Christian democracy

For other uses, seeChristian democracy (disambiguation).

A gathering of supporters ofChristian Democratic UnioninDessau,1990

Christian democracyis anideologyinspired byChristian social teachingto respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics.

Christian democracy has drawn mainly fromCatholic social teachingandneo-scholasticism,as well as theNeo-Calvinisttradition within Christianity;it later gained ground withLutheransandPentecostals,among otherdenominationaltraditions ofChristianityin various parts of the world.During the nineteenth century, its principal concerns were to reconcile Catholicism with democracy,to answer the "social question"surroundingcapitalismand theworking class,and to resolve the tensions between church and state.In the twentieth century, Christian democrats led postwarWesternandSouthern Europein building modernwelfare statesand constructing theEuropean Union.Furthermore; in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, Christian democracy has gained support inEastern Europeamong formercommunist statessuffering from corruption and stagnation.

On the European left-right political spectrum, Christian democracy has been difficult to pinpoint, as Christian democrats have often rejectedliberal economicsandindividualismand advocated state intervention, while simultaneously defendingprivate property rightsagainst excessive state intervention.This has meant that Christian democracy has historically been consideredcentre-lefton economics andcentre-righton manysocialandmoral issues.More recently, Christian democrats have positioned themselves as the centre-right; as with both theEuropean People's PartyandEuropean Christian Political Movement,with which many Christian democratic parties in Europe are affiliated.Christian democrats support a "slightly regulatedmarket economy",featuring an effectivesocial securitysystem,thus asocial market economy.

Worldwide, many Christian democratic parties are members of theCentrist Democrat International.Examples of major Christian democratic parties include theChristian Democratic Union of Germany,the DutchChristian Democratic Appeal,The Centrein Switzerland, the SpanishPeople's Party,the MexicanNational Action Party,theAustrian People's Party,and theChristian Democratic Party of Chile.Many Christian democratic parties in the Americas are affiliated with theChristian Democrat Organization of America.

Christian democracy continues to be influential in Europe and Latin America, although it is also present in other parts of the world.

Overview of political viewpoints

As a generalization, it can be said that Christian democratic parties in Europe tend to be moderatelyconservativeand, in several cases, form the main conservative party in their respective countries (e.g., in Germany, Spain, Belgium, and Switzerland), such as theChristian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland,theChristian Social Party,theEvangelical People's Party of Switzerlandand theFederal Democratic Union of Switzerland.By contrast, Christian democratic parties in Latin America tend to vary in their position on the political spectrum depending on the country they are in, being either more left-leaning,as in the case of theChristian Democratic PartyinChile,or more right-leaning, as in the case of theNational Action PartyinMexico.Geoffrey K. Roberts and Patricia Hogwood have noted that "Christian democracy has incorporated many of the views held by liberals, conservatives and socialists within a wider framework of moral and Christian principles."

Christian democrats are usuallysocially conservativeand generally have a relatively skeptical stance towardsabortionandsame-sex marriage,although some Christian democratic parties have accepted the limited legalization of both. They advocate for aconsistent life ethicconcerning their opposition tocapital punishmentandassisted suicide.Christian democrats have also supported theprohibition of drugs.Christian democratic parties are often likely to assert their country'sChristianheritage and explicitly affirmChristian ethicsrather than adopting a more liberal or secular stance;at the same time, Christian democratic parties enshrineconfessional liberty.Christian democracy fosters an "ecumenicalunity achieved on the religious level against theatheismof the government in the Communist countries. "

Christian democrats' views include traditional moral values (on marriage, abortion, prohibition of drugs, etc.),opposition tosecularization,opposition tostate atheism,a view of the evolutionary (as opposed to revolutionary) development of society, an emphasis on law and order, and a rejection ofcommunism.Christian democrats are open to change (for example, in the structure of society) and not necessarily supportive of the social status quo, and have an emphasis on human rights and individual initiative. A rejection ofsecularismand an emphasis on the fact that the individual is part of a community and has duties towards it. Christian democrats hold that the various sectors of society (such as education, family, economy, and state) have autonomy and responsibility over their sphere, a concept known assphere sovereignty.One sphere ought not to dictate the obligations of another social entity; for example, the sphere of the state is not permitted to interfere with raising children, a role that belongs to the sphere of the family.Within the sphere of government, Christian democrats maintain that civil issues should first be addressed at the lowest level of government before being examined at a higher level, a doctrine known assubsidiarity.These concepts of sphere sovereignty and subsidiarity are considered cornerstones of Christian democracy political ideology.

Christian democrats emphasize community, social justice, and solidarity, alongside supporting awelfare state,labor unions,and support for regulation of market forces.Most European Christian democrats reject the concept ofclass struggleand instead preferco-determination,while US Christian democrats support adistributisteconomic system containing widespread distribution ofproductive property,in particular increasedworker ownership (workplace democracy)andmanagement (workers' self-management)of their production.

The Christian democratic welfare state aims at supporting families and often relies on intermediary institutions to deliver social services andsocial insurance,often with the support of the state.

Christian democrats support the principle ofstewardship,which upholds the idea that humans should safeguard the planet for future generations of life.Christian democrats also tend to have a conciliatory view concerning immigration.

Political philosophy

No single author has been recognized by all Christian democrats as the leading Christian democratic thinker, butJacques Maritaincomes closest.Thus, in terms of impact, he is in no way akin toKarl Marx,Edmund Burke,orJohn Locke.Other authors critical to forming Christian democratic ideology includePope Leo XIII,Pope Pius XI,Emmanuel Mounier,Heinrich Pesch,Abraham Kuyper,andLuigi Sturzo.

