Also, I find that theocracy engenders a mindset in the players who have characters there. (This happens, more or less, in all government styles, too.) The people who play there go along with the idea of the realm dedicated to the church. It is, after all, a theocracy. So, no, there is nothing game-mechanics wise that forces the realms to fall in line with the church. It's the players who play in that realm that willingly go along with the whole concept that make it work.
^This
The mindset of the Farronite Republic, or at least the mindset that Khari appears to portray, is most definitely republican over theocratic, valuing he sovereignty and rights of their lords over religious principles. This can be seen in the fact that they refused to pass even the most basic of religious laws without a vote and that they explicitly reserve the right to remove those laws at any time they desire. Even in the recent controversies, when they essentially buckled to ecclesiastical pressure, Khari made a point to inform the Elders that these were not acts of submission or piety but rather the free decisions of a realm that had no obligation to comply but rather only choose to do so out if convenience.
Now of course, as the player of a character who has frequently criticized the theocracies for perceived "impiety", I recognize that a theocracy can still cause trouble. But it cannot be denied that in the majority of theocracies to date there has been an implicit recognition, enshrined in game-mechanics that can be changed only with rebellion, of the vital role that SA plays in their realms. However
I do not see this in the Farronite Republic, the closest being a set of laws that they have explicitly stated exist only at the pleasure of their lords.
