]. The official offer of [[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#cultus|''cultus'']] to a living emperor acknowledged his office and rule as divinely approved and constitutional: his Principate should therefore demonstrate [[pietas|pious respect]] for traditional [[Republicanism|republican]] [[deity|deities]] and [[mos maiorum|mores]].

=== Tibet ===
Unified religious rule in [[Buddhist]] Tibet began in 1642, when the [[Fifth Dalai Lama]] allied with the military power of the Mongol [[Gushri Khan]] to consolidate political power and to center control around his office as head of the [[Gelug]] school.<ref name="Davidson">{{Cite book |last= Davidson |first= Ronald M. |contribution= Tibet |year=2004 |title=Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism |editor-last=Buswell |editor-first=Robert E. Jr. |pages= 851–59 |publisher= Macmillan Reference |isbn= 978-0-02-865910-7}}</ref> This form of government is known as the [[dual system of government]]. Prior to 1642, particular monasteries and monks had held considerable power throughout Tibet but had not achieved anything approaching complete control, and their power continued in a diffuse, feudal system after the ascension of the Fifth [[Dalai Lama]]. Power in Tibet was held by a number of traditional élites, including members of the nobility, the heads of the major Buddhist sects (including their various [[tulku]]s), and various large and influential monastic communities.<ref name="Lopez">{{Cite book |last= Lopez |first=Donald S. |title= Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West |place= Chicago |publisher= [[University of Chicago Press]] |page= [https://archive.org/details/prisonersofshang00dona/page/9 9] |author-link= Donald S. Lopez Jr. |isbn=978-0-226-49311-4 |year=1998 |url-access=registration |url= https://archive.org/details/prisonersofshang00dona/page/9}}</ref>

=== Mongolia ===
The [[Outer Mongolia (1911–1919)|Bogd Khanate]] period of [[Mongolia]] (1911–19) featured a Buddhist theocratic [[khanate]].<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Batbold
 |first1               = Amarsanaa
 |last2                = Unurbayar
 |first2               = Chadraabal
 |editor-last1         = Tan
 |editor-first1        = Kevin Y. L.
 |editor-last2         = Ng
 |editor-first2        = Michael
 |date                 = 16 December 2021
 |chapter              = The 1924 Constitution: Towards the Modernisation of Mongolia
 |title                = Constitutional Foundings in Northeast Asia
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=w5BTEAAAQBAJ
 |series               = Constitutionalism in Asia
 |publication-place    = Oxford
 |publisher            = Bloomsbury Publishing
 |page                 = 211
 |isbn                 = 9781509940202
 |access-date          = 3 February 2024
 |quote                = In 1911, capitalising on the collapse of the Qing dynasty in China, Mongolia attempted to make itself 'more independent of China'. [...] At this time, as almost a third of Mongolia's male population were Buddhist monks, the Mongols established a theocratic khanate and installed the 8th Bogd Gegeen – the highest-ranked lama of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia – as the Bogd Khaan (or 'Holy Ruler'). He was to rule Mongolia till his death in 1924, afterwhich[sic] Mongolia proclaimed itself a republic and adopted its first socialist-style Constitution.
}}
</ref>

=== China ===
{{further|Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors|Chinese emperor}}

Similar to the Roman Emperor, the [[Chinese sovereign]] was historically held to be the [[Son of Heaven]]. However, from the first historical Emperor on, this was largely ceremonial and tradition quickly established it as a posthumous dignity, like the Roman institution. The situation before  [[Qin Shi Huang|Qin Shi Huang Di]] ({{reign | 221 | 210}} BCE) is less clear.

The [[Shang dynasty]] ({{circa}} 1600 BCE to {{circa}} 1045 BCE) essentially functioned as a theocracy, declaring the ruling family the [[son of heaven|sons of heaven]] and calling the chief sky god [[Shangdi]] after a word for their deceased ancestors.<ref name=wibla/> After their overthrow by the [[Zhou dynasty|Zhou]], the royal clan of Shang were not eliminated but instead moved to a ceremonial capital where they were charged to continue the performance of their rituals.

