Christianity and Democracy: The Ambivalent Orthodox

Abstract: Eastern Orthodoxy and the Oriental Orthodox churches as well remain religiously prominent in the Orthodox heartland of Greece, Russia, and so on—areas that until fairly recently have not known much if any democracy. Nonetheless, the Trinitarian theology of Orthodoxy leads it to value freedom and equality, and to take a largely positive view of democracy. Along with democracy, however, come phenomena such as pluralism, difference, and competition, about which many Orthodox believers and churches feel considerably more ambivalent. The identity-cards controversy in Greece, arguments over religious liberty in Russia, and a lawsuit involving U.S. Orthodox laity and the Orthodox Archdiocese of America illustrate various aspects of this ambivalence.