Christian Democracy
Encyclopedia
Christian democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Christian
principles to public policy
. It emerged in nineteenth-century Europe
under the influence of conservatism
and Catholic social teaching
. It continues to be influential in Europe and Latin America
, though in a number of countries its Christian ethos has been diluted by secularisation.
In practice, Christian democracy is often considered conservative on cultural, social and moral issues (social conservatism) and advocates a social market economy
in the economic field (crossing over with social democratic economics but based on the family). In Europe, where their opponents have traditionally been secularist socialists
, Christian democratic parties are moderately conservative overall, whereas in the very different cultural and political environment of Latin America they tend to lean to the left.
Examples of Christian democratic parties include the German Christian Democratic Union
(CDU), the Christian Democrat Party of Chile
, the Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland
, the Christian Democratic Appeal
(CDA) in the Netherlands and the historical Christian Democracy
in Italy.
As a generalisation, it can be said that Christian democratic parties in Europe tend to be moderately conservative
, and in several cases form the main conservative party in their respective countries (e.g. in Germany, Spain, and Belgium). In Latin America, by contrast, Christian democratic parties tend to be progressive
and influenced by liberation theology
. These generalisations, however, must be nuanced by the consideration that Christian democracy does not fit precisely into the usual categories of political thought, but rather includes elements common to several other political ideologies:
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 usually socially conservative
, and, as such, generally have a relatively skeptical stance towards abortion
and same-sex marriage
, though some Christian democratic parties have accepted the limited legalization of both. Christian democratic parties are often likely to assert the Christian
heritage of their country, and to affirm explicitly Christian ethics, rather than adopting a more liberal or secular stance.
On economic issues, Christian democrats tend not to challenge capitalism
as an economic system, unlike their explicit repudiation of communism
and similar ideologies, though they do see the economy as being at the service of humanity. The duty of the state towards society is of real importance for Christian democrats, though some would see this duty as being merely to create the conditions for civil society to flourish outside the boundaries of the state, while others would see it as a more direct duty of the state towards citizens. In recent decades, some right-leaning Christian democratic parties in Europe have adopted policies consistent with an economically liberal
point of view, while by contrast other Christian democrats at times seem to hold views not dissimilar from Christian socialism
.
encyclical Rerum Novarum
of Pope Leo XIII
, in which the Vatican
recognized workers' misery and agreed that something should be done about it, in reaction to the rise of the socialist
and trade union
movements. The position of the Roman Catholic Church
on this matter was further clarified in a subsequent encyclical, Quadragesimo Anno
, by Pope Pius XI
in 1931. Christian democracy has evolved considerably since then, and it is no longer the Catholic ideology of Distributism
, although it is based on Catholic social teaching. In Germany, for example, the Christian Democratic Party emerged as a grouping dominated by Rhenish and Westphalian Catholics, but also encompassed the more conservative elements of the Protestant
population. Following World War II, Christian democracy was seen as a neutral and unifying voice of compassionate conservatism, and distinguished itself from the far right
. It gave a voice to 'conservatives of the heart', particularly in Germany, who had detested Adolf Hitler
's regime yet agreed with the right on many issues.
In Protestant
countries, Christian democratic parties were founded by more conservative Protestants in reaction to the political power of liberal
tendencies within the Protestant churches. In the Netherlands, for instance, the Anti Revolutionary Party
was founded in 1879 by conservative Protestants. It institutionalized early 19th century opposition against the ideas from the French Revolution on popular sovereignty. It held the position that government derived its authority from God and not from the people. This Burkean position is sometimes also called Christian Historian. It was a response to the liberal ideas that predominated in political life. The Christian Democrats of Sweden
, rooted in the Pentecostal religious tradition, has a similar history.
While Christian democracy is of Roman Catholic origin, it has been adopted by many Protestant
and Eastern Orthodox
Christians as well. Some Christian democratic parties, particularly in Europe, no longer emphasize religion and have become much more secular in recent years. Also within Europe, two essentially Islamic parties, the Democratic League of Kosovo
and Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party
(usually known by the Turkish
acronym AKP, for Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi) have moved towards the tradition. The Democratic League of Kosovo is now a full member of the Centrist Democrat International (see below).
