This article argues that democratic societies are based on the acceptance that the polytheism of values as inherent to social life. We argue that polytheism of values should not be confused with religious polytheism. All belief systems hold contradictory values and their conflicts are an expression of the human condition and of life in society. To believe that that there is a single, "superior" value to which all others must submit, and if necessary be eliminated, paves the way for totalitarianism, religious or secular.
Polytheism; Values; Democracy; Beliefs