Religious democracy
Encyclopedia
Religious democracy is a form of government where the values of a particular religion have an effect on the laws and rules, often when most of the population is a member of the religion. Religious democracy is an example of how democratic values can exist in a different cultural elaboration than what is usually known before.
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. 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.
Contemporary democracies with state religion
s:
Democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
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. But what occurs is coincidence
Coincidence
A coincidence is an event notable for its occurring in conjunction with other conditions, e.g. another event. As such, a coincidence occurs when something uncanny, accidental and unexpected happens under conditions named, but not under a defined relationship...
, and not unity. Relativistic liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
and democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
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.
Criticism
Two major ideas against religious democracy could be recognized.- From the SecularismSecularismSecularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
point of view, the ideals of a democratic society and a secular state are unified. Therefore the firm principle of separation of religion and state is implicit such that without this separation there can be no freedom from tyranny. Absolute sovereignty of the people dominates in this idea. Religion should be set aside from the workings of government in order to establish democracy and freedom.
- From the LegalismLegalismLegalism may refer to:In philosophy:* Legalism , Chinese political philosophy based on the idea that a highly efficient and powerful government is the key to social order....
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.
Examples
Historical democracies with state sponsored religious laws:- Athenian democracyAthenian democracyAthenian democracy developed in the Greek city-state of Athens, comprising the central city-state of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica, around 508 BC. Athens is one of the first known democracies. Other Greek cities set up democracies, and even though most followed an Athenian model,...
(Ancient Greek religionAncient Greek religionGreek religion encompasses the collection of beliefs and rituals practiced in ancient Greece in the form of both popular public religion and cult practices. These different groups varied enough for it to be possible to speak of Greek religions or "cults" in the plural, though most of them shared...
) - Roman RepublicRoman RepublicThe Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
(Ancient Roman religion) - Buddhist ganarajyas
- Icelandic CommonwealthIcelandic CommonwealthThe Icelandic Commonwealth, Icelandic Free State, or Republic of Iceland was the state existing in Iceland between the establishment of the Althing in 930 and the pledge of fealty to the Norwegian king in 1262...
(Norse paganismNorse paganismNorse paganism is the religious traditions of the Norsemen, a Germanic people living in the Nordic countries. Norse paganism is therefore a subset of Germanic paganism, which was practiced in the lands inhabited by the Germanic tribes across most of Northern and Central Europe in the Viking Age...
, after AD 1000 ChristianityChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
) - Old Swiss ConfederacyOld Swiss ConfederacyThe Old Swiss Confederacy was the precursor of modern-day Switzerland....
(Christianity)
Contemporary democracies with state religion
State religion
A state religion is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state...
s:
- ChristianChristian DemocracyChristian democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Christian principles to public policy. It emerged in nineteenth-century Europe under the influence of conservatism and Catholic social teaching...
:- GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, BoliviaBoliviaBolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
- Greece
- IslamicIslamic democracyIslamic democracy refers to two kinds of democratic states that can be recognized in the Islamic countries. The basis of this distinction has to do with how comprehensively Islam is incorporated into the affairs of the state....
:- AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, AlgeriaAlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, SomaliaSomaliaSomalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
- Afghanistan
- Jewish:
- IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
- Israel
See also
- Basic Laws of IsraelBasic Laws of IsraelThe Basic Laws of Israel are a key component of Israel's constitutional law. These laws deal with the formation and role of the principal state's institutions, and the relations between the state's authorities. Some of them also protect civil rights...
- Christian democracyChristian DemocracyChristian democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Christian principles to public policy. It emerged in nineteenth-century Europe under the influence of conservatism and Catholic social teaching...
- Clash of CivilizationsClash of CivilizationsThe Clash of Civilizations is a theory, proposed by political scientist Samuel P. Huntington, that people's cultural and religious identities will be the primary source of conflict in the post-Cold War world....
- Dialogue Among CivilizationsDialogue Among CivilizationsFormer Iranian president Mohammad Khatami introduced the idea of Dialogue Among Civilizations as a response to Samuel P. Huntington’s theory of a Clash of Civilizations.-Introduction:...
- Institute on Religion and DemocracyInstitute on Religion and DemocracyThe Institute on Religion and Democracy is a Christian think tank that promotes Christian conservatism in public life. The organization comments on current events in the Christian community...
- Islamic democracyIslamic democracyIslamic democracy refers to two kinds of democratic states that can be recognized in the Islamic countries. The basis of this distinction has to do with how comprehensively Islam is incorporated into the affairs of the state....