That would mean the USA are a theocracy too, given most senators are Christian. That doesn’t make too much sense.

Theocracy is a form of government in which religious leaders rule in the name of a deity, and religious law is the basis for all legal and political decisions.

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tsimionescu 10 hours ago | parent | next [-]

The USA is not a theocracy, though. The majority-Christian senators are not generally enacting theocratic laws and regulations (though there are some tendencies and influences, as seen with the recent repeal of Roe v Wade, for example).

However, Israel does have highly theocratic tendencies. Their constitution places Jewish identity on the same level as their democratic statute. They have even more religious influence on public life than the USA does (which is already somewhat high by European standards), with businesses in many cities being boycotted into respecting the Sabbath and other religious holidays (not selling risen bread during Passover, making elevators stop automatically on every floor during days of rest, observing kosher restrictions on food etc). Many of their foreign policy decisions are explicitly influenced by religious tenets, such as believing they were gifted the "land of Israel" by their god (which includes modern day Israel, the Occupied Territories, and several parts of modern day Syria, Lebanon, and others).

They're nowhere near the level of religous rule and/or fanaticism as Saudi Arabia, but they have much more religious influence and control of public life then a modern European/US-style democracy.

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9dev 7 hours ago | parent [-]

> The USA is not a theocracy, though.

Hence I brought it up, yes.

> Their constitution places Jewish identity on the same level as their democratic statute.

Many reputable democracies[1], including Germany, Australia, Norway or Switzerland, have a reference to god in their constitution; that doesn't make them theocracies. Even in the USA, presidents swear their oath on the bible!

> businesses in many cities being boycotted into respecting the Sabbath and other religious holidays

Try purchasing something on a Christian holiday in Germany. Did you know it's prohibited by law to play Life of Brian in public on Easter Sunday there?

> such as believing they were gifted the "land of Israel" by their god

That in turn isn't government directive, but a political opinion amongst several. Now I'm very much in opposition to a lot of what the Israeli government does, but they're really not what the term Theocracy means. That claim is just ridiculous.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_references_to_G...

	▲	tsimionescu 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		> Many reputable democracies[1], including Germany, Australia, Norway or Switzerland, have a reference to god in their constitution None of these say that their states are Christian and Democratic, nor do they have government decisions finding that this means anything at all. In Israel, by contrast, their highest court has found that, for example, a right to return for Palestinians would be unconstitutional - as it would undermine the Jewish character of the state of Israel. A reference to some god in their constitution would be a completely different thing. > That in turn isn't government directive, but a political opinion amongst several. This is an extreme downplaying of what I said. Several of the people in charge of the Israeli government have explicitly and exclusively, religious motivations in their decision making - that is a very clear sign of a form of theocracy.

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10 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

[deleted]

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otikik 10 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

You… don’t see it?

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10 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

[deleted]

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rf15 11 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

m8 they literally swear on the bible