Christian democracy can trace its philosophical roots back to Thomas Aquinas
and his thoughts about Aristotelian
ontology
and the Christian
tradition. According to him, human rights are defined as the things that humans need to function properly. For example, food is a human right because without food humans cannot function properly. Modern authors important to the formation of Christian democratic ideology include Emmanuel Mounier
, Étienne Gilson
, and Jacques Maritain
.
The international organization of Christian democratic parties, the Centrist Democrat International
(CDI), is the second largest international political organization in the world (second only to the Socialist International
). European Christian democratic parties have their own regional organization called the European People's Party
, which form the largest group in the European Parliament
, the EPP Group.
(inspired by Luigi Sturzo
; see Christian Democracy (Italy)
), Norway
(see Christian Democratic Party of Norway), and Germany
(see Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
and Christian Social Union in Bavaria). Major Christian democratic influence can also be seen in the politics of Austria (see Austrian People's Party
), Belgium (see Christene Volkspartij
, Christian Democratic and Flemish and Humanist Democratic Centre
), Finland, France, Ireland (see Fine Gael
), Luxembourg
, Malta
, the Netherlands (see Christian Democratic Appeal
), Portugal (see Democratic and Social Centre – People's Party), Poland (see Civic Platform
and Polish Peasants' Party), Ukraine
(see Christian Democratic Union (Ukraine)
), Spain (see, Partido Popular
, Democratic Union of Catalonia
), and Sweden (see Christian Democrats (Sweden)
). Christian democracy is not very strong in the United Kingdom where the Conservative Party
dominates conservative politics and does not advocate Christian democratic platforms.
The Nationalist Party of Malta
is a Christian democratic party and has won seven out of ten general elections since Malta
's independence in 1964. Currently governing, it has won its third consecutive general election in 2008. It advocates staunch Christian values including bans on abortion and divorce.
(see Christian Democrat Party of Chile
), among others, and also in Mexico
, starting with the ascendancy of President
Vicente Fox
in 2000, and in 2006 with Felipe Calderón Hinojosa (see National Action Party (Mexico)
).
(which is a social democratic party) and Family First Party
(which is regarded by some as a liberal democratic party).
In Victoria
, and NSW Australian Labor Party
(ALP) state executive members, parliamentarians and branch members associated (rightly or wrongly) with the Industrial Groups or B. A. Santamaria
and The Movement, were expelled from the party (against that party's rules). They formed a new party, soon to be known as the Democratic Labor Party
(DLP). Later in 1957, a similar split occurred in Queensland
, with the resulting group subsequently joining the DLP. The party also had sitting members from Tasmania
and New South Wales
at various times, though it was much stronger in the former mentioned states.
The party was in agreement with the ruling conservative Liberal
and Country
parties on many issues, which resulted in their preferencing
of these parties over the ALP. However, it was more morally conservative, militantly anti-communist and socially compassionate than the Liberals. The DLP was defeated by the federal election of 1974 that saw its primary vote cut by nearly two thirds, and the entry 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.
Though his party was effectively gone, Santamaria and his National Civic Council took a strong diametrically opposed stance to dominant neoliberal/New Right
tendencies within both the ALP and Liberal parties throughout the eighties and early nineties.
A new Christian party that found its first strength in 1981 was the Christian Democratic Party
(initially known as the "Call to Australia" party). It gained 9.1% of the vote in the New South Wales
(NSW) state election of 1981, but its vote rapidly declined thereafter. This Protestant party had some very similar social policies to the DLP. Its support base has generally been restricted to NSW and Western Australia
, where it usually gains between 2–4% of votes, with its support being minuscule in other states. It has had two members of the NSW state parliament for most of its existence.
Another Australian Christian democratic party of note is the Family First Party
. It has had one or two members in the SA parliament since 2002, and in 2004 also managed to elect a Victorian senator. Its electoral support is small, with the largest constituencies being South Australia
(4–6%), and Victoria
(around 4%). Family First generally receives lower support in national elections than in state elections.
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 very small in Victoria (around 2%). It has recently reformed state parties in Queensland and New South Wales. However, as of 2 September 2010, the DLP may win the sixth senate seat in Victoria.
