thearchy

9.9

A government where gods, not humans, rule people

noun
/θiˈɑrki/

Specialized

: tearquía

Legends often describe a thearchy where gods make laws for mortals to follow.

Examples

A thearchy governs through divine will.
Many ancient cultures practiced thearchy, where their gods were seen as the ultimate authority.
In some ancient cultures, a thearchy was believed to govern the world from the heavens.
The philosopher wrote about the possibility of a thearchy instead of human rulers.
In a thearchy, laws come from gods.
In a thearchy, the laws are believed to be divinely inspired and governed by a deity.
Historically, the monarchy was often viewed as a thearchy, with rulers claiming divine right to govern.

Synonyms

theocracy

vsthearchy

24 7.7

Religious leaders run a country and say they rule by God's will

considers gods themselves the supreme rulers rather than human leaders

theonomy

vsthearchy

Specialized

9.9

A belief that government should follow laws from the Bible instead of laws made by people

places divine beings as the direct supreme authority instead of human lawmakers

ecclesiarchy

vsthearchy

Specialized

9.9

A system where church leaders control the government

sees gods as the ruling authority rather than church leaders or institutions

hierocracy

vsthearchy

9.9

A government run by religious leaders like priests

views deities themselves as sovereign rulers instead of human clerical governance

Antonyms

secularism

16 6.8

The idea that religion should not be part of government, schools, or public life

How Theocratic

thearchy

Specialized

9.9

theocratic

9 8.4

church-state

1 8.3

secular

143 4.7

Surface Forms

thearchy singular

thearchies plural

Morphology

thearchy = the + archy

Meaning follows directly from the combining element the- (god) plus the productive suffix -archy (rule), so learners familiar with these elements can infer 'rule by gods' or divine rule.

Etymology

The word thearchy comes from Greek parts theo- 'god', as in theology, and -archy 'rule', as in monarchy. So, a thearchy is a system where gods are the rulers and have the highest power.