Tunisia: Understanding Conflict 2012 - Johns Hopkins School of ...

discussion is that in Tunisia democracy has a strong ideological component that calls for
a greater actualization of liberal, enlightenment-esque principles. In a process that could
easily spread into one where democracy was seen only for its capacity for elections and
separation of power, the adherence to the full ideological premise of democracy is
important to recognize.
Secularism within the Democratic Goal
Stepan argues that a “twin toleration” needs to exist for religion and democracy to coexist.
This twin toleration entails a balance between democratic institutions and religious
groups. Stepan has a chart, found below, that demonstrates all the possibilities for a twintoleration
between religion and democracy. Clear here is that there are three possibilities
for democracy and secularism: secular, but friendly to religion; non-secular, but friendly
to democracy; and sociologically spontaneous secularism. Each has its own merits and
has manifested differently around the world. First, there is France with total separation of
Church and State, probably closest to the spontaneous secularism. Second, there is the
U.S. that has toleration for all religious groups, but without a state religion. The U.S.
most likely follows the model of secular, but friendly to religion. Finally, there are
European countries such as England, where there is an official state religion, but it is
friendly to democracy. The viability of each of these options must be explored vis-à-vis
the Tunisian people’s thoughts regarding secularism and democracy to understand the
future place of secularism in Tunisia.
41