General inspiration

Neo-scholasticism

Christian democracy can trace its philosophical roots toThomas Aquinasand his thoughts onAristotelianontologyand theChristiantradition.According to Aquinas,human rightsare based onnatural lawand are defined as the things humans need to function correctly. For example, food is a human right because, without food, humans cannot function properly. Aquinas affirmed that humans are images of the divine, which follows human dignity and equality; all humans are equal because they all share that nature.Aquinas also affirmed the natural reality of family and household, based on the lifelong commitment of husband and wife, perfected with children, a unit that has priority over other communities.Aquinas also argued that public power could legitimately appropriate private owners of their resources for the common good when used for people in genuine need.When Leo XIII became pope, he issued the Papal EncyclicalAeterni Patris,whichrehabilitated scholasticphilosophy.The pope highlighted Aquinas's views on liberty, authority, laws, justice, and charity in this encyclical.

Aquinas's ideas would later be the foundation for the idea of subsidiarity, alongside the ideas that the state is to serve the people and that there is universal solidarity amongst humanity.A significant Neo-Scholastic was Jacques Maritain, who attempted to reconcile democracy and human rights withThomistnatural law.Maritain argued that human rights are based on natural law and that democracy needs Christianity to succeed.Jacques Maritain would use Thomist ideas of property to reduce inequality, arguing that the state should be involved if individuals do not use their property correctly.Jacques Maritain and Emmanuel Mounier would also use Thomist thinking in developing their idea of personalism.

Neo-Calvinism

Another intellectual element of Christian democracy wasneo-Calvinism.The neo-Calvinist political ideas relied on John Calvin's ideas of the sovereignty of God and common grace.God's sovereignty was particularly useful in light of the French revolution and notions of individual and state sovereignty.It was the basis ofsphere sovereignty,which helped the interests ofReformed Christians,which have historically been a minority. In sphere sovereignty, each sphere has its activity area related to God.Within this view of sphere sovereignty, it was the state's role to pursue public justice.Another element was that life is religious, and politics should reflect this.

Orthodoxy

The development of Orthodox Christian democracy has been held back by the fact that Orthodox Politics has not received church support in the way thatRerum Novarumencouraged Christian democracy, or how early Christian democrats such as Luigi Sturzo received tacit consent for his political activities.Russian Christian democrats, for example, have had to develop a doctrine of democracy.

Political thought

Academics have noted a few ideas key to Christian democracy, includingpersonalism,solidarity(or some variant ofsocial capitalism),popularism(or some variant of itscatch-all nature), notions of "pluralism"(which in a vertical sense relates tosubsidiarity,and in a horizontal sense denotessphere sovereignty)and stewardship.

Personalism

Personalism is a political doctrine generally linked toEmmanuel Mounier.It focuses on the person, their intellect, responsibilities, and value.It stresses that humans are free beings with dignity and political rights, but these rights must be used for the common good.It also stresses that true human freedom is used in line with God's will.It is against the individualist and collectivist notions of humanity.It also stresses that people become full when they are members of their communities.In practical policy, it leads to a few conclusions:

• Human life is sacred and is an end in itself. It is, therefore, against abortion and euthanasia.
• The family unit is an essential part of society and must be defended.
• Traditional gender roles must be respected; this leads to a rejection of same-sex marriages.
• Freedom is not a license for Moral permissiveness.

Personalism has generally been the underlying basis in Christian democracy that leads to human rights, especially in relation to a right to life, a right to family and a right to aid, a right to suffrage, freedom of conscience, and freedom of religion.

Modern personalist views also are inspired by ecologist values.Rowan Williamscontrasts personalism, which he describes as a relation between humans and God, to modern-day capitalism, which is focused only on endless economic growth, which is harmful to the natural environment.

Solidarity and social capitalism

The Christian democratic political economy has not tethered itself to one "third way" between capitalism and socialism, but rather various ways between capitalism and socialism.Over time, Christian democrats moved from solidarism to a social market economy.

Initially, many Catholic political movements in the 19th century opposedcapitalismandsocialismequally, as both were based on materialism and social conflict.Initially, the system that Catholics advocated was one of corporatism, based on bringing back a guild-organized economy.The idea was a society where individuals were organized by their economic position.In these corporatist systems, the fathers were the head of families.One of these conceptions was that ofFranz von Baader,who advocated for proletariat enfranchisement in the corporatist system.Baader is recognized as the first person to advocate for workplacecodetermination.Codetermination would become a key point of unity amongst the Christian democratic trade unions.In the 19th century and early 20th century, the Lutheran social Christians advocated an authoritarian view of corporatism,and the Neo-Calvinist corporatist idea has been credited as an inspiration for the polder system that currently exists in the Netherlands.Many of these corporatisms would advance the idea of replacing the elected parliament with corporative parliament recognizing the various corporate estates of the nation; industrialists, small businesses, peasants, landowners, workers, etc.The papal encyclicalRerum Novarumwould recognize some of the principles behind corporatism.

The Christian democratic notion of corporatism was found withinHeinrich Pesch'ssolidarism.Pesch's solidarism argued for international solidarity based on shared humanity, national solidarity based on shared nationality, familiar solidarity for family members, and class and cross-class solidarity based on shared interests in the workplace.This latter solidarity focused on occupational associations advancing collective interests, codetermination,and a "third house of parliament" that would advise on economic matters.Heinrich Pesch's idea of corporatism would be a qualified notion of subsidiarity.Pesch's ideas would be influential in the Papal EncyclicalQuadragesimo Anno,given that Pesch's discipleOswald von Nell-Breuningwould draft the document.Quadragesimo Annowas significant in legitimatizing the push for a corporatist system and subjected it to the notion of subsidiarity.Around this time, corporatism became increasingly prominent among young Catholics frustrated with parliamentary politicsand, in many instances, would inspire authoritarian and fascist regimes movements in Austria, France, Spain, Portugal,and Germany.Eventually, corporatism fell out of the political debate due to this association with authoritarian and fascist regimes.

