Democracy stands at the center of modern political thought, and despite various criticisms, it has become a dominant discourse and universal value. Even attempts to address its shortcomings often take shape within democracy itself, under frameworks such as deliberative democracy, discursive democracy, or radical democracy. Within this context, religious democracy emerges as a novel theory in political thought and philosophy, diverging from conventional assumptions and interpretations of democracy. One of the main distinctions of this theory is epistemological: the source of authority for democratic concepts—such as political participation, public oversight, power distribution, separation of powers, and institutions like elections, parties, and parliaments—is religion (Islam). This article uses grounded theory and documentary research methods to analyze the epistemological dimension of Ayatollah Khamenei’s theory of religious democracy. Among the various approaches to religious democracy, Khamenei’s perspective stands out in viewing it as an integrated concept, rejecting the interpretation of religious democracy as a mere combination of religion and democracy. This emphasis highlights the need for a deeper examination of its epistemological foundations. Furthermore, non-secular Islam and jurisprudential Islam are presented as the sources of authority underpinning this theory, defining its legitimacy and intellectual foundation