Examining the Role of Religion, the Economy, and Xenophobia as Challenges to Democracy in the 21 st Century (original) (raw)

Islam and Democracy: Evidence from a new dataset

2015

The past three decades have been marked by a scholarly debate concerning the relationship between Islam and democracy. Constitutions differ among Muslim-majority countries and by no means all Muslim-majority countries exhibit an “Islamic Constitution”. By using a newly developed coding of the degree to which Muslim-majority countries incorporate Islam into their constitutions, we investigate the relationship between Islam and democracy in Muslim-Majority countries. We find evidence that supports the theories stating that a high level of Islamicity, mirrored by the constitution of a respective country, may reduce the probability of this country to be a democracy. This relation remains robust when controlling for other variables known to affect democracy, including education, per capita GDP, oil abundance, and degree of globalization.

Religion and Support for Democracy: A Crossnational Examination

This article examines citizens’ support for democracy across forty-six nations. The authors use multilevel modeling and data from the World Values Survey and other sources to assess individuals’ support for democracy in light of broader country-level factors as well as individual proclivities toward religion, politics and community. Findings suggest that the predominance of a particular religion in a nation does not influence individuals’ views in and of itself. It does, however, matter when individuals’ religious beliefs and practices as well as their civic engagement are taken into account. These factors, even in predominantly Muslim countries, appear to foster rather than hinder positive views towards democracy. But individuals seeking a prominent role for religion in government are likely to be substantially less supportive of democracy. Such antidemocratic attitudes appear countered in a citizenry where many are engaged in conventional political activities, have attained higher social statuses and reside in highly globalized states with Protestant or Muslim majorities and without a Communist legacy.

Why is the world short of democracy?:: A cross-country analysis of barriers to …

European Journal of Political Economy

This study first uses a set of graphs and tables to present the pattern of democracy in the world, using the Gastil Index. Then a statistical analysis is conducted by two techniques: Regression techniques are used to analyze the effect on democracy of a handful of variables. It shows that poverty, Communism and the Muslim culture are the main barriers to democracy. It then uses Bayesian probability methods to make explicit the concept of the "risk" of countries being undemocratic. The analysis focuses on the dynamics of the income effect and of the democratic deficit of the Muslim countries to see if it is stationary or transitory. It is unstable, so it may be transitory, but it has been rising.

Where does religion meet democracy? A comparative analysis of attitudes in Europe

International Political Science Review, 2012

Starting from the growing importance of religion for politics, this article tests whether religion in Europe is connected with democratic attitudes. Analyzing and understanding such a relationship is essential for a better understanding of the prospects of present and future democratic consolidation. Our two-step approach aims to assess the variation and causal forces of democratic attitudes in Europe in the light of broader country-level factors and individual proclivities towards religion and politics. We use data from the European Values Study (1999) for the correlations and regression model. Our findings undermine the existing prejudices according to which Islam leads to authoritarian attitudes. Moreover, we illustrate the crucial roles played by satisfaction with democracy and confidence in the Church in shaping democratic attitudes across religions.

Religion and Support for Democracy: A Cross-national Test of Mediating Mechanisms

British Journal of Political Science, 43(2): 375-397., 2013

Religion can be a source of undemocratic attitudes but also a contributor to democratic norms. This paper argues that different dimensions of religiosity generate contrasting effects on democratic attitudes through different mechanisms. The private aspect of religious belief is associated with traditional and survival values, which in turn decrease both overt and intrinsic support for democracy. The communal aspect of religious social behavior increases political interest and trust in institutions, which in turn typically lead to more support for democracy. Results emerging from multilevel path analyses models using data from a total of 54 countries from the fourth and fifth waves of the World Values Survey suggest that there is some regularity in mechanisms responsible for the effect of religiosity on democratic support that extend above and beyond religious denomination.

A Two-edged Sword: The Differential Effect of Religious Belief and Religious Social Context on Attitudes towards Democracy

Political Behavior, 34(2): 249-276, 2012

Different components of the religious experience have differing effects on attitudes towards democracy. Using heteroskedastic maximum likelihood models and data from the fourth wave of the World Values Survey for 45 democratic countries, we show that as a personal belief system, religiosity contrasts with democratic principles, generating opposition to democracy while increasing ambivalence towards democratic principles among religious people. Nevertheless, at the group level, religion also serves as a social institution which increases the homogeneity of one’s social network, leading to lower ambivalence, and makes for an active minority group which benefits from the democratic framework, consequently increasing support overall for a democratic regime. This double-edged sword effect explains the mixed results currently found in the literature on religiosity and democracy, and clearly illustrates the multidimensionality of religiosity.

Do education and income affect support for democracy in Muslim countries? Evidence from the Pew Global Attitudes Project

Economics of Education Review, 2010

Using micro-level public opinion data from the Pew Global Attitudes Project 2005, this study investigates the effect of educational attainment and income on support for democracy in five predominantly Muslim countries: Indonesia, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, and Turkey. Holding all else constant and compared to not finishing primary education, this study finds that secondary education and higher education encourage support for democracy in Jordan, Lebanon and Pakistan. The results suggest that support for democracy is a social benefit of education in Jordan, Lebanon, and Pakistan. Regarding income, the results indicate that relative to the poor, those belonging to middle-income groups are more supportive of democracy in Lebanon and Turkey. Curiously, there is no statistical relationship between belonging to the richest groups and supporting democracy.

Religion and support for democracy: A cross-national test of the mediating mechanisms. BJPS

2012

Religion can be a source of undemocratic attitudes but also a contributor to democratic norms. This paper argues that different dimensions of religiosity generate contrasting effects on democratic attitudes through different mechanisms. The private aspect of religious belief is associated with traditional and survival values, which in turn decrease both overt and intrinsic support for democracy. The communal aspect of religious social behavior increases political interest and trust in institutions, which in turn typically lead to more support for democracy. Results emerging from multilevel path analyses models using data from a total of 54 countries from the fourth and fifth waves of the World Values Survey suggest that there is some regularity in mechanisms responsible for the effect of religiosity on democratic support that extend above and beyond religious denomination.