Another economic idea within Christian democracy is thesocial market economy,which is widely influential across much of continental Europe. The social market is an essentially free market economy based on afree price systemand private property. However, it supports government activity to promote competitive markets with a comprehensivesocial welfare systemand effective public services to address social inequalities resulting from free market outcomes.The market is seen not as an end but as a means of generating wealth to achieve broader social goals and maintain societal cohesion.The basis of the social market economy isordoliberalism,or German neoliberalism,an idea related to thinkers such asWalter Eucken,Franz Böhm,Ludwig Erhard,Wilhelm RöpkeandAlfred Müller-Armack.Ordoliberals viewed the concentration of power as a significant danger to liberty.They desired an economic constitution that would ensure competition in markets and free decisions, where people are uninfluenced by the government.As a result of the economic constitution, this model is mildly corporatist.This model of capitalism, sometimes called Rhine–Alpine capitalism orsocial capitalism,is contrasted withAnglo-American capitalismorenterprise capitalism.Whereas the Anglo-capitalist model aims to remove restrictions on capitalism and enable individual prosperity, the Rhinish Model embeds the market into the social framework, with the goals of nation-building and of taking care of citizens.

Beginning in the 1980s, European Christian democratic parties have partially adopted "neo-liberal" policies.However, Christian democrats in the American Solidarity Party instead adopteddistributism.The promotion of the Christian democratic concepts ofsphere sovereigntyandsubsidiarityled to the creation of corporatist welfare states throughout the world that continue to exist to this day.In keeping with the Christian democratic concepts of thecultural mandateand thepreferential option for the poor,Christian justice is viewed as demanding that the welfare of all people, especially the poor and vulnerable, must be protected because every human being has dignity, being made in the image of God.In many countries, Christian democrats organized labor unions that competed with communist and social democratic unions, in contrast to conservatism's stance against worker organizations. In solidarity with these labor unions, in Belgium, for example, Christian democrats have lobbied for Sundayblue lawsthat guarantee workers and civil servants a day of rest in line with historicChristian Sabbath principles.Another example of a Christian-inspired workers' movement is theCatholic Worker Movementestablished byDorothy Day,which not only fought for better working standards, but also contributed to promoting the idea of pacifism and ajust war.

Popularism

Popolarismo(or popularism) is a political doctrine conceived by DonLuigi Sturzo,however in reality this was Christian democracy in the political sphere.The papal encyclicalGraves de communi reprohibited Christian democracy to be a political ideology, and so Sturzo used the termpopularisminstead.Popularism helped European Catholics come to accept democracy,and so the idea has been linked to Christian democratic ideas of democracy,which Sturzo Defined as:

The political and social system resting on the free, organic participation of the whole people in the common good.

Academics have tied the idea of popularism to the way Christian democratic parties encompass sections of the whole population.This results from the inherent religious center allowing cut across class divisions.In realization of this, Christian democratic parties tend to invoke the title "People's Parties".Academic Carlo Invernizzi Accetti links the idea of popularism toproportional representation,pillarization,andconsociational democracy.

Pluralism

The Christian democratic notion of pluralism is about how humans are generally embedded in a social framework.John Witte,explaining the origin of Christian democracy, describes pluralism thus:

Both Protestant and Catholic parties inveighed against the reductionist extremes and social failures of liberal democracies and social democracies. Liberal democracies, they believed, had sacrificed the community for the individual; social democracies had sacrificed the individual for the community. Both parties returned to a traditional Christian teaching of "social pluralism" or "subsidiarity", which stressed the dependence and participation of the individual in family, church, school, business, and other associations. Both parties stressed the responsibility of the state to respect and protect the "individual in community".

Sphere sovereignty stresses the horizontal element; social communities have roles they must uphold and certain liberty and autonomy.Here the government had the role of policing the spheres.Subsidiarity is the vertical element,where the state has the role of protecting and regulating the spheres.The state must not interfere if these communities are behaving effectively.This also means that a state can intervene when these communities are not competent.In practice, subsidiarity has been used to justify the creation of international organizations, as higher international authorities need to exist to police nation-states.

Stewardship

The idea of stewardship has traditionally been linked to managerial skills regarding property and income;Stewardship can be found in neo-Calvinist Abraham Kuyper's works, where it relates to a person's responsibilities over what is entrusted to them, especially their property.In Social Catholic circles in the 1970s, stewardship was explicitly linked to environmental matters.Stewardship was found in the first programs of theChristian Democratic Appeal,and from here alongside the works of American bishops, the idea would spread to other Christian democratic parties.They view competent and efficient government as emblematic of a "just steward", which includes just stewardship over environmental matters.Pope Francis took a firm stance on environmentalism in the papal encyclicalLaudato Siin 2015.Here, the idea of stewardship comes from the correct translation of Genesis, where God entrusts man with stewardship of the earth.

History

19th century

See also:Integralism

The origins of Christian democracy go back to theFrench Revolution,where initially, French republicanism and the Catholic Church were deeply hostile to one another as the revolutionary governments had attacked the church, confiscated the church's lands, persecuted its priests, and attempted to establish new religions, first theCult of Reasonand then theCult of the Supreme Being.After the decades following the French Revolution, the Catholic Church saw the rise ofliberalismas a threat to Catholic values. The rise of capitalism and the resulting industrialization and urbanization of society were seen to be destroying traditional communal and family life. According to the Catholic Church,liberal economicspromoted selfishness and materialism with the liberal emphasis on individualism, tolerance, and free expression, enabling all kinds of self-indulgence and permissiveness to thrive.Consequently, for much of the 19th century, the Catholic Church was hostile to democracy and liberalism.

This hostility to democracy and liberalism would be challenged byliberal Catholicswho believed the alliance between the church and aristocracy was a barrier to the church's mission.Initially, this group desired to reconcile the Catholics with the state of modern politics, getting Catholics involved in parties, public action, and parliamentarianism.This, however, was not an endorsement of democracy, and the liberal Catholics maintained they did not adhere to liberalism.Eventually, the movement's leading figures, such asFélicité de La Mennais,would become more accepting of democracy.The group came to be associated with a desire for a free press, freedom of association and worship, and free education.

