International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2nd edition, volume 8

CLAIM CONNECTIONS / 5

Where this source is used

• Zakai traces theocracy from a claim of divine rule to several arrangements in which religious authority is connected to government; the term does not identify one timeless institutional form.

  • supports · pp. 342–343, historical meanings and modern forms

• A narrow hierocratic or ecclesiocratic use requires rule by a priestly body, while broader uses of theocracy also include divine-law authority or offices that combine religious and state jurisdiction.

  • supports · pp. 342–343, divine rule and priestly rule

• Voting, lobbying, moral advocacy, or public religious language can influence government without assigning state authority to a religious office or religious-law reviewer.

  • qualifies · p. 343, institutional forms

• Calling opponents theocratic does not establish their formal offices, legal review powers, rules-in-use, or coercive capacities.

  • context · p. 342, conceptual history

• A monarch's sacred status or claim of divine legitimation does not show whether religious officeholders or religious-law institutions govern.

  • qualifies · pp. 342–343, divine rule and human institutions