Buddhism and democracy

The relationship between Buddhism and democracy has a long history with some scholars claiming the very foundations of Buddhist society were democratic.[1][2] Though some historic Buddhist societies have been categorized as feudalistic, the relationship between peasants and land owners was often voluntary. Free-thinking Buddhist societies supported autonomy; peasants had mobility and could own land themselves.[3] Currently countries claiming democracy with Buddhist state religions are Bhutan,[4] Cambodia,[5] Myanmar,[6] and Sri Lanka.[7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference spellmeyer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference kierstead was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ The Discourse of Serfdom in Tibet columbia.edu
  4. ^ "Bhutan's Constitution of 2008" (PDF). constituteproject.org/. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  5. ^ "Constitution of Cambodia". cambodia.org. Retrieved 13 April 2011. (Article 43).
  6. ^ "Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (2008)". Constitutional Tribunal of the Union. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023.
  7. ^ "Sri Lanka".