Start / Democracy Paradox / Mike hoffman on how religious identities influence support for or opposition to democracy

Mike Hoffman on How Religious Identities Influence Support for or Opposition to Democracy

55 min • 20 april 2021

Doctrine is actually often a lot looser and more subject to interpretation than we tend to assume and the way that the doctrine gets interpreted is often partially a function of group interests themselves. If you have a religious group in a given country that believes it would benefit from democracy, it's pretty likely that that group will find a way to interpret and frame its doctrine in a way that supports democracy.

- Mike Hoffman

A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.

Key Highlights Include

Role of Religion in Identity Formation
How Communal Prayer Shapes Religious Identity
Ways Group Interests Shape Perspectives on Democracy
Description of Lebanon's Political System
Why Some Groups Oppose Democracy

Mike Hoffman is a professor of political science at Notre Dame and the author of Faith in Numbers: Religion, Sectarianism, and Democracy.

Key Links

Faith in Numbers: Religion, Sectarianism, and Democracy by Michael Hoffman

Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson

Patterns of Democracy by Arend Lijphart

Bryn Rosenfeld on Middle Class Support for Dictators in Autocratic Regimes