The titles combined by [[Shi Huangdi]] to form his new title of [[Chinese emperor|emperor]] were originally applied to [[Three Sovereigns|god-like beings]] who ordered the heavens and earth and to [[Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors|culture heroes]] credited with the invention of  [[Five Grains|agriculture]],  [[traditional Chinese clothing|clothing]],  [[traditional Chinese music|music]],  [[Chinese astrology|astrology]], etc. Even after the fall of [[Qin dynasty|Qin]] in 206 BCE, an emperor's words were considered sacred edicts ({{lang|zh|聖旨}}) and his written proclamations "directives from above" ({{lang|zh|上諭}}).

As a result, some [[Sinologist]]s translate the title ''huangdi'' (usually rendered  [[emperor of China|"emperor"]]) as ''thearch''. The term properly refers to the head of a thearchy (a kingdom of gods), but the more specific "theocrat" carries associations of a strong priesthood that would be generally inaccurate in describing imperial China. Others reserve the use of the word "thearch" to describe the legendary figures of Chinese prehistory while continuing to use "emperor" to describe historical rulers.<ref name=wibla>Nadeau, Randall L. ''The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Chinese Religions'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=bWwV2W14-30C&pg=PA54 pp. 54 ff.] John Wiley & Sons (Chichester), 2012. {{ISBN| 978-1-4051-9031-2}} Accessed 22 December 2013.</ref>

The [[Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace]] (1851 to 1864) in [[Qing China]] was a heterodox Christian theocracy led by [[Hong Xiuquan]], who portrayed himself as the younger brother of [[Jesus Christ]]. His theocratic state fought one of the most destructive wars in history, the [[Taiping Rebellion]], against the [[Qing dynasty]] for fifteen years before being crushed following the 1864 fall of the rebel capital [[Nanjing]].

=== Caliphates ===
{{Main|Caliphate}}

The [[Sunni Islam]] stipulates that, as a head of state, a [[Caliph]] should be selected or elected by Muslims or by their representatives. Followers of [[Shia Islam]], however, believe a Caliph should be an [[Imam]] chosen by [[God in Islam|God]] from the [[Ahl al-Bayt]] (the "Family of the House", [[Muhammad]]'s direct descendants). In both cases, caliphs theoretically combine religious and secular powers.

=== Timurid and Mughal Empires ===
{{Main|Timurid Empire|Mughal Empire}}
The Emperors of the [[Timurid Empire|Timurid]] and [[Mughal dynasty]] were regarded as intermediaries of their subordinates and God by virtue of the blessings of the Hazrat Ishaans, who were the spiritual guides of the Timurid and Mughal Emperors. The Emperors believed the Hazrat Ishaans to be the rightful spiritual successors of Muhammad and by this virtue to be the intermediaries between God and man.{{Disputed inline|date=February 2025}}<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/44147955|title=Mughal Court Rituals: The Symbolism of Imperial Authority During Akbar's Reign|author=Shivram, Balkrishan|year=2006|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=67|pages=331–349|jstor=44147955 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sites.asiasociety.org/arts/power_desire/rule_domain.html|title=Power & Desire}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.historydiscussion.net/history-of-india/main-elements-and-structure-of-the-mughal-administration/2826#:~:text=Mughal%20emperors%20considered%20themselves%20as,%E2%80%9CKhatifa%20of%20her%20country.%E2%80%9D | title=Main Elements and Structure of the Mughal Administration | date=29 November 2014 }}</ref>

=== Byzantine Empire ===
{{main|Byzantine Empire#Religion}}
The [[Byzantine Empire]] ({{sm|a.d.}} 324–1453) operated under  [[Symphonia (theology)|Symphonia]], meaning that the [[List of Byzantine emperors|emperor]] was both the head of [[civil society]] and the ultimate authority over the ecclesiastical authorities, the [[patriarchates]]. The emperor, regarded as God's representative on earth, ruled as an absolute [[Autocracy|autocrat]].<ref>{{cite book |first= Steven |last= Runciman |author-link=Steven Runciman |title= The Byzantine Theocracy |location= Cambridge |publisher= [[Cambridge University Press]] |date= 1977}}</ref>