Around this time,Catholic social thoughtdeveloped, with social Catholic theologians and activists advocating the interests of workers in society. Some activists, such asFrédéric Ozanam,theSociety of St Vincent de Paulfounder, were more amenable to liberal democracy.Ozanam criticized economic liberalism and the commodification of labor and argued that charity was insufficient to deal with these problems and that labor associations and state intervention were needed.Italian Popular Party leaderLuigi Sturzocredits Ozanam as the first Christian democrat.One of the more influential theologians in Germany wasWilhelm von Ketteler,who encouraged Catholics to accept the modern state.Ketteler argued for productive associations with profit sharing, Christian trade unions, and general workers' rights.

In the 1870s, Catholic political movements arose independently of the Catholic Church to defend Catholic interests from the liberal states. In Europe, generally, the liberal states desired to wrestle control over the Catholic education system; however, in Germany and Italy, this was a direct attack against the church.The Catholic political movements specifically opposed liberal secularism and state control of education; the parties that came out of these movements include theCentre Party (Germany),theCatholic Party (Belgium),various Catholic parties in the Netherlands,and theChristian Social Party (Austria).Initially, most of these parties accepted the anti-liberal beliefs of the Catholic Church at the time; many Catholics behind these movements believed all spheres of life should be regulated by religion.These movements were initially built byultramontanes,were against the liberal view that church and state must be separated,and used the term "Christian democracy" in opposition to liberal democracy.The Centre Party in Germany seems to be an exception to this trend in that they defended the Catholic Church through an appeal to liberal freedoms and democracy. Additionally, the Centre Party, inspired by Ketteler, supported social legislation.

Despite the thoroughly pro-Catholic position of these movements, the church itself resisted the movements, seeing them as a challenge to the church's control of the laity.Over time, the impact of electoral politics on these parties pushed them to be more accepting of liberal democracy. To form effective political coalitions, these parties evolved from Catholic parties to parties inspired by Christianity and turned to voters, not the Catholic Church, for legitimacy.During this time, the Catholic parties took an inter-class nature, such that they comprised trade unionists, landlords, industrialists, peasants, and artisans,which academics have linked to the notion ofpopularism.

Protestantconfessional politicswas more wide and varied. The most significant movement was in the Netherlands, whereReformed,neo-CalvinistProtestants founded theAnti-Revolutionary Party.Similarly to the Catholics, this party was formed out of similar concerns with liberal control of education.The party was against the ideas of the French revolution,and its founder,Abraham Kuyper,held that the government derived its authority from God, not from the people.However, Kuyper and the Anti-Revolutionary Party did support organic democratic representation and promoted universal household suffrage.In Germany, this element came from the LutheranAdolf Stoecker,who established theChristian Social Party,and those who followed him. The Christian social movement aimed to challenge Marxist socialism, so Stoecker supported pro-worker economic policies to win over the working class. However, when this failed, Stoecker turned to anti-Semitism.In Switzerland, Stoecker and his fellow allies generated some interest in Protestant political organization, but Protestants largely accepted the predominance of liberalism, so there was only minor growth of a Protestant political movement.

BetweenRerum novarumand World War II

The papacy ofPope Leo XIIIwas a turning point in the development of Christian democracy,and he attempted to infuse democracy and liberalism with Catholic values.In thepapalencyclicalRerum novarumin 1891,Pope Leo XIIIrecognized workers' misery and argued for means to improve workers' conditions. He also attacked economic liberalism and condemned the rise ofsocialism,and generally encouraged a corporatist approach to labor relations.Rerum novarumwould provide Catholic labor movements with an intellectual platform and would coincide with the rise of Christian trade unions across Europe.It was the catalyst for the beginning of Christian democracy in France,Italy, and Austria.The same year as the release of Rerum Novarum, Abraham Kuyper organized the Christian Social Congress alongside the Protestant workers' movement, where Kuyper outlined their social principles and policy. These actions reinforced the push for Christian social action in the Netherlands.InGraves de communi re,the pope would protest against using Christian democracy as a political label, preferring it to describe a social movement.

Some academics consider the Catholic political parties around this time to be essentially Catholic and not Christian democratic.However, others consider the newItalian People's Partyand thePopular Democratic Party (France)Christian democratic.These parties advocated political liberties, religious liberties, economic reform, and social partnership, policies to support democracy and internationalism.The Italian People's Party also advocated for regionalism and proportional representation.At the beginning of theWeimar Republic,Adam Stegerwaldattempted to reform the Centre Party into a Christian democratic party, uniting Catholics and Protestants.In Belgium, the rising workers' movement came to form the increasingly powerful Christian democratic faction of the Catholic Party.This period also saw other Catholic parties forming; Bavarian Catholics broke away and formed theBavarian People's Partydue to the Centre Party's participation in establishing theWeimar Republic.In Switzerland, Catholics formed theSwiss Conservative People's Party,which, as a party, was divided between three competing demographics; rural Catholics who wanted greater regional independence, Catholic workers who wanted economic reform, and the more conservative groups who opposed democracy.Overall, the party was held together by the Catholic faith and anti-socialist and anti-liberal tendencies.In Ireland, Fianna Fáil was founded as a Catholic political party.Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, and Labor would all be avenues for Christian democracy in the post-war period.

In the early 20th century, Protestant confessional politics developed further. In Weimar Germany, Stoecker's Christian social party joined theGerman National People's Partyas its labor wing in 1918.The Christian social parliamentarians from this party would then leave in 1929 to form theChristian Social People's Service(CSVD).Protestant workers' movements in Switzerland gradually developed mutual aid funds into an independent trade union movement. Around this time, Swiss Protestants formed theEvangelical People's Party.The 1930s saw the rise of theChristian People's Partyin Norway. It was built on the work ofPietist Lutherans,and the party was initially founded to defend the country's Christian heritage against the rise of secularization.There was cooperation between the Protestant and Catholic parties during this period. The Catholic and Protestant parties would form joint governments in the Netherlands and Germany.However, this cooperation did not challenge the underlying differences between the movements; in Germany, there was tension from cooperation with Protestants,while in the Netherlands, the Anti-Revolutionaries would not support pro-Vatican policies.

