Walter Russell Mead asks whether the striking global growth of Christianity will lead to a growth in democracy:
One interesting speculation: the push toward democracy in many countries has been led by Christian laypeople and religious organizations. (That was not true 100 years ago; outside the English speaking world at that time many Christian churches and movements were closely tied to premodern, anti-democratic or anti-republican ideas.) From South Korea to Poland to South Africa by way of Egypt, Christians have been key players in both successful and unsuccessful democracy building movements. Will the rise of Christianity in sub-Saharan Africa promote better, more democratic government there as Christian ideas sink in more deeply among the citizens and leaders of those countries?
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