The phrase constitutional theocracy describes a form of elected government in which one single religion is granted an authoritative central role in the legal and political system. In contrast to a pure

theocracy Theocracy is a form of autocracy or oligarchy in which one or more deity, deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries, with executive and legislative power, who manage the government's ...

, power resides in lay political figures operating within the bounds of a constitution, rather than in the religious leadership. The phrase was used in connection with the Iranian government of

Ayatollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...

in 1987 by Olivier Roy, and from the 1990s onward has been used in discussions of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, and occasionally of other governments. Professor Mahmood Mamdani has spoken of a "constitutional theocracy" in the context of "a state–wide clerical authority in Iran". Ran Hirschl of the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

law school has written more than one article discussing "constitutional theocracies": for example considering "modern states formally governed by principles of Islamic

Shari'a Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

laws". The concept of ''constitutional theocracy'' is also used by journalists writing about Iran, or about the process of developing a constitution in Iraq, and in general discussions of the relationship between religion and government. Following its link with Iran's ''

Islamic revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Im ...

'', the phrase has also been used to discuss, among other topics, early twentieth-century Turkish politics and contemporary

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

n politics. VA Tishkov, ''Life in a War-Torn Society'' (University of California 2004)

Hirschl's views

Professor Hirschl has expanded on the distinction between constitutional theocracies and ordinary democracies in his article
''Constitutional Courts vs. Religious Fundamentalism: Three Middle Eastern Tales.''
where he says: ''The original text of Article 2 of the 1971 Egyptian Constitution read: 'Islam is the religion of the State, Arabic is its official language, and the principles of Islamic Shari’a are a principal source of legislation.' On May 22, 1980, the text of Article 2 was changed to read, 'Islam is the religion of the State, Arabic is its official language, and the principles of Islamic Shari’a are the principal source of legislation.' The result of this amendment effectively transformed Egypt into a 'constitutional theocracy,' in which no legislation could contravene Islamic legal principles.'' Hirschl refers to the existence of official, government-established Shari’a courts in both Egypt and Iran as evidence that these are constitutional theocracies. Though his definition seems generally compatible with other views that a constitutional theocracy is a government using a single religion as its sole source of law, other writers do not mention Egypt as often as Iran in this context.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Constitutional Theocracy Theocracy