--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We no longer claim that a genuinely…" description: "\"We no longer claim that a genuinely religious government can be democratic, but that it cannot be otherwise.\" — Abdolkarim Soroush" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/abdolkarim-soroush-22299_cannot_we-no-longer-claim-that-a-genuinely-reli_111819.jpg" --- # We no longer claim that a genuinely religious government… ![“We no longer claim that a genuinely religious government can be democratic, but that it cannot be otherwise.” quote by Abdolkarim Soroush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/abdolkarim-soroush-22299_cannot_we-no-longer-claim-that-a-genuinely-reli_111819.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/abdolkarim-soroush-22299_cannot_we-no-longer-claim-that-a-genuinely-reli_111819.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/abdolkarim-soroush-22299_cannot_we-no-longer-claim-that-a-genuinely-reli_111819.jpg) > “We no longer claim that a genuinely religious government can be democratic, but that it cannot be otherwise.” [Abdolkarim Soroush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdolkarim-soroush/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A genuinely religious state can be democratic, but democracy cannot be achieved without religious freedom or secularism. **In simple terms:** Religion and democracy can coexist, but democracy needs secular foundations. Key Takeaway Democracy requires secular or pluralistic framework. Themes politics religion democracy secularism Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - constitutional design - voting rights - religious law debates Key Concepts state legitimacy pluralism Practical Applications - drafting inclusive constitutions - educational curricula on civic rights Questions to Reflect On - Can a state truly be democratic while endorsing a single religion? - What safeguards prevent religious dominance in a democratic system? A Different Perspective Some argue that a state can be both religious and democratic if it protects minority rights and separates religious doctrine from lawmaking. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cannot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cannot/) [Claim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/claim/) [Democratic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic/) [Genuinely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genuinely/) [Genuinely Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genuinely-religious-282623/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Government Democratic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-democratic-1155601/) [Longer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longer/) [Otherwise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/otherwise/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-government-796415/) ## Related quotes > [Religions are illogical primitive ignorance. There is nothing as ridiculous and tragic as a religious government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/religions-are-illogical-primitive-ignorance-there-is-nothing-as/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [The way liberals are interpreting the First Amendment today is that it prevents anyone who is religious from being in government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-way-liberals-are-interpreting-the-first-amendment-today-is-that/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [What I see in Nature is a magnificent structure that we can comprehend only very imperfectly, and that must fill a thinking person with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/what-i-see-in-nature-is-a-magnificent-structure-that-we-can-2/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Many a man, brought up in the glib profession of some shallow form of Christianity, who comes through reading Astronomy to realize for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/many-a-man-brought-up-in-the-glib-profession-of-some-shallow-form-of/) [C. 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Democracy is now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdolkarim-soroush/one-of-the-achievements-of-the-reform-movement-is-that-people-realize/) [Abdolkarim Soroush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdolkarim-soroush/) > [Compromise has a negative connotation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdolkarim-soroush/compromise-has-a-negative-connotation/) [Abdolkarim Soroush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdolkarim-soroush/) > [People first concern themselves with meeting their basic needs; only afterwards, do they pursue any higher needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdolkarim-soroush/people-first-concern-themselves-with-meeting-their-basic-needs-only/) [Abdolkarim Soroush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdolkarim-soroush/) > [In many of the things that people do, they themselves are the centre of attention, but they inscribe some other name on their banner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdolkarim-soroush/in-many-of-the-things-that-people-do-they-themselves-are-the-centre/) [Abdolkarim Soroush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdolkarim-soroush/) > [Establishing an equilibrium between the Islam of truth and Islam as an identity is one of the most difficult tasks of religious intellectuals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdolkarim-soroush/establishing-an-equilibrium-between-the-islam-of-truth-and-islam-as/) [Abdolkarim Soroush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdolkarim-soroush/) > [When I have an idea, I'm like a pregnant woman. 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But we seem to forget, midway, that these concepts are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdolkarim-soroush/we-coin-concepts-and-we-use-them-to-analyse-and-explain-nature-and/) [Abdolkarim Soroush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdolkarim-soroush/) > [People should know what they want, not just what they don't want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdolkarim-soroush/people-should-know-what-they-want-not-just-what-they-don-t-want/) [Abdolkarim Soroush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdolkarim-soroush/) > [As a result of the awareness and consciousness of decline, an awareness and consciousness of a national ethnicity or an Islamic identity also came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdolkarim-soroush/as-a-result-of-the-awareness-and-consciousness-of-decline-an/) [Abdolkarim Soroush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdolkarim-soroush/) > [God manifests himself in each historical period according to the understanding of the people of the era.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdolkarim-soroush/god-manifests-himself-in-each-historical-period-according-to-the/) [Abdolkarim Soroush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdolkarim-soroush/) > [That President Mohammad Khatami's policies have been blocked is the bitterest incident in the contemporary Iranian history. This means that the wishes of millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdolkarim-soroush/that-president-mohammad-khatami-s-policies-have-been-blocked-is-the/) [Abdolkarim Soroush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdolkarim-soroush/) > [There are all sorts of cries that the leaders of the Green Movement should submit themselves to the supreme leader, but that won't take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdolkarim-soroush/there-are-all-sorts-of-cries-that-the-leaders-of-the-green-movement/) [Abdolkarim Soroush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdolkarim-soroush/) > [It is impossible to advance new theories... when you are under the influence of a particular view, or under the pressure of a particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdolkarim-soroush/it-is-impossible-to-advance-new-theories-when-you-are-under-the/) [Abdolkarim Soroush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdolkarim-soroush/) > [If a group of people feels that it has been humiliated and that its honour has been trampled underfoot, it will want to express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdolkarim-soroush/if-a-group-of-people-feels-that-it-has-been-humiliated-and-that-its/) [Abdolkarim Soroush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdolkarim-soroush/) [Explore all 27 Abdolkarim Soroush quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdolkarim-soroush/) ## More Cannot quotes > [The United States cannot and should not discriminate on the basis of religion. 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