- 20.03.2025
Democracy and Tradition: A Historical Transformation
The establishment of democratic forms of government played an important role in redistributing and redefining Europe’s traditional socio-cultural foundations. First and foremost, with the destruction of the theocratic bases upon which state, moral, and civic relations had previously been formed, a new perception of "sacred principles" emerged. As noted in one source, "Faith in these foundations became so deeply ingrained in the European soul that even after the destruction of the theocratic foundation of life, they remained untouchable as the well-known 'sacred principles' regulating the structure of existence. Everything—even entirely secular principles such as property rights, private law, and parliamentarianism—are the legitimate heirs of this religious-theocratic spirit..." (source: 230_1148.txt). This indicates that even after the implementation of democratic institutions, deep-rooted traditional norms and foundations continued to influence society, forming the basis for a secular yet conservative order.