Islam and Democracy: A Global Perspective

Abstract

This article tries to answer the question of why many Islamic countries are far away from achieving democracy, while people in these countries have a faith in democracy as strong as those in Western societies. Two different hypotheses are proposed and tested. The symbolization hypothesis suggests that faith in democracy reflects cognitive mobilization for symbolic capital of Islam and moral justification of politics. The awareness hypothesis claims that faith in democracy reflects cognitive mobilization for better governance and political accountability. Applying hierarchical linear modeling, empirical findings show that the symbolization hypothesis is well-supported globally, while the evidence for the awareness hypothesis is very limited and not applicable to Islamic countries. The implication is that, while Islam is not the major factor contributing to the lack of democratic orientation, cultural factors do affect what people think about religion and politics, and that modernization theory still provides a powerful explanation to account for that cultural difference.