ABSTRACT
The basic conflict of our time is between democracy and freedom on the one hand and totalitarianism on the other. To rest the case for belief in democracy on theology is to rest it on the last analysis on faith, and to do so might endanger our constitutional and political system. Biblically based religions—Christianity, Judaism, and Islam—have coexisted with virtually every form of political order, whether it be dictatorship, autocracy, monarchy, oligarchy, or democracy. Religious faith is often not a question of reason or evidence but a function of ethnic background or social heritage. Totalitarian societies are far more dangerous than authoritarian ones; one may at times support the latter in order to defend democracy against the former. Totalitarian communism needs to be opposed by all who believe in the values of democracy. The civic virtues of democracy transcend our religious or theological commitments. They are justified in the practice of living and working together with others in the community.
