Encyclopedia of Opinion

Question: Is theocracy good?
Position‹2 of 3›: No, there many problems with theocracies
Argument1 of 3›: Theocracies are dictatorships

In a theocracy, rules are dictators and the ruling elite cannot be challenged because it is God’s word.

The argument

If the government are supposedly only acting on God’s behalf, then anything they do wrong has to be God’s fault and not their own fault. This can be particularly dangerous as it can turn theocracies into dictatorships or tyrannies. It is therefore difficult or impossible to hold the government to account. Depending on the philosophy which declares why leaders are in power, these policies can be structured in a way that indicates God is the one declaring that a society follow new rules instead of the people who came up with the idea in the first place.

Premises

[P1]In a theocracy, rulers claim to act on God's behalf, so their decisions are attributed to divine will rather than their own judgment. [P2] When authority is framed as divine, citizens cannot meaningfully challenge or hold leaders accountable for wrongdoing. [P3] Unaccountable rule that insulates leaders from criticism is the defining feature of dictatorship or tyranny. [C] Therefore, theocracies tend to become dictatorships, which is a serious problem with them.

Counter-arguments

A lack of information is common in countries that have a strong religious background, not just theocracies. For instance, the silence of the Catholic church when priests were abusing children or the calls to terrorism (or to fund terrorist activities) that are done in the name of God.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] This is not unique to theocracies.