Religious democracy
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Religious democracy[1] means that the values of religion play a role in the public arena in a society populated by religious people. Religious democracy is an example of how democratic values can exist in a different cultural elaboration than what is usually known before.[2]
Democracy is one of the propositions that has always been afflicted with confusion and misunderstanding. Hence, many religious people are afraid of approaching it. We do not have one democracy but many democracies from ancient Greece to today, hence plurality of democracies in the international community. What emerged was that a democracy prevailed in different eras depending on the conditions of the time. What alters the hue and color of democracy is a society's specific characteristics and elements.
Democracy where coincides with certain things, it can be secular or religious.[3] But what occurs is coincidence, and not unity. Relativistic liberalism and democracy are not identical. According to some, democracy is not violated when a faith is embraced; it is violated when a particular belief is imposed or disbelief is punished.
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[edit] Criticism
Two major idea against the religious democracy could be recognized.[4][5]
- From the Secularism point of view, the ideals of a democratic society and a secular state are in unified. Therefore the firm separation of religion and state is insisted such that without this separation there can be no freedom from tyranny. Absolute sovereignty of the people dominates in this idea. Religion should be put aside from the scene of life in order to establish democracy and freedom.
- From the Legalism point of view, democracy can never enjoy a general acceptance in a religious society. Anything outside of the rigid, but pervasive, interpretation of the religious texts is rejected and the absolute sovereignty of God prevails such that there is no role for the sovereignty of people. The less freedom a society enjoys, the stronger religion will be.
[edit] Examples
Historical democracies with state sponsored religious laws:
- Athenian democracy (Ancient Greek religion)
- Roman Republic (Ancient Roman religion)
- Buddhist ganarajyas
- Icelandic Commonwealth (Norse paganism, after AD 1000 Christianity)
- Old Swiss Confederacy (Christianity)
Contemporary democracies with state religions:
[edit] See also
- Basic Laws of Israel
- Christian democracy
- Clash of Civilizations
- Dialogue Among Civilizations
- Institute on Religion and Democracy
- Islamic democracy