Jennifer Fretland VanVoorst argues that "the Byzantine Empire became a theocracy in the sense that Christian values and ideals were the foundation of the empire's political ideals and heavily entwined with its political goals".<ref>{{cite book |first=Jennifer Fretland |last=Van Voorst |title=The Byzantine Empire |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=RyOoBQiCm88C&pg=PA14 |year=2012 |publisher=Compass Point Books |page=14 |isbn= 978-0-7565-4565-9 |via=[[Google Books]] |access-date=2015-08-13 |archive-date=2023-01-19 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230119145749/https://books.google.com/books?id=RyOoBQiCm88C&pg=PA14 |url-status= live }}</ref> [[Steven Runciman]] writes in his book ''The Byzantine Theocracy'' (2004):
{{blockquote|The constitution of the Byzantine Empire was based on the conviction that it was the earthly copy of the Kingdom of Heaven. Just as God ruled in Heaven, so the Emperor, made in His image, should rule on earth and carry out his commandments. ...It saw itself as a universal empire. Ideally, it should embrace all the peoples of the Earth who, ideally, should all be members of the one true Christian Church, its own Orthodox Church. Just as man was made in God's image, so man's kingdom on Earth was made in the image of the Kingdom of Heaven.<ref>Steven Runciman, ''The Byzantine Theocracy'' (Cambridge: Cambridge Press, 2003; 1st printing 1977), 1–2, 162–63.</ref>|title=|source=}}

=== Münster (16th century) ===
Between 1533 and 1535 the [[Protestant]] leaders [[Jan Mattys]] and [[John of Leiden]] erected a short-lived  [[Münster rebellion|theocratic kingdom in the city of Münster]] in Westphalia. They established an [[Anabaptist]] régime of "New Jerusalem" with [[chiliastic]] and millenarian expectations. [[Money]] was abolished and any violations of the [[Ten Commandments]] were punished by death. Despite the pietistic ideology, [[polygamy]] was allowed, and von Leiden had 17 wives. In 1535, the Prince-Bishop of Münster, [[Franz von Waldeck]], recaptured the city, ending the existence of the kingdom.

=== Geneva and Zürich (16th century) ===
Historians debate the extent to which [[Geneva]], Switzerland, in the days of [[John Calvin]] (1509–64) was a theocracy. On the one hand, Calvin's theology clearly called for separation between church and state. Other historians have stressed the enormous political power wielded on a daily basis by the clerics.<ref>{{cite book |first=Mark J. |last=Larson |title=Calvin's Doctrine of the State: A Reformed Doctrine and Its American Trajectory, The Revolutionary War, and the Founding of the Republic |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ItFLAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1 |year= 2009 |publisher= [[Wipf and Stock]] |pages= 1–20 |isbn= 978-1-60608-073-3 |via= [[Google Books]] |access-date=2015-08-13 |archive-date=2023-01-19 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230119145801/https://books.google.com/books?id=ItFLAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1 |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Harro |last=Höpfl |title=The Christian polity of John Calvin |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |date= 1985}}</ref>

In nearby [[Zürich]], Switzerland, Protestant reformer [[Huldrych Zwingli]] (1484–1531) built a political system that many scholars have called a theocracy, while others have denied it.<ref>{{cite book |first=Robert |last= Walton |title=Zwingli's Theocracy |publisher=[[Toronto University Press]] |date=1967}}</ref>

=== Deseret (LDS Church, USA) ===
{{main|State of Deseret|The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints}}
{{see also|Theodemocracy}}
The question of theocracy has been debated extensively by historians regarding the  [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|Latter-Day Saint]] communities in Illinois and (especially) in Utah.<ref>{{Cite journal |jstor=43200413 |title=National Culture, Personality, and Theocracy in the Early Mormon Culture of Violence |journal= The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal |pages= 159–186 |last1= Quinn |first1= D. Michael |year= 2002}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V01N02_38s.pdf |jstor= 23916099 |title= The Separation of Church and State in Mormon Theory and Practice |journal= [[Journal of Church and State]] |volume= 9 |issue= 2 |pages= 238–262 |last1= Williams |first1= J. D. |year= 1967 |doi= 10.1093/jcs/9.2.238 |access-date= 2015-07-16 |archive-date= 2023-01-19 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230119145754/https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V01N02_38s.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first= Robert E. |last=Brown |title= The Power and the Peculiarity: The Paradoxes of Early Mormonism |journal= [[Reviews in American History]] |volume= 41 |number= 3 |date= 2013 |pages= 451–57 |doi= 10.1353/rah.2013.0063 |s2cid= 144984522 |url= http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/reviews_in_american_history/v041/41.3.brown.html|url-access= subscription }}</ref>

