:: Volume 11, Issue 38 (2014) ::
2014, 11(38): 159-168 Back to browse issues page
Intrinsic Distinction of Religious and non-Religious Democracies with an Emphasis on Experiences of Democracy in Islamic Iran and West
Davoud Mahdavizadegan *
, davood@ihcs.ac.ir
Abstract:   (1928 Views)
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.
Keywords: Islam, democracy, liberalism, plurality, unity, individuality.
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Type of Study: Research |


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Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Rights and permissions
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Volume 11, Issue 38 (2014) Back to browse issues page