A significant factor that helped Christian democracy during this period was the layCatholic Actionmovements. These organizations stress the apostolate of the laity, which is the role of everyday Catholics in spreading the faith.In practice, these movements helped support the Christian trade unions and Christian democratic parties across Europe.In Italy, Catholic Action supported the Italian Popular Party, and the rise of Mussolini would act as an anti-fascist force.Catholic Action would later help the post-war Christian democracy.Likewise, Catholic Action would work in the resistance in France and help found the MRP.

In 1931,Pope Pius XIreleased the encyclicalQuadragesimo anno,which was released on the 40th anniversary ofRerum novarum,and aimed to clarify the subsequent social doctrine of the church. The encyclical doubled down on the pronouncements ofRerum novarumon economic liberalism and socialism.The attack against socialism was broadened to include moderate socialism,and within the encyclical, the pope outlined a corporatist structure of society based on the notion of "subsidiarity".However, the pope would stress the autonomy of this corporatist system to distinguish it from fascism.This Quadragesimo Anno would come to influence the economic programs of Catholic parties of the time, such as the Popular Democratic Party,and the DutchRoman Catholic State Party,alongside influencing Belgian Catholics.The Centre Party, Christian Social Party, and Swiss Conservative People's Party already advocated corporatism based on economists such asHeinrich Pesch,Oswald von Nell-Breuning,andKarl von Vogelsang.In Germany and Austria,Quadragesimo annorenewed the vigor for corporatism.In Ireland, Political Catholics would pursue a policy of vocationalism taken directly fromQuadragesimo anno.This vocationalism was most evident in the corporatist nature of theIrish upper house.

Across Europe, the Catholic and Protestant parties faced the threat of fascism. Amidst the rise ofFascismin Italy, theItalian People's Party,underSturzo,attempted to challengeMussoliniby forming a coalition with thesocialist party.Sturzo was ordered by the Catholic Church in 1923 to disband his party and exit politics.Poor electoral performance in 1924 would make Sturzo give party leadership toAlcide De Gasperiand go into exile.Once in power, the fascists disbanded the Italian People's Party. This would precede the signing of theLateran Treatybetween the Catholic Church and theItalian fascistsin 1929.TheCentre Partyand theCSVDwould face the rise of theNazi Partyin Germany. Once the Nazis attained power in 1933, they attempted to take total power with theEnabling Act.Internally, the Centre Party was divided on the Enabling Act, but many became persuaded thatHitlerwould not eliminate the Reichstag.Comparatively, the historical anti-Semitism of the Protestant Christian Social movement left the Christian Socials susceptible to Nazism. The Nazi Party would infiltrate the Protestant unions linked to CSVD in 1931.Eventually, both parties would sign theEnabling Act,and both parties would summarily dissolve. In Austria, the Christian Socials would have already disbanded before Germany annexed Austria.In Austria, a short civil war between authoritarians and social democrats would divide the Christian Socials, many of which would help build the authoritarian state. Outside of Italy, Germany and, Austria, many Catholic and Protestant parties would ultimately be dissolved when Nazi Germany invaded the rest of Europe inWorld War II.Many Christian democrats would assist in the resistance in France.

The post-war period

AfterWorld War II,"both Protestant and Catholic political activists helped to restore democracy to war-torn Europe and extend it overseas".Christian resistors were significant in establishing post-war Christian democracy movements in France,Germany,and Italy.The collapse of fascism led to the discrediting of the radical right.In Germany, conservatism was associated with reactionary and anti-democratic attitudes. The Christian democrats could claim to be untainted by fascism and thereby draw together conservative Catholics and bourgeois Protestants.In both Germany and Italy, the Christian democratic parties encompassed former conservatives.The Christian democratic parties dominated the post-war scene. In Italy, the newChristian Democratic Partyled the coalition government underAlcide De Gasperi,and in France, thePopular Republican Movementbecame the largest party in parliament in 1946.In Germany, France, and Italy, the Christian democratic parties helped establish their respective countries' constitutions. Between the 1940s and 1990s, Christian democratic parties were in power across western Europe; "In Germany they were in power for 36 years out of 50, in Italy for 47 years out of 52, in Belgium 47 years out of 53, and in Netherlands for 49 years of 53; even in France they were influential up to 1962".

In the post-war period, Christian democratic parties became more conservative, partially in response to communism and secularism.The Christian democrats also won the women's vote in their respective countries due to the pro-family policies of Christian democrats.Christian democrats pursued decentralization policies during this time, encouraging regionalism in Germany, Italy, and Belgium. This was sought with increased favor as a result of experiencing fascism.Christian democratic parties were also crucial in pushing for codeterminativeworks councilsand workers on boards during this time.Despite this initial power, cracks started to appear; Christian democracy in France declined substantially, as Popular Republican Movement and its successors quickly fell apart.French Christian democrats would ultimately become subsumed into Gaullist parties.

Similarly, minor Christian democratic parties such as thePeople's Democratic Party(PDP) would rise in post-Franco Spain. However, these movements were too divided and lacked the political necessity of religious cleavages to play a dominant role in Spanish democracy. These Christian democratic parties would fail, and the Christian democrats would join the Spanish Popular Party.

Protestant Christian democracy developed in multifaceted ways in the post-war period. In Germany, it arose amongst the Lutheranordoliberals.These Lutherans looked to Christian theologians such asKarl BarthandDietrich Bonhoefferto path a way that obeyed worldly authority but also challenged the Nazi regime.The core of the ordoliberal ideology was a strong state that enabled market competition.During the war, the ordoliberals worked with Bonhoeffer to develop a political and socio-economic plan for the post-war period,and after the war, they joined with Catholics to form the Christian Democratic Union.The ordoliberals termed their vision a "social market economy",a vision the Catholics would also come to champion.In Sweden, it arose amongst the Pentecostals, where it coalesced in theChristian Democrats,founded in 1964 as a reaction to secularization.The FinnishChristian Democrats,formed in 1957, and the DanishChristian People's Party,formed in 1970, defended Christian schooling and dissented against secular trends such as atheism and liberal abortion policies.The Nordic Christian democratic parties did not represent the Lutheran state church but non-conformist Christians and lay activists within the Lutheran state church.In the Netherlands, the Protestant Anti-Revolutionary Party andChristian Historical Unionjoined theCatholic People's Partyto form Christian Democratic Appeal.

