Theocracy

Etymology

From Greek theos, “god,” and kratos, “power, rule” — literally “rule by God.” The historian Josephus coined the Greek term in the first century to describe the ancient Israelite polity, contrasting it with monarchy and democracy. In modern use it names states where religious law and clerical authority govern, whether directly or through officials acting in a deity’s name.

noun · /thee-OK-ruh-see/
A system of government in which religious authority is the ultimate source of political power and law.
What it names
The arrangement to watch for when sacred rules and state law are one and the same, and clergy or scripture hold final political say.
Example
Reporters debated whether the new constitution created an outright theocracy or merely gave religious courts unusual reach.
Related idea
Secularism is theocracy’s structural opposite, insisting that governance be justified without appeal to religious authority.