Fiona Veitch Smith

Riots in Kenya, roadshows in America and assassinations in Pakistan make one wonder how healthy the 21st century’s state of democracy really is. It’s a doctrine espoused almost universally but applied with only relative success. So why is it still seen as an ideal of modern governance?

Image courtesy of e-strategy.com

As The Tablet pointed out in a recent editorial, some supporters of Kenya’s snubbed presidential candidate Raila Odinga feel that they’ve been denied ‘their chance to eat’; meaning a chance to enjoy the spoils of political victory. It’s widely perceived in Kenya that the current regime, under Mwai Kibaki has only been interested in the welfare of the president’s own Kikuyu tribe. It was felt that Odinga, a Luo, would correct this imbalance. While not wanting to malign Mr Odinga’s motivations without any evidence to support it, one wonders if his proposed administration will bring balance or simply tip the scale in the other direction.

A right to speak

Democracy is often misunderstood as ‘winner takes all’, forgetting that in a multi-party system, proportional representation should ensure minority rights are protected against the whims of the majority. Which is why, as was pointed out at the last British national election, more people voted against the Labour Party than for it (not forgetting there was only a voter turnout of 60%). But because the ruling party still had the biggest single slice of the pie, Tony Blair was asked to form a government. Yet Tories, Lib Dems, Greens and even the BNP still have the right to speak on behalf of their constituencies.

Another illustration of how democracy is not a majority rules system is the common view that if referenda were taken on certain contentious issues such as reintroducing the death penalty, the European Constitution, our involvement in Iraq etc, the ‘will of the people’ could be determined from a majority ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote.

Switzerland has this system of direct rather than solely representational democracy and referenda are held on a regular basis to determine how government policy should reflect the will of the people. However, Switzerland has a population of only 7.6 million compared to 60.8 million in the United Kingdom; hence it is far easier for the Swiss cantons to affect a system of direct democracy.

And have you also considered that the majority could also be wrong? As Shami Chakrabati of Liberty points out (read the full interview),

Democracy is not just majority rule; if it were there would be little difference between it and the rule of the mob.

Let’s not forget that Adolf Hitler was democratically elected to be Chancellor of Germany by a majority. And the majority of white Americans denied black Americans voting rights for centuries. Of course, in South Africa, it was the minority who oppressed the black majority; but it still does not mean that the majority is automatically right. As a voting adult in South Africa I voted in favour of majority rule, but it doesn’t follow that I believe everything the majority government now does is right.

Government in the pews

How does this apply to the Church? I have been brought up in Baptist churches where congregational government – run on a democratic system where each person admitted into membership has the right to vote on the running of the church - including the appointment or dismissal of pastors, deacons and elders – is in place. Now, in principle, I believe it’s a good system, particularly when I’m in agreement with the majority. But I’ve also been in the position where I’ve been in the minority camp where votes were cast to approve or disapprove of speaking in tongues in public worship and in another case the appointment of women as elders.

In both cases I believe that the minority view was backed by what I perceived to be the ‘Will of God’. Of course, the majority Holy Spirit-quenching misogynists (sorry!) believed God was on their side too. Who was right? To quote Abraham Lincoln:

My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.

In both churches, both ‘Tongues’ and women were admitted into the inner sanctuary in subsequent years. What I and the minority had to realize was that the democratic vote had shown not so much what was right but what the prevailing view of the majority was. If a minority vote had been pushed through at that time, the majority of the church would have been alienated and a split may have ensued.

Majority rules?

I was in another church for a few years (not Baptist) where congregational government was not observed. The pastor and some leaders felt ‘led’ to implement a new discipleship programme that I and many others in the church thought not suitable for our particular situation. ‘We’ were in the majority, but the pastor and his self-appointed inner circle felt it was the right thing and pushed it through. The result was 2/3 of the church leaving. It is four years later now and there is still emotional and spiritual fall-out from that dreadful split.

Of course, I’m aware that there are many churches that quite successfully operate without congregational government, with checks and balances in place from hierarchical structures to ensure that the leaders try, to the best of their ability, to serve their congregants and God. But democracy still operates at some level - even if it is on the most senior council.

Democracy of the heart

So what is it in the human heart that keeps democracy on its shaky pedestal? What most of us desire more than anything else is to be understood and loved for who we are. It’s an issue of value. Does my opinion or my needs, dreams or desires matter in this world? Being ignored is a terrible thing particularly when that ignorance deepens your suffering. What the notion of democracy does is to present an ideal world in which each individual matters, where we all care for each other whether we’re part of a minority or majority. In that sense, God is a democrat. He hears our prayers. We all matter to Him. And He instructs us to do the same. Jesus said:

Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself.
Matthew 22:37-39

Elsewhere it is said: ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ I cannot think of a better outworking of the goals of democracy.

Unfortunately, as we all know, all of us fail to live up to God’s standards, and in the earthly realm we need structures and laws to protect the weak from the strong, to make sure all of us have the right to be heard and that the earth’s resources are equitably shared. And that’s what democracy attempts to do. It’s a poor reflection of God’s Kingdom but, for now, it’s the best we have got.

‘Democracy Rules - OK?’ first appeared in Plain Truth, March 2008

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