European Christian democrats were a significant force in the creation of theEuropean Union.At the beginning of the European project, three significant men wereKonrad Adenauer,Robert Schuman,andAlcide De Gasperi,all Christian democrats.When theRome Treatywas signed, Christian democrats were the leading governments in four of the six countries, Germany, Italy, Belgium, and Luxembourg, and were a part of the coalition government in the Netherlands at the time.At least until the mid-1980s, social democrats were hostile to the institutions of theEuropean Communities– even in the 1970s, Swedish Prime MinisterOlof Palmecalled theEuropean Commission"conservative", "capitalist", "clerical", and "colonialist".Indeed, the European Union has the ideas ofsubsidiarityandpersonalismembedded within it.The influence of Christian democracy on the European Union is such that one academic has called the European Union a "Christian democracy".Alongside the European Union was the development of European Christian democratic parties. This appeared in the 1940s with the Nouvelles Equipes Internationales,which would evolve into theEuropean Union of Christian Democratsin 1965,and, finally, theEuropean People's Partyin 1976.

21st century

Christian democratic parties no longer have as much power in European politics.Indeed, in Italy, the Christian democratic party collapsed.The reasons for the decline in Christian democracy are multifaceted, partly due to European secularization and the loss of a voting base.The death of communism and the rise of neo-liberalism have also dented the movement, and the financial crisis has also shown flaws in Christian democratic welfare.Furthermore, immigration and the rise of populism have further put pressure on Christian democracy, as it is torn between the right's call for restrictions, the businesses' call for an open labor market, and the religious call for more charity to immigrants.

Some Christian democratic parties, particularly in Europe, no longer emphasize religion and have become much moresecularin recent years.Recently, many minor Christian democratic parties, such as theChristian Union,and others across Europe, did not feel represented in the existing political establishment, so they formed a political organization in theEuropean Christian Political Movement.These parties stressed the Christian history of Europe alongside advocating for traditional Christian values and economic andenvironmental justice.

Many Muslim parties in Muslim countries have looked to the Christian democratic tradition for inspiration. The most notable is Turkey's rulingJustice and Development Party(usually known by theTurkishacronym AKP, forAdalet ve Kalkınma Partisi), which is Islamic and has moved towards the tradition.However, this link is questioned, given that AKP's movement toward Christian democracy may be to curry the favor of European parties in European integration, something the European Christian democrats ultimately shot down.Other Islamic groups that have been linked include the Democratic League of Kosovoand Mohammad Morsi in Egypt.Some Muslim democratic parties embraced by Christian democrats are theNational Awakening Party (Indonesia)and theLakas–Christian Muslim Democrats (Philippines),who have joined theCentrist Democrat International.

Outside Western Europe

Main article:List of Christian democratic parties

The international organization of Christian democratic parties, theCentrist Democrat International(CDI), formerly known as the Christian Democratic International, is the second-largest international political organization in the world, after theSocialist International.European Christian democratic parties have a regional organization, theEuropean People's Party,which forms the largest group in theEuropean Parliament:theEuropean People's Party Group.

Latin America

Early Christian democracy in Latin America formed in the early 20th century, and these parties were generally conservative, and their main aim was to protect the interests of the Catholic church.These parties viewed Christianity as the origin and soul of democratic values and advocated an organic conception of society, decentralization, and corporatism.Christian democrats would become more progressive in the 1960s and 1970s, partially due to the consequences of theSecond Vatican Councilbetween 1961 and 1963.This led to the growth of liberation theology in Latin American Catholicism, which stressed class conflict over the Christian democratic class mediation.Furthermore, due to the US policy against socialism in Latin America, Christian democratic parties could position themselves as progressive and demand social reforms.

Furthermore, Christian democrats accepted modernism and technocracy and began to advocate centralized planning.In the 1980s, due to international trends such as the Washington consensus, Christian democrats accepted neoliberal policies in their nations, leading to future electoral losses.Throughout this period, Christian democratic parties have played a force for democracy, such asCOPEI,which helped establish Democratic Venezuela,and the PDC in Chile, the main opposition to Pinochet.

Christian democracy has been especially important inChile(seeChristian Democratic Party of Chile)and Venezuela (seeCOPEI– Christian Democratic Party of Venezuela), among others, and partly also inMexico,starting with the ascendancy ofPresidentVicente Foxin 2000, followed byFelipe Calderón(seeNational Action Party (Mexico)).Cuba counts several Christian democratic political associations on the island and in exile. Perhaps the most significant is Movimiento Cristiano de Liberación (MCL), led by Cuban dissidentOswaldo Payá,who was killed in a tragic automobile accident in the summer of 2012 and has been nominated for theNobel Peace Prize.In Uruguay, theChristian Democratic Party of Uruguay,although numerically small, was instrumental in creating the leftistBroad Frontin 1971.

Asia

South Korea

Although Christian democratic movements are not prevalent in theEast AsiaasChristianityis not a main religion there, liberal parties inSouth Korea,the only country in the East Asia where Christianity is the main religion, tend to have Christian democratic tendencies.Democratic Party of Korea,which is the main liberal party of South Korea, supports building universalwelfare state.However they tend to be conservative on social issues due to the influence of Christianity.Democratic Party of Koreaopposeanti-discrimination law,gay marriage,civil unionandabortion.

Central and Eastern Europe

Poland

Christian democratic movements in Poland formed in 1890 and gained increasing prominence from 1916, such that various Christian democratic movements coalesced into theChristian Democratic Partyin 1919.The party's economic program drew fromRerum Novarumand laterQuadragesimo anno.The party would encourage cross-class solidarity, co-ownership, and co-determination.For the first half of the 1920s the party had considerable influence in government, providing cabinet members and a prime minister.After the coup d'état in 1926, the party's influence worsened. The party would eventually side with theopposition centre-leftand unite withNational Workers' Partyto form theLabour Partyin 1937.Wojciech Korfanty,Karol PopielandJózef Hallerwere the most significant members of the Christian democratic movement.