, Israel's Shas
(orthodox
Sephardic Orthodox party) and United Torah Judaism
(orthodox Ashkenazi party) are politically similar to Christian democratic parties, due to their combination of conservative social and religious policies with an emphasis on increased social spending. They also tend to be centrist and relatively flexible in terms of their positions on national security and the peace process.
Turkey's conservative Justice and Development Party
(AK Party) bears important similarities to the West's Christian democratic parties. Broadly pro-Western and inclined to economic liberalism
, the AKP rejects Turkey's traditional stringent anti-clericalism
in favor of a more friendly separation of church and state
.
Francis Davis, a former advisor to both the Labour and Colaition governments in the UK blogs at http://theprincipledsociety.com and has a close interest in Christian Democratic parties
electoral system, like that of the United States, imposed strong centralizing and bipartisan pressures on its political configurations, which disadvantaged minor parties. For this reason, Catholics have remained enmeshed within the New Zealand Labour Party
. As in Australia, conservative Catholics opposed Labour and National New Right policies during the 1980s and 1990s. However, the New Zealand Labour Party never split as the Australian Labor Party did in the 1950s.
However, by the 1980s, New Zealand Catholic voting patterns were diversifying. Class seemed to trump confessional adherence, as older Catholic sectarians died off, and became less able to enforce preferred economic and social policies through unified bloc pressure. Occupational and class divisions may have led to left/right bifurcation. Rural Catholics might therefore vote National due to occupational preferences as farmers, while urban working-class Catholics might have voted Labour, Alliance or Green, due to each party's commitment to stronger social policy expenditure, or commitment to peace movement and anti-war stances.
In 1993 New Zealand introduced the Mixed Member Proportional system of proportional representation, which created greater openings for small parties, and since 1996 all governments have involved coalitions. An example of this is independent MP Gordon Copeland
being aligned with New Zealand's Labour Party-led government in matters of confidence and supply
for the 2005-2008 term, but voting along social conservative lines in other matters.
Within the New Zealand National Party
, Bill English
has often voiced anxieties about the New Right direction of his party since the late 1990s, consistent with what one would expect from a European Christian democrat.
By contrast, Jim Anderton
broke away from the Labour Party and was party leader of the New Labour Party and Alliance until left/pragmatist strains broke it apart in 2001–02. Since then, his Progressive Party has adopted social conservative stances against prostitution in New Zealand
, euthanasia
, and decriminalisation of cannabis (marijuana), while strongly supporting increased expenditure on public health
, social welfare and public education
; all these policies are consistent with a Christian democrat framework.
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
principles to public policy
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
. It emerged in nineteenth-century Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
under the influence of conservatism
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
and Catholic social teaching
Catholic social teaching
Catholic social teaching is a body of doctrine developed by the Catholic Church on matters of poverty and wealth, economics, social organization and the role of the state...
. It continues to be influential in Europe and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, though in a number of countries its Christian ethos has been diluted by secularisation.
In practice, Christian democracy is often considered conservative on cultural, social and moral issues (social conservatism) and advocates a social market economy
Social market economy
The social market economy is the main economic model used in West Germany after World War II. It is based on the economic philosophy of Ordoliberalism from the Freiburg School...
in the economic field (crossing over with social democratic economics but based on the family). In Europe, where their opponents have traditionally been secularist socialists
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, Christian democratic parties are moderately conservative overall, whereas in the very different cultural and political environment of Latin America they tend to lean to the left.
Examples of Christian democratic parties include the German Christian Democratic Union
Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...
(CDU), the Christian Democrat Party of Chile
Christian Democrat Party of Chile
The Christian Democratic Party is a political party in Chile and governs as part of the Coalition of Parties for Democracy coalition. In the 2009 election it won 19 congress seats and 9 senate seats....
, the Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland
Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland
The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland is a Christian democratic political party in Switzerland. It is the fourth-largest party in the National Council, with 31 seats, and the largest in the Council of States, with 15 seats. It has one seat, that of Doris Leuthard, on the Swiss...
, the Christian Democratic Appeal
Christian Democratic Appeal
The Christian Democratic Appeal is a centre-right Dutch Christian democratic political party. It suffered severe losses in the 2010 elections and fell from the first to the fourth place...
