Theocracy
form of government with religious leaders
Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities giving divine guidance to human intermediaries with executive, legislative or judicial power who manage the government's daily affairs.
Etymology
The word theocracy originates from the Ancient Greek: θεοκρατία (theocratia) meaning "the rule of God". This, in turn, derives from θεός (theos), meaning "god", and 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 Jews. 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.
Josephus' definition was widely accepted until the Enlightenment era, when the term took on negative connotations and was barely salvaged by Hegel's commentary. The first recorded English use was in 1622, with the meaning "sacerdotal government under divine inspiration" (as in ancient Israel and Judah); the meaning "priestly or religious body wielding political and civil power" was first recorded in 1825.
The public source identifies “Theocracy” as form of government with religious leaders. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Theocracy, form and government.
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The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q44405. The Library of Congress control number is sh85134643. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1622 and 1825.
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This entry incorporates text from “Theocracy” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.