Civil authority orcivil government is the practical implementation of astate on behalf of its citizens, other than throughmilitary units (martial law), that enforceslaw and order and that is distinguished from religious authority (for example,canon law) andsecular authority. The enforcement of law and order is typically the role of thepolice in modern states.
Among the first modern experiments in civil government took place in 1636 whenRoger Williams, a Christian minister, founded the colony ofRhode Island and Providence Plantations. He sought to create a "wall of separation" between church and state to prevent corruption of the church and maintain civil order as expounded upon in his 1644 book,Bloudy Tenent of Persecution.[1][2]
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Thus four forms of authority may be seen:
It can also mean the moral power of command, supported (when need be) by physical coercion, which the State does not exercise over its members. In this view, because man can not live in isolation without being deprived of what makes him human, and because authority is necessary for a society to hold together, the authority has not only the power but the right to command. It is natural to man to live in society, to submit to authority, and to be governed by that custom of society which crystallizes into law, and the obedience that is required is paid to the powers that be, to the authority in possession. The extent of its authority is bound by the ends it has in view, and the extent to which it provides for the government of society.
In modern states enforcement of law and order is typically the role of thepolice although the line between military and civil units may be hard to distinguish; especially whenmilitias and volunteers, such asyeomanry, act in pursuance of non-military, domestic objectives.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Civil Authority".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.