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Reverted edits by StinkyCheese9 (Talk); changed back to last version by SharonS
'''Theocracy''' is a form of government ruled by divine means or by leaders considered to be divinely guided. [[Israel]] was a theocracy before King Saul. The Islamic Republic of [[Iran]] is a modern-day theocracy, as many commentators believe that the real power in its government lies not in democratically-elected leaders like [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]] but in clerics within the government since Iranian law requires Presidential 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
- 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>. The [[Vatican]] is a formal Christian theocracy, with the [[Pope]] as head of both church and state.
Only two democracies reserve places in their legislature 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.
Theocracy may also describe any government which seeks to impose religious principles or law, such as the [[Sharia]], or the Hindu laws of [[Manu Smriti]] <ref>The laws of Manu <i>George Buhler, translated by</i> [http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/manu.htm]</ref> on its population, even if the government is formally [[secular]].
One well known example of such a state is Saudi Arabia who's legal system is based on the Sharia law, Saudi Arabia also has a [[religious police]] <ref>Saudi Arabia - The Legal System <i>U.S. Library Of Congress</i> [http://countrystudies.us/saudi-arabia/51.htm]</ref>
In Israel, civil cases under the [[Halakhah]] (traditional Jewish law based on the [[Torah]]) are allowed.
[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Forms of Government]]
==References==
<references/>