During World War II many politicians of Labour Party organised resistance movement known asThe Union,which was later integrated withHome Armyin 1942. The Labour Party continued to exist in exile till the fall of communism (its prominent memberStanisław Gebhartwas active in organising theEuropeanandinternationalChristian democratic movement), procommunist faction existed in Poland until 1950.

After World War II agrarianPolish People's Party,the only opposition party incommunist Polandhad large Christian democratic factions, which had lost their influence after the party was defeated and forced tounitewith communist peasant parties. Progovernmental organizations referring to Christian values, likePAX associationrepresented interests of communist block rather than Christian democratic values.

Christian democratic movements experienced its revival during theSolidarityuprising.Lech WałęsaandTadeusz Mazowieckiwere considered as Christian democrats leaders within the Solidarity movement.The democratic opposition was openly supported by Catholic Church led byJohn Paul II,but also by Christian organisations likeClub of Catholic Intelligentsia.After the fall of communism many Christian democratic parties were emerged on the right (likeCentre Agreement,Christian-Peasant Party,Conservative People's Partyor revivedLabour Party), while more centre-oriented Christian factions teamed up with liberals to form theDemocratic Union,later theFreedom Union.In late 1990s conservative and Christian democratic parties formedSolidarity Electoral Action.

Since 2005 Polish political scene has been dominated by two major parties, liberal conservativeCivic Platformand right-wingLaw and Justice,both with significant Christian democratic factions.With the time when the Civic Platform shifted to social-liberal positions and Law and Justice to right-wing populism, the agrarianPolish People's Partybecame a significant Christian-oriented voice.The populars have abandoned its former left-wing policy to form Christian democratic and conservative political projects likePolish CoalitionandThird Way.

Romania

Christian democracy has developed in countries with Eastern Orthodox majorities in unique and disparate ways. Romania has seen small Christian parties – such as theNational Peasants' Partyin 1926, which promoted Christian morality, democracy and social justice.In the 1980s, Corneliu Coposu, would affiliate the party with the CDI, and on the fall of Communism, would re-enroll the party as theChristian Democratic National Peasants' Partyin 1990. This new party advocated market economies with social protection, subsidiarity and citizens liberties. Corneliu Coposu, hoped Romania would become "the Capital of Orthodox Christian-Democracy".

After the fall of communism Christian democratic tendencies are mostly visible in the platform of the centre-rightNational Liberal Partyand the eurofederalist, national conservativePeople's Movement Party.

Russia

Russian Christian democracy was beset by personality clashes between leaders, and Russian Christian democracy was bifurcated into two ideological camps.The first wanted to import a carbon copy of Western Christian democracy into the Russian political scene, such as the RCDU, CDUR andRCPD.The Christians that make up these groups are not from Orthodoxy themselves – they are newly Orthodox Christians or Protestants.The largest party of the other group was the Russian Christian Democratic Movement, which attempted to unify democracy with orthodoxy on the basis of statism and patriotism (73–74).In practice they acted as democrats or patriots, depending on circumstances.It would gradually move to the right, adopt and ally with orthodox-monarchists and national-republicans.The party would eventually leave the democratic group.

Post-Iron Curtain and former Yugoslavia

After the end of the socialist experience inCentral and Eastern Europe,and especially withEuropean integration,many parties from former socialist countries become members of the Christian democratic umbrella organization, theEuropean People's Party(EPP). Examples include theKDU-ČSLin the Czech Republic, theCroatian Democratic Unionin Croatia, theCivic Platformin Poland, etc. Hungary'sFideszwas part of the EPP from 2004 to 2021; its leader,Viktor Orbán,claimedHungaryto be a "Christian democracy".Many of those parties pushed for a re-traditionalization of society, pro-family policies, a Bismarckianwelfare state,and identity politics based on Christianity while maintaining a pro-European integration attitude.The ideals of Christian democracy also inspire otherEuroskepticparties, and they are grouped under the umbrella of theEuropean Conservatives and Reformists Party;an example isLaw and Justicein Poland.

Greece

In Greece,New Democracyis deemed to be a Christian democratic party – though it often moves back and forth from Christian democracy toliberal conservatismintermittently.

Britain

Christian democracy in the UK was sporadic and un-unified. One group was the Catholic Social Guild, established in 1909 to propagate a Catholic alternative to socialism. They encouraged Catholics to work within theLabour Partyand push policies for families, a living wage, social partnership in industry, and property diffusion.Another group was the People and Freedom Group, established during Sturzo's exile in the UK.They were a largely middle-class organization set up in response to pain felt by Catholics during theSpanish Civil War.They published their manifesto, "For Democracy" in 1939.The Catholic Worker was another Christian democratic group at the time.In general, British Christian democrats, especially those in the People and Freedom Group, attempted to push the Labour Party towards Christian democracy, and they made a significant attempt to portray Christian democracy as left-wing.Ultimately the People and Freedom Group failed to do so and became disillusioned with the Labour Party.On the other hand, the Catholic Worker aimed to make Labour policies acceptable to Catholics.More recently,Christian Peoples Allianceis a Christian democratic party that emphasizes the country's Christian heritage and advocates for the principles of "active compassion, respect for life, social justice, wise stewardship, empowerment, and reconciliation."

Australia

Christian democratic parties in Australia include theDemocratic Labor Partyand, arguably, the disbandedChristian Democratic Party.

The Democratic Labor Party was formed in 1955 as a split from theAustralian Labor Party(ALP). InVictoriaandNew South Wales,state executive members, parliamentarians, and branch members associated with the Industrial Groups orB. A. Santamariaand "The Movement" (and therefore strongly identified withRoman Catholicism) were expelled from the party. They formed theDemocratic Labor Party(DLP). Later in 1957, a similar split occurred inQueensland,with the resulting group joining the DLP. The party also had sitting members fromTasmaniaandNew South Walesat various times, though it was much stronger in the states mentioned above. The Democratic Labor Party (DLP) did not claim to be a Christian democratic party, but it has been considered such by historian Michael Fogarty.The party's goals wereanti-communism,the decentralization of industry, population, administration, and ownership.In its view that the ALP was filled with communists, the party decided it wouldpreferthe ruling conservativeLiberalandCountryparties over the ALP.However, it was more morally conservative, militantly anti-communist, and socially compassionate than the Liberals. The DLP heavily lost ground in the federal election of 1974, which saw its primary vote cut by nearly two-thirds and the election of an ALP government.

