ABSTRACT
In Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville described the habits, customs, and beliefs of the liberal democratic tradition in the United States. According to Tocqueville, religion in particular sets the conditions for the creation and preservation of a stable society based on freedom. As a consequence, Americans were probably influenced by religion to make good use of democracy. Also their habits and customs formed the basis of democracy. In his book L'Ancien Regime et la Révolution, Tocqueville argued that the French revolution resembled a religious revolution since it considered "man in general," going beyond the specific context and adopting a global perspective. The French revolution was concerned with "this world," while religious revolution aims at the "other world." Tocqueville became more thorough as he wrote about his interviews: "Everybody attributed the peaceful dominion of religion in their country mainly to the separation of church and state".
