Re-examinging the Wall of Separation: A Cross-National Study of Religious Pluralism and Democracy

Mutual autonomy between religious and state institutions is often seen as a key ingredient for democratization. Yet, there are a large number of democracies with an established religion. If a separation of church and state is desirable for the maintenance of a stable democracy, then why do so many d...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Rebe, Ryan J. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Cambridge Univ. Press [2012]
In: Politics and religion
Year: 2012, Volume: 5, Issue: 3, Pages: 655-670
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
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Summary:Mutual autonomy between religious and state institutions is often seen as a key ingredient for democratization. Yet, there are a large number of democracies with an established religion. If a separation of church and state is desirable for the maintenance of a stable democracy, then why do so many democracies continue to support religious institutions and practices? As the evidence from this study reveals, the difference between democracies and non-democracies does not depend on a wall of separation between church and state, but instead, on the protection of religious freedom for minority groups and the promotion of secular legislation.
ISSN:1755-0491
Contains:Enthalten in: Politics and religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/S175504831200034X