[[Joseph Smith]], mayor of [[Nauvoo, Illinois]] and founder of the [[Latter Day Saint movement]], ran as an  [[1844 United States presidential election|independent for U.S. president in 1844]]. He proposed the redemption of slaves by selling public lands, reducing the size and salary of Congress, the closure of prisons, the [[annexation of Texas]], Oregon, and parts of Canada, the securing of international rights on the high seas, [[free trade]], and the re-establishment of a [[Second Bank of the United States|national bank]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= Smith |first= Joseph Jr. |author-link= Joseph Smith |year= 1844 |title= General Smith's Views on the Powers and Policy of the Government of the United States |url= http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/u?%2FNCMP1820-1846%2C2597 |access-date= 2015-07-30 |archive-date= 2011-08-07 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110807165803/http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/u/?%2FNCMP1820-1846%2C2597 |url-status= live }}</ref> Smith's top aide, [[Brigham Young]], campaigned for Smith, saying, "He it is that God of Heaven designs to save this nation from destruction and preserve the Constitution."<ref>{{cite book |first=Kenneth H. |last=Winn |title=Exiles in a Land of Liberty: Mormons in America, 1830–1846 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ESwIEefhOWwC&pg=PA203 |year= 1990 |page= 203 |publisher= University of North Carolina Press |isbn= 978-0-8078-4300-0 |via= [[Google Books]]}}, quote on p 203</ref> The campaign ended when Smith was  [[Death of Joseph Smith|killed by a mob]] while in the [[Carthage, Illinois]], jail on June 27, 1844.<ref>[[Carthage Jail]]</ref>

After severe persecution, the Mormons left the United States and resettled in a remote part of what is now Utah, (then part of Mexico). However the United States  [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo|took control in 1848]] and would not accept polygamy. The Mormon [[State of Deseret]] was short-lived.<ref>[http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/pioneers_and_cowboys/deseret.html ''Deseret''] {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171207052356/http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/pioneers_and_cowboys/deseret.html |date= 2017-12-07 }} utah.gov</ref> Its original borders stretched from western [[Colorado]] to the [[southern California]] coast. When the Mormons arrived in the valley of the [[Great Salt Lake]] in 1847, the [[Great Basin]] was still a part of Mexico and had no secular government. As a result, [[Brigham Young]] administered the region both spiritually and temporally through the highly organized and centralized  [[Melchizedek priesthood (Latter Day Saints)|Melchizedek Priesthood]]. This original organization, based upon Joseph Smith's  concept of [[theodemocracy]], instituted a governmental system combining biblical theocracy with mid-19th-century American political ideals.<ref>John G. Turner, ''Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet'' (2014)</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |url= https://webprod.uvu.edu/religiousstudies/docs/mormonamerican/mason_patrick_god_and_the_people_theodemocracy.pdf |doi=10.1093/jcs/csq135 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160304235204/https://webprod.uvu.edu/religiousstudies/docs/mormonamerican/mason_patrick_god_and_the_people_theodemocracy.pdf |archive-date= 2016-03-04|title= God and the People: Theodemocracy in Nineteenth-Century Mormonism |journal= Journal of Church and State |volume= 53 |issue= 3 |pages= 349–375 |year= 2011 |last1=Mason |first1=P. Q. |doi-access=free }}</ref>

In 1849 the Saints organized a secular government in Utah, although many ecclesiastical leaders maintained their positions of secular power. The Mormons also petitioned Congress to have Deseret admitted into the Union as a state. However, the [[Compromise of 1850]] established [[Utah Territory]], and U.S. President [[Millard Fillmore]] appointed Brigham Young as governor (in office 1851 to 1858)). In this situation, Young still stood as head of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) as well as of Utah's secular government.

After the abortive [[Utah War]] of 1857–1858, the replacement of Young by an outside Federal Territorial Governor, intense federal [[Anti-Mormonism|prosecution of LDS Church leaders]], the eventual resolution of controversies regarding [[plural marriage]], and accession by Utah to statehood, the apparent temporal aspects of LDS [[theodemocracy]] receded markedly.<ref>Luke Perry and Christopher Cronin, ''Mormons in American Politics: From Persecution to Power'' (ABC-CLIO, 2012)</ref>

=== Massachusetts Colony ===
From 1620 until the [[American Revolution]] (but with many lingering traces extending into the modern era), Massachusetts colonies operated as strict theocracies, in which every white resident was required to belong to the Congregational (Puritan) Church. The leaders of the communities generally believed that they were carrying out the will of God, and they were often ministers. No religious deviation was tolerated. Any members of other sects were (initially) dispatched to Rhode Island. Later other forms of religious discrimination were uniformly practiced with governmental approval. (Today's Massachusetts and Maine formed one single colony/state until 1820.)

