Issue 146 What is a Theocracy? August 20, 2013

 
Well a theocracy is a government that is "blessed" by God. Its rules and conduct are shaped by the religion in which it emerges from. So countries like Iran have Islam (their version) acting as the basis for their right to rule and how the people should act. By what are the qualities of a theocracy?

First Quality: It must have a religion. Without a religion it would not be a theocracy. For within the faith are the rules upon which people are to act. So the religious rules of the faith are then enforced by the government. So if the faith says a persons hand must be chopped off for stealing, then it is chopped off. If you convert to a different faith, but the rules in the theocracy say you can't then you will suffer the penalty. Basically all religious law becomes legal law.

Second Quality: For situations in which the faith says nothing, such as a circumstance not mentioned in the holy books, religious leaders or the head of the religious faith are turned to. So let us say the faith says nothing on how to deal with the punishment of a group of religious adherents who differ slightly from the faith in terms of worship. The religious leaders will then have to decide based on the already established rules if such conduct is allowed, followed by an appropriate punishment. Although, the conduct may itself be ignored.

Final Quality: Typically, a theocracy is a type of dictatorship. The faith and its rulers control people’s lives with an iron fist. Toleration of certain behavior is approved only in the interest of maintaining stability as they slowly remove elements they do not approve of. Basically, those who control the faith control the populace and thus use faith to bend them to their will.

Who rules: There is two methods of government upon which theocracy's are run. They can be run like Iran's government. In Iran they have a religious council that maintains the integrity of the faith and advises how the government should act. The government portion is a false democracy with elected leaders manipulated into power through the religious councils influence. However the government portion will seek greater power.  As such, the government and the religious institution will fight for power and control.

However, the alternative is that the head of State: the president, king, or equivalent is the head of the faith. A good example is the old kings and queens of England who were head of the Protestant Church. Usually, this gave legitimacy to the government as being run by a person directly endorsed by God. Also, these rulers typically could do whatever they wanted in the name of God with all those who disagreed forced to comply or face harsh consequences.

Conclusion: A theocracy is by far not a perfect government. In fact, the morality of faith is ignored by those in charge. The faith is not at fault for the conduct of the rulers, but the perversion of the faith is caused by those rulers. In the United States, the Federal government is not allowed to establish a religion or make rules/ perform actions favorable to one faith or another. This is enshrined in the 1st Amendment in the U.S. Constitution. Our founding fathers saw how faith was used as a tool of tyranny over in Europe and decided enough was enough. They would not allow the Judeo-Christian values be tainted by the corruption of government power. As such, no theocracy is safe from corruption and self destruction, in the same way no government is safe from collapsing under its own weight.