The conference invites contributors to explore these questions and many others by examining both the fundaments of democracy as a political system and the vernacular manifestations of democratic thinking. The organizers welcome contributions from various fields – political philosophy, political theory, legal theory, critical thinking, managerial democracy, media, sociology, etc. – that take into account new trends in contemporary democracies that must be acknowledged and assessed against the background of the democratic ideals. Papers will be especially appreciated in the following areas each containing specific (but not exclusive) issues and questions: (Re)thinking Public Reason; The Democratic State and Religion; The Interplay between Democracy and Education; "Deliberative turn" of Democracy; Democracies in Central and Eastern Europe; (Re)shaping democracy; (Re)thinking Public Reason.