=== Persia/Iran ===
During the [[Achaemenid Empire]] (550 to 330 BCE), [[Zoroastrianism]] functioned as the state religion, with  formalized worship. The Persian kings were known to be pious Zoroastrians and they ruled with a Zoroastrian form of law called ''[[asha]]''. [[Cyrus the Great]], who founded the empire, avoided imposing the Zoroastrian faith on the inhabitants of conquered territory. Cyrus's kindness towards Jews has been cited as sparking Zoroastrian influence on [[Judaism]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Zoroastrianism – JewishEncyclopedia.com |url= http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/15283-zoroastrianism |website= www.jewishencyclopedia.com |access-date= 2020-05-16 |archive-date=2020-05-17 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200517101303/http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/15283-zoroastrianism |url-status=live }}</ref>

Under the [[Seleucids]] (312 to 63 BCE), Zoroastrianism became autonomous. During the [[Sassanid]] period (224 to 651 CE), the [[Zoroastrian calendar]] was reformed, image-use in worship was banned, [[Fire Temples]] were increasingly built, and intolerance towards other faiths prevailed.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/zoroastrian/history/persia_1.shtml |title=Zoroastrianism under Persian rule |website=[[BBC]] |access-date=5 January 2012 |archive-date=25 November 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201125062439/http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/zoroastrian/history/persia_1.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Florence under Savonarola ===
The short rule (1494–1498) of [[Girolamo Savonarola]], a  [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] priest, over the city of [[Florence]] had features of a theocracy. During his rule, "unchristian" books, statues, poetry, and other items were burned (in the [[Bonfire of the Vanities]]), [[sodomy]] was made a capital offense, and other Christian practices became law.

===Quebec===
[[Quebec]] under the premiership of [[Maurice Duplessis]] (1936–1939 and 1944–1959) had attributes of a [[Roman Catholic]] theocracy. The church controlled education and healthcare, books and films were censored, drive-in movie theatres were illegal, religion had strong influence over civil law (for example, only churches could conduct marriages, and divorce was banned), and [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] were persecuted. This theocracy ended in 1960 with the beginning of the [[Quiet Revolution]] (1960–1966).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://lactualite.com/societe/cetait-le-temps-des-ayatollahs/ | title=C'était le temps des Ayatollahs | date=2 November 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1709001/cine-parc-cinema-histoire-quebec-archives | title=Sortir en famille au ciné-parc | date=5 June 2020 }}</ref>

=== Prince-Bishopric of Montenegro ===
The [[Prince-Bishopric of Montenegro]] existed as a [[Serbian Orthodox]] [[ecclesiastical principality]] from 1516 until 1852. The principality was located around modern-day [[Montenegro]]. It emerged from the [[Eparchy of Cetinje]], later known as the [[Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral]], whose bishops defied the [[Ottoman Empire]] overlordship and transformed the parish of Cetinje into a ''de facto'' theocracy, ruling it as Metropolitans (''Vladike'', also known as ''prince-bishops''). The first prince-bishop was  [[Vavila, Metropolitan of Zeta|Vavila]]. The system was transformed into a hereditary one by [[Danilo Šćepčević]], bishop of [[Cetinje]] from 1697 to 1735. He united the several [[tribes of Montenegro]] into fighting the Ottoman Empire that had occupied all of Montenegro (as the [[Sanjak of Montenegro]] and [[Montenegro Vilayet]]) and most of [[southeastern Europe]] at the time.

=== Polynesia ===
[[Pitirim Sorokin]] identified theocratic régimes in traditional [[Polynesia]].<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Sorokin
 |first1               = Pitirim
 |author-link1         = Pitirim Sorokin
 |date                 =  2017
 |orig-date            = 1957
 |chapter              = Fluctuation of the Theocratic and Secular Forms of Government and Leadership
 |title                = Social and Cultural Dynamics: A Study of Change in Major Systems of Art, Truth, Ethics, Law and Social Relationships
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=Km9QDwAAQBAJ
 |edition              = revised and abridged by the author
 |publication-place    = Abingdon
 |publisher            = Routledge
 |page                 = 477
 |isbn                 = 9781351490603
 |access-date          = 3 February 2024
 |quote                = Likewise theocratic is the regime and leadership of the Ideational tribes of Polynesia or Samoa. The ruling stratum, the aristocracy, and the chief there derive their power from 'holiness' (''Heiligkeit''); are regarded as incarnated deities; are ascribed all the supersensory halo of power; in brief, the regime and leadership have the essential traits of theocracy.
}}
</ref>

