Islam and Democracy

Abstract

Very few studies have attempted to empirically examine the relationship between Islam and democracy at the level of the individual. Using cross-sectional ordinary least squares regression, the author compares the sources and patterns of democratic supportamong Muslim and Christian respondents in eight countries undergoing varying degrees of democratization or attempting to consolidate democratic regimes. The results indicate that levels of support for democracy as an ideal are generally higher among Muslim respondents than Eastern Orthodox respondents in the countries included in the study. Furthermore, the study suggests that Muslims may more closely approximate the ideal envisioned by scholars who view civic engagement and political trust as essential to democracy. At the same time, however, the model reveals that in the countries included in the study, religion may play only a minor role in individuals’ evaluations of democracy as an ideal concept.