Democracy is really a problem for most religions and some ideologies. For a democracy to function everyone must be entitled to believe as they chose in so far as how they live their own lives (within the constraint of limitations on how their choices impact others).
Most religions or ideologies are, or evolve to, top down organizations where the leaders dictate reality to the followers. If the leadership acknowledges that other realities are anything other than wrong they undermine their position as leaders.
So combining Democracy and Religion or ideology is tricky. It will inevitably produce periods of tension where particular religions or ideologies cannot accept ideas that do not fit their beliefs. We have particularly seen that happen in the "Arab Spring" in the middle east the last few years as fledgling democracies stumble over problems with religion.
The lesson we should keep in mind is democracy can't just be grafted onto a society. The majority of the society must not only want it, they must be able to allow others to hold different religious or political views. It has to develop from within, it can't be imposed from without.
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
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