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| | * The several hundred year old [[Buddhist]] theocracy, established in [[Tibet]] with the assumption of power by the Dalai Lamas in 1642, inaugurating the era of "harmonious blend of religion and politics", and headed by the current [[Dalai Lama]], before [[atheist]] [[Communist China]] invaded in 1950 in order to "liberate" it from religion. | | * The several hundred year old [[Buddhist]] theocracy, established in [[Tibet]] with the assumption of power by the Dalai Lamas in 1642, inaugurating the era of "harmonious blend of religion and politics", and headed by the current [[Dalai Lama]], before [[atheist]] [[Communist China]] invaded in 1950 in order to "liberate" it from religion. |
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| − | * [[Salt Lake City]] (1847) and [[Utah]] under the prophets and Council of Elders of the [[Mormonism|Latter-day Saints]] in the 19th century in the United States. | + | * [[Salt Lake City]] (1847) and [[Utah]] under the prophets and Council of Elders of the [[Mormonism|Latter-day Saints]] in the 19th century in the United States. |
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| | + | * The [[Vatican]] of the [[Roman Catholic Church]] is a formal [[Christian]] theocracy, with the [[Pope]] as head of both church and state. By technicality, [[Vatican City]] established by the Treaty of the Lateran in 1929 is a theocracy, as it is ruled by the Pope, placed by a divine election. |
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| | * The [[Islamic Republic]] of [[Iran]] since December 1979 is a modern-day theocracy, as many commentators believe that the real power in its government lies not in allegedly "democratically-elected" leaders like [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]] but in [[cleric]]s within the government since Iranian law requires [[President]]ial candidates to be approved by the [[Guardian Council]] <ref> | | * The [[Islamic Republic]] of [[Iran]] since December 1979 is a modern-day theocracy, as many commentators believe that the real power in its government lies not in allegedly "democratically-elected" leaders like [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]] but in [[cleric]]s within the government since Iranian law requires [[President]]ial candidates to be approved by the [[Guardian Council]] <ref> |
| | Access Denied: Iran’s Exclusionary Elections <i>Human Rights Watch</i> [http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/mena/iran0605/]</ref> and some Iranian laws on [[homosexuality]] and [[adultery]] come from the [[Sharia]] <ref>[[Netherlands]], [[Sweden]]: Bar Deportations to [[Torture]] in Iran | | Access Denied: Iran’s Exclusionary Elections <i>Human Rights Watch</i> [http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/mena/iran0605/]</ref> and some Iranian laws on [[homosexuality]] and [[adultery]] come from the [[Sharia]] <ref>[[Netherlands]], [[Sweden]]: Bar Deportations to [[Torture]] in Iran |
| − | - Officials Must Not Return Gay and Lesbian [[Asylum]] Seekers to Iran <i>Human Rights Watch </i>[http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/10/06/sweden14361.htm]</ref>. | + | - Officials Must Not Return Gay and Lesbian [[Asylum]] Seekers to Iran <i>Human Rights Watch </i>[http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/10/06/sweden14361.htm]</ref>. |
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| − | * The [[Vatican]] of the [[Roman Catholic Church]] is a formal [[Christian]] theocracy, with the [[Pope]] as head of both church and state. By technicality, [[Vatican City]] is a theocracy, as it is ruled by the Pope, placed by a divine election.
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| | * Only two [[Democracy|democracies]] (or more precisely [[Republic (Politics)|republics]]) reserve places in their legislatures specifically for representatives of the state religion, these are the aforementioned Islamic Republic of Iran and the [[United Kingdom]] where Bishops of the [[Church of England]] sit in the upper chamber, the [[House of Lords]] under the designation of Lords Spiritual, the [[Monarchy|monarch of England]] being also the supreme head of the Church of England. | | * Only two [[Democracy|democracies]] (or more precisely [[Republic (Politics)|republics]]) reserve places in their legislatures specifically for representatives of the state religion, these are the aforementioned Islamic Republic of Iran and the [[United Kingdom]] where Bishops of the [[Church of England]] sit in the upper chamber, the [[House of Lords]] under the designation of Lords Spiritual, the [[Monarchy|monarch of England]] being also the supreme head of the Church of England. |