theocracy

Definition

Government under the control of a state religion.

Etymology

From theo- + -cracy, originally from Ancient Greek θεοκρατία (theokratía, “rule of (a) God”), a term coined in the 1st century by Josephus (Against Apion 2.17) in reference to the ancient Israelite polity under the Mosaic covenant. Attested in English from the 1620s, first by John Donne in A Sermon upon the fifth of November 1622. being the Anniversary celebration of our Deliverance from the Powder Treason: "The Jews were onely under a Theocratie, an immediate government of God..."

Example Sentences

• "Near-synonym: clericocracy"
• "Tibet was a Buddhist theocracy ruled by the Dalai Lama prior to Chinese annexation."
• "The Vatican City State is a sovereign city-state and a Christian theocracy ruled by the Pope."

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