Many countries are quasi-theocracies but claim not to be

Question: Is theocracy good?
Position‹3 of 3: Theocracies can be implemented in different ways
Argument1 of 5›: Many countries are quasi-theocracies but claim not to be

There are theocracies around the world, but many do not acknowledge that they are theocracies.

The argument

Of the relatively few that exist today, Islamic theocracies often receive the most attention in Western culture. These include Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Afghanistan and Iran. Iran has been described as a "theocratic republic," and its constitution has been described as a "hybrid" of theocratic and democratic elements. However, other theocracies also exist. Vatican City is ruled by the Pope (who Catholics believe is a direct descendant of Saint Peter) and Mount Athos in Greece is under the direct jurisdiction the Eastern Orthodox church. The state of Israel is a theocracy and they believe they are the chosen nation of the Living God. The Puritans who colonised the USA had a theocracy for many years with religion playing a central part in their lives. Despite this, the US prides itself on its enshrinement of the separation of church and state. The First Amendment of the US Constitution, ratified in 1791, prevents the implementation of religiously motivated legislation and protects freedom of religion. However, there is abundant evidence to suggest the presence of an American theocracy that violates the First Amendment of the US constitution and fails to separate church and state. Western society is judgemental against Middle Eastern theocracies, but Iran, for example, has not demonstrated any great deal of arbitrary rule, persecution, or tendencies to declare war or threats of massacres against other countries. This sits in stark contrast to many Western governments. On women’s rights, the US still ranks 75th out of 193 countries on women's representation in government, with no female president in contrast to Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey, Senegal, Indonesia, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, and Mali who have all had female heads of state.

Premises

[P1]Theocracies take many forms, ranging from Islamic republics like Iran to Christian states like Vatican City and Jewish ones like Israel. [P2] Some nominally secular states, such as the US, exhibit theocratic features in practice despite constitutional separation of church and state. [P3] The behavior of self-declared theocracies like Iran is not uniformly worse than that of secular Western states, as shown by comparisons on issues such as women's political representation. [C] Therefore, theocracies can be implemented in many different ways, and the distinction between theocratic and secular states is less clear-cut than commonly assumed.

Counter-arguments

Critics reply that the argument stretches "theocracy" so far that it loses meaning. Israel and the United States are constitutional democracies with elected governments and legal protections for religious minorities, not states governed by clerical authority; calling them theocracies conflates a religious cultural influence or heritage with rule by religious law, which is a different thing. The comparison also selectively defends Iran while eliding well-documented restrictions on dissent and women's rights there. On this view, that some secular states show religious influence does not show they are theocracies, so the claim that the theocratic/secular line is illusory rests on an over-broad definition.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Classifying Israel and the US as theocracies over-extends the term; they are constitutional democracies with elected governments and minority protections, not clerical rule. [Rejecting P2] Religious cultural influence in a secular state is not the same as governance by religious law, so evidence of the former does not make a state a theocracy. [Rejecting P3] The favourable comparison of Iran omits documented restrictions on dissent and women's rights, so it does not show self-declared theocracies behave no worse than secular states.

The argument

Premises

Counter-arguments

Rejecting the premises

Further reading