Discussions on Religion

[Part (2), revised text]

Date:2010.09.17

By: Jafar Hasanpoor

E-post: jafarhasanpoor@gmail.com   

Four General Groups of  Social and Political Ideas

2. Who is a democratic Christian/Muslim?

A question  was  forwarded  to a person that worked in Saudi Arabia for 20 years: can a good Muslim be a good American? 

 http://msgboard.snopes.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=9;t=002198;p=1

       I believe that “a democratic Muslim can be a democratic American (Swedish,...)”. I don't  use the term “good” because it does not explain “good” for whom, for working class for capitalists, for women...What I mean by “democratic”? By “democratic”, I mean a Muslim (A Christian, a socialist, a nationalist, a feminist...) who believes in separation of religion and state, who believes in  freedom  of religion which means all religions are free in a democratic country where atheists  also enjoy freedom of expression and religion is a private matter.

    Both the Koran and the Bible  have contradictory  ideas in  many subjects. They are written in the feudal societies which  had a  patriarchal social system and supported men. In one part of the Koran  (or the Bible) they have recognized some rights of women and in another part they have denied some women's interests. In comparison to the Koran,  the Bible is more friendly to women, because of the influences  of the Christian women who were very active believers and their houses were a place for gathering of other adherents.

    In the Bible, it is written that men are chief of families. According to the Koran, married men may hit their wifes. A  democratic Christian or Muslim may say that  she/he believes in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and equality between men and women  and rejects the Christian or Islamic viewpoints on women, respectively. A conservative believer  may maintain that she/he accepts all viewpoints on women in Islam and Christianity, respectively. A liberal believer may mention that she/he is against undemocratic principles of  Christianity or Islam on women but she/he accepts only marriage  and  is opposed to unmarried cohabitation. A radical Christian  may oppose undemocratic viewpoints of his/her  religion on women but  accept a simple marriage ceremony.

2.1.  Some definitions

(a)  Democracy:

“To fix ideas, the term “democracy,” as I will use it in this article, refers very generally to a method of group decision making characterized by a kind of equality among the participants at an essential stage of the collective decision making.   Four aspects of this definition should be noted. First, democracy concerns collective decision making, by which I mean decisions that are made for groups and that are binding on all the members of the group. Second, this definition means to cover a lot of different kinds of groups that may be called democratic. So there can be democracy in families, voluntary organizations, economic firms, as well as states and transnational and global organizations. Third, the definition is not intended to carry any normative weight to it. It is quite compatible with this definition of democracy that it is not desirable to have democracy in some particular context. So the definition of democracy does not settle any normative questions. Fourth, the equality required by the definition of democracy may be more or less deep. It may be the mere formal equality of one-person one-vote in an election for representatives to an assembly where there is competition among candidates for the position. Or it may be more robust, including equality in the processes of deliberation and coalition building. “Democracy” may refer to any of these political arrangements. It may involve direct participation of the members of a society in deciding on the laws and policies of the society or it may involve the participation of those members in selecting representatives to make the decisions.” 

http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2010/entries/democracy/

(b) Liberalism

“liberalism philosophy or movement that has as its aim the development of individual freedom. Because the concepts of liberty or freedom change in different historical periods the specific programs of liberalism also change. The final aim of liberalism, however, remains fixed, as does its characteristic belief not only in essential human goodness but also in human rationality. Liberalism assumes that people, having a rational intellect, have the ability to recognize problems and solve them and thus can achieve systematic improvement in the human condition. Often opposed to liberalism is the doctrine of conservatism , which, simply stated, supports the maintenance of the status quo. Liberalism, which seeks what it considers to be improvement or progress, necessarily desires to change the existing order.

http://www.encyclopedia.com/utility/printdocument.aspx?id=1E1:liberalin

(c)Conservatism

Conservatism is a preference for the historically inherited rather than the abstract and ideal. This preference has traditionally rested on an organic conception of society—that is, on the belief that society is not merely a loose collection of individuals but a living organism comprising closely connected, interdependent members. Conservatives thus favour institutions and practices that have evolved gradually and are manifestations of continuity and stability. Government’s responsibility is to be the servant, not the master, of existing ways of life, and politicians must therefore resist the temptation to transform society and politics. This suspicion of government activism distinguishes conservatism not only from radical forms of political thought but also from liberalism, which is a modernizing, antitraditionalist movement dedicated to correcting the evils and abuses resulting from the misuse of social and political power. “

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/133435/conservatism

(d) Radicalism

The word radical has a number of meanings, one of which involves “getting to the root of the matter.” This analogy is helpful in focusing attention on the key characteristics of the term, and on its various usages within social science. When people talk about “radicals,” they mean those who take ideas and concepts back to first principles. They are those who are unafraid of laying bare what is hidden, subterranean, or uncomfortable to discuss. Radicals do not mind upsetting the status quo, received wisdom, or “common sense” conceptions of any kind. To talk about radicalism is therefore to talk about the belief systems of radicals. Yet what is it that characterizes radicalism, and how does this impact our understanding of knowledge generally?

http://www.encyclopedia.com/utility/printdocument.aspx?id=1G2:3045302175bn