Journal of Democracy

Stepan, Alfred C.
Religion, Democracy, and the "Twin Tolerations"
Journal of Democracy - Volume 11, Number 4, October 2000, pp. 37-57

The Johns Hopkins University Press

Alfred C. Stepan - Religion, Democracy, and the "Twin Tolerations" - Journal of Democracy 11:4 Journal of Democracy 11.4 (2000) 37-57 Religion, Democracy, and the "Twin Tolerations" Alfred Stepan [Tables] Are all, or only some, of the world's religious systems politically compatible with democracy? This is, of course, one of the most important and heatedly debated questions of our times. My goal is to contribute to this debate from the perspective of comparative politics. More specifically, as a specialist in political institutions and democratization, I intend to discuss three questions, the answers to which should improve our understanding of this critical issue. First, what are the minimal institutional and political requirements that a polity must satisfy before it can be considered a democracy? Building on this analysis, what can we then infer about the need for the "twin tolerations"--that is, the minimal boundaries of freedom of action that must somehow be crafted for political institutions vis-à-vis religious authorities, and for religious individuals and groups vis-à-vis political institutions? Second, how have a set of longstanding democracies -- the 15 countries in the European Union (EU)--actually met these requirements, and what influential misinterpretations of the Western European experience with religion and democracy must we avoid? Third, what are the implications of the answers to our first two questions for polities heavily...