Understanding Theologiocracy

Understanding Theologiocracy is a collection of nine essays plus an introductory chapter. The essays are independent studies on different conceptual issues involved in the ways of understanding religious and spiritual practices in general. The term theologiocracy has been coined by the author to characterise the working of religion and spirituality in the modern,secularised world. Theologiocracy, thus, signifies a rule of theology as something different from the rule of theo, i.e., theocracy.

Unlike the case of theocracy (where political rule is controlled directly by particular religion), in the secular socio-political scenario, religiosity/spirituality takes a formal backseat for an indirect control of the secular world through the promotion of theological interests.


It tries to argue that theologiocractic ways are found even in the case of secularism, as it is operating in the modern liberal democracy. Theologiocracy is a situation where different theologies are seen operating simultaneously for controlling the socio-political power in favour of different theological (religious) communities. In a typical theocracy, there will be a single religion to control political power, whereas in a secular democracy, many religious and related forces/interests take control of power directly and indirectly. It is to characterise such an indirect or disguised operation of different theological and religious-community interests that the term theologiocracy has been framed.

Secularism, seen as a disguised theocracy (crypto-theocracy) , has been proved to be logically inconceivable and historically unavailable. A race for supremacy or superiority of theological ideals and promises seems to be the basic level from which every theologiocratic religion operates. Since the urge for power and supremacy is so peculiar to every theologiocratic religiosity, no domain of human imagination is free from the imprints of theologiocracy, especially the domain of so-called secular socio-political processes.


A theoretical analysis of the political nature of religious and spiritual practices is a running theme for the different essays of this book.