The prime function of democracy, which distinguishes it from and elevates it above every other form of government, is its regard and concern for the dignity and the rights of the individual, inalienable rights derived from the natural law… This great natural law, antecedent to all human enactment and contrivance, is the only foundation on which the structure of democracy can rest secure. For not by mutual consent or by covenant, not by warrant or state grant are these rights established. They are the gifts of God and the bestowal of God.
It is, therefore, crystal clear that the role of religion in a democracy is of decisive importance. The essence of democracy is found in the Christian ideals of freedom, in the equality of all men in the eyes of God. Such ideas are easily discernible in the Natural Law. "But what do you mean by the Natural Law?" Someone may ask. It is, as St. Paul puts it, the law written in the hearts of men. (Romans 2,15) If, as we say, the natural law is found in the hearts of all men, then it must be found in the Chinese people.
The Chinese Natural-Law philosophy can be first traced to Confucius (551-479 B.C.), but it was not fully developed until the time of Mencius (371-289 B.C.) whose position in Confucianism may be compared to that of St. Paul in Christianity. In the first passage of THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN, Confucius says:
What is Heaven-given is what we call human nature. To fulfill the law of the human nature is what we call the natural law. The cultivation of the natural law is what we call culture. If it could be left, it would not be the natural law. (1,1-2)
His central idea is:
When one cultivates to the utmost the principles of his nature and exercises them on the basis of reciprocity, he is not far from the natural law. What you do not like yourself do not extend to others. (13,3)
These words of Confucius anticipates exactly the fundamental view of the Christian ethics which believes that the good life is not to be found in cultivating our own interests exclusively, but in our doing unto others as we would they should do unto us. In other words, the Christian aim in life is to help others to enjoy the same freedom, prosperity and happiness that we ourselves would wish to enjoy. It is basically in accordance with this conception that: Mencius elaborates the moral principles of his natural-law philosophy. Its essence rests in the belief that human nature is essentially good and, if fully and properly developed, tends to moral perfection. Thus he maintains that all men possess the "four beginnings": a mind of sympathy; a mind of shame; a mind of modesty and yielding; and a mind of right and wrong. The mind that sympathizes will set forth the spirits of sacrifice, which is the beginning of Love. The mind that detests evil as a shame will bring about the truth, which is the beginning of Justice. The mind that defers to others radiates self-restraint, which is the beginning of Propriety. The mind that distinguishes right and wrong will entertain doubt, which is the beginning of Wisdom. These four beginnings or the four incipient tendencies of Love, Justice, Propriety and Wisdom constitute what Mencius calls the part of nature which is essential. The senses of hearing, seeing, tasting, smelling and touching are shared by man in common with animals and hence constitute that part of nature which is accidental. One who cultivates his essential nature, according to Mencius, will find that his accidental nature follows in accord. By this is meant that all things are driven by their own nature and natural reason to assume a determined, constant, and right attitude toward the common good and, in consequence, deserve a natural reward from Heaven. Thus, Mencius interpretation of human nature would be unthinkable without the notion of the law nature. To him, natural law is nothing but the expression of the perfectibility of man in his internal power and natural reason, which leads his perfection. This universal law proceeds actually from a Supreme Reason.
But what has this idea of "universal law" do with the concept of Christian democracy?
As Mencius conceives of all men as being born good and equal, he has been considered to be the greatest democratic thinker in the political history of China. His political thought consists in two basic beliefs: one is the fundamental equality of all men and the other, the natural right of revolution. To Mencius, every individual is endowed by Heaven with an equal right to such things as by natural law are the common patrimony of mankind This leads to the second justification of the right of the people to overthrow a despotic ruler, who acts against the immutable natural rights of the people derived not from the ruler, but from a higher source. To him a ruler can govern an empire as long as he retains the appointment of Heaven, and shows constantly his sympathetic good feelings toward the people, as disclosed to man in the dictates of natural reason, which is the gift of Heaven. In this sense, Mencius puts down a number of political maxims:
In a state, the people are of first importance, the shrines of the state spirits are secondary, but the ruler is least important.
When a prince treats his subjects like dirt and grass, then the people will naturally regard him as a bandit and. an enemy.
He who, using force, makes a pretence at virtue, is a tyrant ... He who, using virtue, pratices love, is a king. Heaven sees through what people see and Heaven hears through what people hear.
They who accord with Heaven are preserved, and they who rebel against Heaven perish.
This points out the fact that Mencius' notion of practicing and resisting tyranny is based on the principle that the light of natural reason enables men to discern good from evil, and to pursue the order of natural inclination. This universal principle can be obtained only by an absolute standard, which is the Natural Law. For according to natural reason, he who is called Ruler or Emperor must necessarily be a benevolent man before he may be a ruler. Otherwise, he cannot count on the allegiance and support of the people. In other words, while the authority of the ruler is sacred, it is the obligation of the ruler to uphold justice and reason, and hence one is not truly a ruler unless he loves his people and treats them with natural reason and justice. In this sense, all positive laws are a necessary implementation of and supplement to the Natural Law. Law must rest on some ultimate, unchallenged authority above the reach of the arbitrary will or caprice of any man, or group of men. The recognition that the ultimate test of the validity of authority lies beyond authority itself, is essentially a democratic proposition.
From what we have discussed above we may safely reach the conclusion that democracy, in its true sense, must be based upon standards of behavior that are derived from a source that is above and beyond ourselves — a source that we can accept without argument as of superior origin, because it is divine; it is the gift of Christ and Christians. Therefore, there is democracy only in Christianity, no democracy in the East, no democracy in the West; no democracy in Plato or Aristotle, no democracy in Confucius or Mencius. Democracy, emerging from Christianity, is like heat arising from a fire: the heat is not the fire, and yet it comes from the fire and cannot exist without it. More than a century ago the scholar De Tocqueville said:
The Americans combine the notions of Christianity and liberty so intimately in their minds that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other.
American democracy began and stands today on this principle. If America loses sight of the Divine Source of its strength, it will betray its own history and risk the loss of democratic values in all human activity. This is also a most salutary lesson for the Chinese people. If they wish to live up to their unblemished consciousness of being worthy sons of the Celestial Empire and equal members before the Supreme Being and not mere cogs in the machine of State under totalitarian tyranny, they must do their best to reinforce the traditional belief in the immutable principles of the natural law with a living faith in the revealed truth. If Christian spirit is sought in nature, in life, if goodness is loved, if the dignity and eternal destiny of the human person are preserved and shared, democracy will take care of itself.