The resurgence of Islam in private and public life, in Indonesia and elsewhere, is one of the most important phenomena of our time. Its implications for politics and society are also widely misunderstood. Piety among Indonesian Muslims is essentially unrelated to most of the basic problems of political and economic life that analysts of religion and public life have addressed. Instead, the social and economic transformations that are co-occurring alongside the resurgence of Islam in Indonesia are the best predictors of how Muslims think and behave. These findings reorient our understanding of Islam and democracy in contemporary Indonesia. They should also inform policymakers interested in Islam, religious revitalization, democracy, and relations between the West and the Muslim world.