Tuesday, February 22, 2011

What is the meaning or definition of Theocracy, and what are some examples of theocracies?

The term originally comes from two Greek words, "theos," meaning God, and "kratein," meaning to rule. Putting two and two together, we get "rule of (or by) God." Theocracies are typically prone to focusing their governmental authority upon or around concepts of religion.

Many ancient peoples believed that their god or gods had handed down laws for their government; in fact, the famous Code of Hammurabi was supposed to have been revealed in this way. And while there were twelve tribes of Judah, reference books and resources still point to the Israelites as an example because God gave them their law through Moses. 

Another example would be the Puritan government of Massachusetts, as it was conducted for many years on the principle of obedience to divine law, as interpreted by the clergy of that day. Today's theocracies remain a little harder to spot, as the international community at large tends to shun associations with an almighty spiritual power; perhaps the closest we can come to identifying a "true" theocracy today would be to examine certain middle eastern countries, where much of their governmental procedure is underlaid by tenets of the Qu'ran. Having said that, however, one only needs to examine a dollar bill to find references in our own country to God: "In God We Trust" and similar messages remain on our country's currency, despite the fact that we are technically a democratic republic.  

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