Unlike common impressions, religious democracy does not share a common meaning with non-religious (western) democracy due to the fact that the essence of religious democracy seeks unity while non-religious democracies are based on plurality. An objective example of western democracy is built upon the principle of plurality. Therefore disputes and fights have been considered as a natural phenomenon in a western experience of democracy. However, plurality is not pivotal in an Islamic democracy because the individual and the society have a transcendental common cause. Therefore a religious democracy has a unity-seeking reality. The experience of a unity-seeking religious democracy made possible by the victory of Islamic revolution and establishment of Islamic Republic of Iran.
Mahdavizadegan D. Intrinsic Distinction of Religious and non-Religious Democracies with an Emphasis on Experiences of Democracy in Islamic Iran and West. Scientific Quarterly Journal of Islamic Revolution Studies 2014; 11 (38) :159-168 URL: http://enghelab.maaref.ac.ir/article-1-1060-en.html