The DLP never regained its previous support in subsequent elections and formally disbanded in 1978, but a small group within the party refused to accept this decision and created a small, reformed successor party (now theDemocratic Labour Party). In 2006, the new DLP experienced a resurgence. The successor party struggled through decades of Victorian elections before finally gaining a parliamentary seat when the Victorian upper house was redesigned. Nevertheless, its electoral support is still minimal in Victoria (around 2%). It has recently reformed state parties in Queensland and New South Wales. In the2010 Australian federal election,the DLP won the sixth senate seat in Victoria, giving it representation in theAustralian Senate.

The formerChristian Democratic Party,initially known as the "Call to Australia (Fred Nile) Group",was a strongly religious conservative party in Australia.It is aChristian rightparty, akin to the CanadianChristian Heritage Partyand New ZealandChristian Heritage Party.In 2011, the Victorian and Western Australian branches of the Christian Democratic Party (CDP) voted to form a new party,Australian Christians,while the former Christian Democratic Party was wound up due to governance issues in 2022, and its leader,Fred Nile,moved onto a new party: "Christ in Government (Fred Nile Alliance)".

North America

Historically, there has been no Christian democratic movement in theUnited States.This is potentially a result of the two-party system in the US and the constitutional separation of church and state.However, for European Christian democrats, the United States has been a source of inspiration for how Christianity and democracy can work together.Indeed, for Jacques Maritain, America was the realization of the Christian democratic ideal.Thus, Invernizzi Accetti states:

from the point of view of Christian Democrats themselves, the United States didn't need a Christian Democratic party or movement because it already was a Christian Democracy.

However, there have been some Christian democratic Groups in the US; Inspired by the "People and Freedom Group" in the UK, US Catholics set up similar groups in American cities.

TheAmerican Solidarity Partyis a minor third party in the United States that identifies as a Christian democratic party.

TheCenter for Public Justiceis a Christian democratic public policy organization that desires to "bring the principles of a Christian worldview to bear on the political realm."

See also

• List of Christian democratic partiesaround the world

International Christian democratic organizations

• Centrist Democrat International(CDI) – formerly Christian Democratic International
• Christian Democratic Organization of America(ODCA) – a CDI regional organization for the Americas
• European Christian Political Movement(ECPM) – a European party (non-CDI)
• European Democratic Party(EDP) – a European party (non-CDI)
• European People's Party(EPP) – the largest transnational European party of Christian democratic and conservative parties (a CDI and IDU regional)

Related concepts

• Catholic social teaching
• Centrism
• Christian corporatism
• Christian left
• Christian libertarianism
• Christian nationalism
• Christian reconstructionism
• Christian republic
• Christian right
• Christian socialism
• Christian state
• Christian values
• Christianity and politics
• Communitarianism
• Compassionate conservatism
• Corporatism
• Cultural conservatism
• Distributism
• Dominion Theology
• Georgism
• Islamic democracy
• Liberation theology
• Moderation theory
• Neo-Calvinism
• One-nation conservatism
• Ordoliberalism
• Paleolibertarianism
• Political Catholicism
• Radical centrism
• Social conservatism
• Social credit
• Social democracy
• Social market economy
• Theodemocracy
• Third Way

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Further reading

• Gehler, Michael;Kaiser, Wolfram(2004a),Political Catholicism in Europe 1918–1945,Routledge,ISBN0-7146-5650-X
• Gehler, Michael; Kaiser, Wolfram (2004b),Christian Democracy in Europe since 1945,Routledge,ISBN0-7146-5662-3
• Gehler, Michael; Kaiser, Wolfram; Wohnout, Helmut, eds. (2001),Christdemokratie in Europa im 20. Jahrhundert / Christian Democracy in 20th Century Europe,Böhlau Verlag,ISBN3-205-99360-8
• Invernizzi Accetti, Carlo (2019).What is Christian Democracy?: Politics, Religion and Ideology.New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Kaiser, Wolfram (2007),Christian Democracy and the Origins of European Union,Cambridge University Press,ISBN978-0-521-88310-8
• Kaiser, Wolfram; Kosicki, Piotr (2021).Political Exile in the Global Twentieth Century: Catholic Christian Democrats in Europe and the Americas.Belgium: S.l.: Leuven University Press. p. 21.ISBN978-946-27030-70.

External links

Key texts

• Rerum Novarum: On Capital And Labor (1891)– Pope Leo XIII
• Christianity and the Class Struggle (1891, 1950)– Abraham Kuyper
• Calvinism: six Stone-lectures (1899)– Abraham Kuyper
• Quadragesimo Anno: On Reconstruction of the Social Order (1931)– Pope Pius XI
• Reorganization of social economy: Developed and explained (1937)–Oswald von Nell-Breuining
• A Personalist Manifesto (1938)– Emmanuel Mounier
• True Humanism (1938)– Jacques Maritain
• The Person and the Common Good (1948)– Jacques Maritain
• Man and the State (1951)– Jacques Maritain
• Laudato si (2015)– Pope Francis

Other resources

• New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia– an article on Christian Democracy
• Christian Democracy in Western Europe: 1820–1953Archived24 February 2012 at theWayback Machine– a book by Michael Fogarty
• For Democracy (1939)– People and Freedom Group
• Denkschrift: A Political Order for Communal Life (1943)– Freiburg Circle
• 'Conservativism and Christian Democracy'– an essay by former (1992–2015) UK Conservative MPDavid Willetts
• 'Blue Labour + Red Tory = Christian Democracy?'– an article by Nicholas Townsend, April 2015