There are more than 100 democracies in the world today. All but three of them--Great Britain, Israel, and New Zealand --have written constitutions. This digest examines the importance of constitutions and constitutionalism and the teaching of these concepts through the use of comparisons. The primary objectives of civic education for democratic citizenship are to acquire knowledge of constitutionalism; to use this knowledge to think and act effectively about issues of governance; and to become committed to the maintenance and improvement of constitutionalism within one's polity. In order to compare written constitutions and constitutionalism in different countries, common attributes are reviewed. Six possible attributes are: (1) the structure of government; (2) the distribution of powers among executive, legislative, and judicial branches; (3) the limitations on powers of the branches of government; (4) the guarantees of human rights; (5) the procedures for electing, appointing, and replacing government officials; and (6) the methods of constitutional amendment or change. (CB)