THEOCON

theocon: translation

(THEE.oh.kawn; TH as is thin)

n.

A conservative who believes that religion should play a major role in forming and implementing public policy. Also:theo-con.

Libertarians distrust Bush's tough law enforcement measures; neocons have split with the White House over foreign policy; cultural pessimists underestimated America's spirit;theoconsstill embrace public religion, a concept instantly outdated by Sept. 11.

— Jeremy Derfner, Bryan Curtis, Joshua Foer, "Cracks in the GOP,"Slate Magazine, December 3, 2001

The neoconservatives believe that America is special because it was founded on an idea — a commitment to the rights of man embodied in the Declaration of Independence — not in ethnic or religious affiliations.Thetheocons, too, argue that America is rooted in an idea, but they believe that idea is Christianity.

— Jacob Heilbrun, "Neocon v.Theocon,"The New Republic, December 12, 1996

This word combinestheologicalandconservativeto form a nice play onneocon, a word that entered the language surprisingly recently (1979, althoughneoconservativedates to 1964). Newsweek usedtheoconas a list heading back in 1989, but the first "real" citation is from 1996.

crunchy con

neo-creo

Obamacon

RINO

TINO

Religion

People

Politics