Rise of the Religious Right in the Republican Party

Rise of the Religious Right in the Republican Party: "'This Republican Party of Lincoln has become a party of theocracy.' U.S. Representative Christopher Shays, R-CT, (New York Times, March 23, 2005)

Theocracy is derived from the two Greek words Qeo/j(Theos) meaning 'God' and kra/tein (cratein) meaning 'to rule.' Theocracy is the civil rule of God, or the belief in government by divine guidance.

The powerful Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, Tom DeLay (R-TX) embodies government by divine guidance:
He [God] is using me, all the time, everywhere, to stand up for a biblical worldview in everything that I do and everywhere I am. He is training me.

Tom DeLay represents an ultraconservative religious movement seeking to impose a narrow theological agenda on secular society. Chip Berlet and Margaret Quigley, senior analysts at Political Research Associates, have named this movement the theocratic right:

The predominantly Christian leadership envisions a religiously-based authoritarian society; therefore we prefer to describe this movement as the 'theocratic right.' "