theocracy

[thee-ok-ruh-see]

noun

plural

theocracies 

1. a form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler, the God's or deity's laws being interpreted by the ecclesiastical authorities.

2. a system of government by priests claiming a divine commission.

3. a commonwealth or state under such a form or system of government.

theocracy

/ θɪˈɒkrəsɪ /

noun

1. government by a deity or by a priesthood

2. a community or political unit under such government

theocracy

1. A nation or state in which the clergy exercise political power and in which religious law is dominant over civil law. Iran led by the Ayatollah Khomeini was a theocracy under the Islamic clergy. (See Islam.)

Other Word Forms

• theocratic adjective
• theocratical adjective
• theocrat noun
• theocratically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of theocracy¹

From the Greek word theokratía, dating back to 1615–25; theo-, -cracy

Example Sentences

Wilson, whose ministry operates hundreds of churches around the world, is an outspoken right-wing evangelical, espousing extremely conservative views of Christianity, including the view that the U.S. should be a theocracy.

From Salon

Republicans are getting increasingly aggressive about spreading Christian nationalist lies that the U.S. was founded as a functional theocracy, when it was intended to be a secular nation.

From Salon

The reality is that nationalism, not theocracy, remains what what the historian Ali Ansari calls the “determining ideology” of Iran.

From Los Angeles Times

Are they going to turn Alabama into a theocracy, like Iran, where women don't have rights?

From Salon

From early 2023, Israel was gripped by an unprecedented wave of protests among Jewish Israelis against Netanyahu's judicial reforms, with many arguing he was moving the country towards theocracy – a claim he always rejected.

From BBC

Related Words

• hierocracy