Orthodox Christianity and Liberal Democracy – Theoretical Inroads
by Maka Gurgenidze
This article aims to explore compatibility of Orthodox Christianity with the liberal democracy. It shares the argument that core premises of liberalism such as the freedom of choice, individual autonomy and tolerance intrinsically antagonize Christian religion’s absolutism and universality. The cohabitation of conflicting ideologies is only possible through state-church separation and strong prevalence of liberalism over the religious value framework. While Protestantism and Catholicism followed this path, the Orthodox Christianity has never intended to find either theological properties or ideological determination, positively corresponding to the liberal democracy, the article concludes.
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