Forty-four percent of the world\u2019s population currently lives in an electoral autocracy, according to V-Dem. Countries that are in this category (or are rapidly moving toward it) include Brazil, India, Hungary, Poland, and Turkey, among many others.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the scary thing for Christians who take their faith seriously: In every country I just mentioned, religious conservatives are some of the main supporters of autocratization. In majority-Christian countries, those religious conservatives are Christians. In Brazil, many of them are even evangelicals.<\/p>\n
Why would voters\u2014including, in many cases, Christian voters\u2014elect politicians who limit the freedom of the press and remove some of the legal checks and balances that have traditionally protected democracy?<\/p>\n
According to V-Dem Institute\u2019s exhaustive study of more than 200 countries, the main reason is partisan polarization. If voters\u2019 fears of an opposing party become strong enough, they will often welcome whatever measures keep that party out of power, even if that means the loss of certain constitutional freedoms.<\/p>\n
This dynamic seems to be playing out in the United States.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cGod did not ordain democracy or the American electoral process as the only acceptable mode of government,\u201d writes @DanielKWilliam4<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cBut nevertheless, preserving democracy may be a duty for Christian voters.\u201dhttps:\/\/t.co\/DCWZLQLCtZ<\/a><\/p>\n — Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) October 22, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n