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Religion and Democracy on Three Continents
Princeton University Press
February 2010
On Sale: February 1, 2010
142 pages
ISBN: 0691134898
EAN: 9780691134895
Paperback
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Non-Fiction
For eight years the president of the United States was a
born-again Christian, backed by well-organized evangelicals
who often seemed intent on erasing the church-state divide.
In Europe, the increasing number of radicalized Muslims is
creating widespread fear that Islam is undermining
Western-style liberal democracy. And even in polytheistic
Asia, the development of democracy has been hindered in some
countries, particularly China, by a long history in which
religion was tightly linked to the state. Ian Buruma is the first writer to provide a sharp-eyed look
at the tensions between religion and politics on three
continents. Drawing on many contemporary and historical
examples, he argues that the violent passions inspired by
religion must be tamed in order to make democracy work. Comparing the United States and Europe, Buruma asks why so
many Americans--and so few Europeans--see religion as a help
to democracy. Turning to China and Japan, he disputes the
notion that only monotheistic religions pose problems for
secular politics. Finally, he reconsiders the story of
radical Islam in contemporary Europe, from the case of
Salman Rushdie to the murder of Theo van Gogh. Sparing no
one, Buruma exposes the follies of the current culture war
between defenders of "Western values" and
"multiculturalists," and explains that the creation of a
democratic European Islam is not only possible, but necessary. Presenting a challenge to dogmatic believers and dogmatic
secularists alike, Taming the Gods powerfully argues that
religion and democracy can be compatible--but only if
religious and secular authorities are kept firmly apart.
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