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Originally Posted by Bethberry
It is intriguing to see the term 'theocracy' brought out here, as at least in the US there is a very strong tradition of separation of church and state. This is a very different idea from that in England, where the monarch is 'defender of the faith', meaning Church of England Anglican. (I think I read somewhere that HRH the Next In Line wants that changed to 'defender of faith' to make it somewhat more inclusive.) Now, LotR does not include direct mention of religion nor of Eru. So how does Aragorn become a divine right king--if he does.
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That's interesting as I'd say Middle-earth is anything but a theocracy. Aragorn does have something which seems to be a 'divine right', but how can we call it that if there is no religion? I think he has something which is more of a 'blood right' to be King.
I wouldn't go so far as to call the UK a theocracy! That's a term I'd associate more with Iran, and as I've heard before, possibly with the Republic and the authority of the Jedi in Star Wars!
I saw an interesting item on TV this morning looking at religion in US and in UK politics. In the UK we have not had a vocally 'Christian' leader since Gladstone whereas in the US such leaders are the 'norm' at the moment. Politicians tend to play down their religious beliefs over here, possibly as it is more secular a society than anything else.
With Tolkien being a Catholic, he would have known that in terms of being one of the 'establishment', he would still have been something of an outsider; when he went to Oxford it was not all that long after the requirement that students be CofE was abolished - 1871. I wonder how he felt about the link between church and state, and if he experienced any sense of being an 'outsider'? I cannot imagine that he would have approved of a theocracy?