=== India ===
The state of [[Travancore]] adopted a form of theocracy in the 18th century under the King [[Marthanda Varma]] by donating the country to the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] deity [[Vishnu]], and thereafter rule as the vice-regent of the deity. It is known as [[Marthanda Varma#Thrippadidanam|Thrippadidanam]]. The holding of the ritual might be a tactics move by the king on the model of the strategies of countries in Europe.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://dutchinkerala.com/1750.php |access-date=2024-12-27 |website=dutchinkerala.com}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* '''General:'''
** [[Autocracy]]
** [[Clericalism]]
** [[Clerical fascism]]
** [[Collectivism (disambiguation)|Collectivism]]
** [[Divine law]]
** [[Divine command theory]]
** [[Fundamentalism]]
** [[Philosopher king]]
** [[Religious law]]
** [[Religion]]
** [[Rule according to higher law]]
** [[Nontheistic religion]]
* '''Christian:'''
** [[Christian fascism]]
** [[Christian fundamentalism]]
** [[Christian Identity]]
** [[Christian reconstructionism]]
** [[Christian right]]
** ''[[Cuius regio, eius religio]]''
** [[Divine Right of Kings]]
** [[Dominionism]]
** [[Integralism]]
** [[National Catholicism]]
** [[Religious socialism]]
** [[Temporal power (papal)]]
** [[Theonomy]]
* '''Islamic:'''
** [[Iranian Revolution]]
** [[Islamic banking]]
** [[Islamic fundamentalism]]
** [[Islamic republic]]
** [[Islamic state]]
** [[Islamism]]
** [[Islamofascism]]
** [[Khomeinism]]
** [[Political aspects of Islam]]
** [[Islamic religious police|Religious police]]
** [[Qutbism]]
** [[Salafi movement|Salafism]]
** [[Taliban]]
* '''Jewish:'''
** [[Jewish fundamentalism|Fundamentalist Judaism]]
** [[Kahanism]]
** [[Halachic state]]
** [[Kach|Kach Party (Israel)]]
* '''Others:'''
** [[Devaraja]]
** [[Divine right of kings]]
** [[Hindu law]]
** [[Khalistan]]
** [[State Shinto]] (Japan)
** [[State religion]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |last=Ankerl |first=Guy |title=Global communication without universal civilization |year=2000 |series=INU societal research, vol.&nbsp;1: Coexisting contemporary civilizations: Arabo-Muslim, Bharati, Chinese, and Western |publisher=INU Press |location=Geneva |isbn=978-2-88155-004-1}}
* Hirschl, Ran. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=kiST0_35pkUC&q=Maldives+theocracy Constitutional Theocracy]''. [[Harvard University Press]], 2010. {{ISBN|0-674-04819-9|978-0-674-04819-5}}.
* {{in lang|fr}} Baslez, Marie-Françoise and Schwentzel, Christian-Georges.''Les dieux et le pouvoir: aux origines de la théocratie''. [[Presses Universitaires de Rennes]], 2016. {{ISBN|978-2-7535-4864-0}}.

== External links ==
{{wikiquote}}
{{Wiktionary}}
* {{Commons category-inline|Theocracy}}
* [http://www.dominionismus.info/ Dominionism, sacralism and theocracy]&nbsp;– Rachel Tabachnik, Dr. John MacArthur, Dr. Martin Erdmann, Rudolf Ebertshäuser, Sarah Leslie, Discernment Ministries Inc. u.v.m, Eds (English + German)
* [http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2184/jewish/Is-Judaism-a-Theocracy.htm "Is Judaism a Theocracy?"]

{{Relpolnav}}
{{Political philosophy}}
{{Authoritarian types of rule}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Authoritarianism]]
[[Category:Theocracy| ]]
[[Category:Oligarchy]]
[[Category:Religion and government]]
[[Category:Right-wing politics]]
[[Category:Religious studies]]
[[Category:Religion and politics]]