Theocracy
A theocracy is a government based on a certain religion or belief system. The root word "theos" means god. In a theocracy the number of leaders can vary but these spiritual leaders are seen as representatives of God. Typically, a theocracy either views its one god and/or its many spiritual representatives as the leadership. The power of the religious leader(s) comes from God and the rules that they create are based off of their religious beliefs and customs.
In a theocracy change in power happens when a new leader is chosen by God or his spiritual representatives on earth. This is called religious choice.
Today, there are no true theocracies. However, governments such as the Republic of Iran recognizes Islamic law, but Iran’s citizen vote to elect their leaders. The Vatican in Rome is also semi-theocratic. Modern day theocracies still base their laws and customs off of religion. However, there are often other political leaders in addition to the spiritual leaders and sometimes the people have the right to vote for their leaders.
Today, Iran's government is a mix of theocracy and democracy. While the people can vote for a president he shares power with the Ayatollah, or Supreme Leader, who makes decisions about the military, religion, the justice system and what people can hear on the news.
The Roman Catholic Church has their own government called The Vatican which is based our of the Vatican City in Rome, Italy. The Pope lives in the Vatican CIty and he is considered the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. Normally, a new Pope is chosen when the old one dies but Pope Francis got his power when Pope Benedict decided to resign due to old age. Pope Francis was chosen as the new Pope by a group of religious leaders called cardinals.
