Philosophy of Religion and Democracy

Published in Persian, by Nashr-e Negah-e Moaser (Tehran, 2023), Professor Shomali’s latest book delves into the complex relationship between religion and democracy. Specifically, it conducts a comparative analysis of a set of Western and Perso-Islamicate political philosophies, exploring concepts such as civil religion and divine sovereignty, and their roles in various theories of state legitimacy. Engaging with thinkers like Leo Strauss, Farabi, and Razi, the book traces a “local” political philosophy within Perso-Islamicate traditions, and highlights its democratic potential. Professor Shomali argues that recentering this rationalist philosophy of religion could promote the acceptance of democratic governance where the sovereign is not the Almighty God of monotheistic religion, but the collective reason of citizens.

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