Theocratic, clerical state: description, classification and features

The meaning of the word "theocracy" from the Greek can be translated roughly as "goddess". This form of government is rightly considered one of the oldest in the written history of mankind. However, the latest archaeological excavations allow us to assert that it was established even before mankind acquired a wheel, alphabet and the concept of number. In the south-east of Turkey, ancient archaeological complexes of pre-literate cultures were discovered, which, however, already had a religious cult and a community of priests who served it.

Such settlements are scattered throughout Eastern Anatolia. The largest of them are Chatal-Hyuk and Gebekli-Tepe. The oldest of them is more than 12000 years old. Probably, it was the very first theocratic clerical state in which religion permeated all spheres of human daily life.

Modern clerical states

Since this form is the oldest of the existing ones, there are many examples of states organized according to the theocratic principle in the history of mankind.

However, to begin with it is necessary to be defined with terms. First of all, it is necessary to separate the clerical power from the theocratic power. It is believed that secular clerical states are those in which parallel to state secular structures or over them mechanisms are created, through which religious organizations have the opportunity to influence politics, economics and law. An example of such a state on the modern political map of the world is the Islamic Republic of Iran, a clerical state that emerged as a result of the 1978 Islamic revolution.

Today, many Islamic countries include clerical states. A modern clerical state, examples of which can be found in the Middle East, most often inevitably bears the imprint of tyranny. To such regimes it is customary to include the following countries:

• United Arab Emirates;
• Kuwait;
• Qatar;
• Jordan Kingdom.

Islamic republics on the world map

Four modern states have in their official name the word "Islamic". Despite the fact that some of them, for example Pakistan, contain in their constitution points on secularism, in fact, they are controlled by religious groups with varying degrees of influence.

Here are the clerical states, the list of which includes four countries:

• Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
• Islamic Republic of Iran.
• Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
• Islamic Republic of Mauritania.

In fact, the only fundamental point that unites all these countries is their legal system, based on the Sharia - a set of prescriptions that form beliefs and control the behavior of Muslims.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards

Of all the existing Islamic republics, it was in Iran that the most consistent Islamization of all spheres of life of the state and society was carried out, and total control over compliance with the norms of the Sharia by all citizens was established.

In order to strengthen the authority of religious leaders and to promote the spread of Islamic ideas outside the country and within the Islamic Republic itself, a special paramilitary organization was created, named the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps.

Since Islam in the country is ubiquitous, the influence of this organization has expanded enormously. Over time, high-ranking officers from the Guardian Corps began to control the country's largest enterprises along with representatives of the Islamic clergy.

At the same time, Iran is a classical clerical state, because apart from religious courts, there is also a formally secular government and a president elected by the people. However, the head of state is still considered to be the ayatollah - a spiritual leader and an expert in religious law, vested with authority to make decisions in accordance with Islamic law. Experts have an opinion that recently between two leaders of the state conflicts began to occur more often, which they try not to make public.

Discrimination in Pakistani

As stated above, Pakistan is formally a secular state, despite being called an Islamic republic. The country is ruled by a leader who does not have a religious education, and most often he is a military man.

This, however, does not prevent discrimination against other religious communities living in the country. At the legal level, there is a ban on the election of a non-Muslim president.

All executive power in Pakistan is in the hands of the government and the president, but the judiciary and legislative de facto are severely limited by the Federal Shariah Court , an institution that oversees the state's compliance with sharia law. Thus, any law passed by the parliament can be subjected to the examination of an Islamic court and rejected if there are contradictions in Islamic law.

Unlike Iran, total Islamization was not carried out in Pakistan, and young people, despite a considerable number of religious survivals, have access to Western culture.

A sad consequence of the attempt to establish universal domination of religious norms in the eighties was the extremely low percentage of people who received secondary education. This is especially noticeable among the female part of the population, which has traditionally been subjected to serious discrimination.

Vatican: Theocratic clerical state

Perhaps the most striking example of a state in which both secular and spiritual power belong to one person is the Holy See. Because of its uniqueness, it deserves a separate consideration.

It is common knowledge that the pope is the leader of the entire Roman Catholic Church. In addition, he heads the city-state of the Vatican, which on his behalf is governed by an appointed governor, always selected from among the cardinals who sit in the Roman Curia.

The Pope is a monarch, whom the members of the conclave choose for life. However, there are cases when he ceased his powers voluntarily - so in 2013 Benedict XVl entered, becoming the second for six hundred years the pope who voluntarily renounced power.

According to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, the pope during his reign is infallible, and all decisions taken by him are true and binding. This, however, does not exclude the existence of intracarchical intrigues and does not belittle the role of the government, called the Roman Curia.

Saudi Arabia: Theocracy or Dictatorship

The most difficult in determining the type of government for lawyers is the example of Saudi Arabia. As in other states with an Islamic majority, Sharia operates in Arabia, which limits the power of the king, which in fact empowers the monarch with power based on divine ordinances.

The difficulty, however, is that the king is not a religious leader, although he necessarily belongs to the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad. This encourages researchers to believe that Saudi Arabia is a clerical state in which religious norms are placed at the service of the ruling dynasty.

Premature rejection of the idea of a theocracy

Many researchers hastened to state that the world has become secular, that human rights and a democratic form of government are universal and inevitable, and progress will move forward, and nothing can prevent it. However, the ever-increasing radicalization among some sections of the population shows that such hopes turned out to be premature. In the modern world, the secular, clerical, theocratic state is equally in demand by both citizens and political elites.