(CDA) in the Netherlands and the historical Christian Democracy
Christian Democracy (Italy)
Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield ....
in Italy.
Political viewpoints
As with any political ideology, Christian democracy has had different manifestations over time and between countries; there are two broad ideologies that are called Christian Democracy.As a generalisation, it can be said that Christian democratic parties in Europe tend to be moderately conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
, and in several cases form the main conservative party in their respective countries (e.g. in Germany, Spain, and Belgium). In Latin America, by contrast, Christian democratic parties tend to be progressive
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
and influenced by liberation theology
Liberation theology
Liberation theology is a Christian movement in political theology which interprets the teachings of Jesus Christ in terms of a liberation from unjust economic, political, or social conditions...
. These generalisations, however, must be nuanced by the consideration that Christian democracy does not fit precisely into the usual categories of political thought, but rather includes elements common to several other political ideologies:
- In common with conservatism, traditional moral values (on marriage, abortion, etc.), opposition to secularizationSecularizationSecularization is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions...
, a view of the evolutionary (as opposed to revolutionary) development of society, an emphasis on law and order, and a rejection of communismCommunismCommunism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
. - In contrast to conservatism, open to change (for example, in the structure of society) and not necessarily supportive of the social status quo.
- In common with liberalism, an emphasis on human rights and individual initiative.
- In contrast to liberalism, a rejection of secularismSecularismSecularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
, and an emphasis on the fact that the individual is part of a community and has duties towards it. - In common with socialism, an emphasis on the community, social solidarity, support for a welfare state, and support for some regulation of market forces.
- In contrast to socialism, most European Christian Democrats support a market economyMarket economyA market economy is an economy in which the prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system. This is often contrasted with a state-directed or planned economy. Market economies can range from hypothetically pure laissez-faire variants to an assortment of real-world mixed...
and do not adhere to the doctrine of class struggleClass struggleClass struggle is the active expression of a class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote "The [written] history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle"....
. This does not necessarily carry over to some Latin American Christian Democratic Parties, with their Liberation Theology influence.
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 usually socially conservative
Social conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
, and, as such, generally have a relatively skeptical stance towards abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
and same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
, though some Christian democratic parties have accepted the limited legalization of both. Christian democratic parties are often likely to assert the Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
heritage of their country, and to affirm explicitly Christian ethics, rather than adopting a more liberal or secular stance.
On economic issues, Christian democrats tend not to challenge capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
as an economic system, unlike their explicit repudiation of communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and similar ideologies, though they do see the economy as being at the service of humanity. The duty of the state towards society is of real importance for Christian democrats, though some would see this duty as being merely to create the conditions for civil society to flourish outside the boundaries of the state, while others would see it as a more direct duty of the state towards citizens. In recent decades, some right-leaning Christian democratic parties in Europe have adopted policies consistent with an economically liberal
Economic liberalism
Economic liberalism is the ideological belief in giving all people economic freedom, and as such granting people with more basis to control their own lives and make their own mistakes. It is an economic philosophy that supports and promotes individual liberty and choice in economic matters and...
point of view, while by contrast other Christian democrats at times seem to hold views not dissimilar from Christian socialism
Christian socialism
Christian socialism generally refers to those on the Christian left whose politics are both Christian and socialist and who see these two philosophies as being interrelated. This category can include Liberation theology and the doctrine of the social gospel...
.
History
Christian democracy as a political movement was born at the end of the 19th century, largely as a result of the papalPope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
encyclical Rerum Novarum
Rerum Novarum
Rerum Novarum is an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII on May 15, 1891. It was an open letter, passed to all Catholic bishops, that addressed the condition of the working classes. The encyclical is entitled: “Rights and Duties of Capital and Labour”...
of Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
, in which the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
recognized workers' misery and agreed that something should be done about it, in reaction to the rise of the socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
and trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
movements. The position of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
on this matter was further clarified in a subsequent encyclical, Quadragesimo Anno
Quadragesimo Anno
Quadragesimo Anno is an encyclical written by Pope Pius XI, issued 15 May 1931, 40 years after Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum. Unlike Leo XIII, who addressed the condition of workers, Pius XI discusses the ethical implications of the social and economic order...
, by Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
in 1931. Christian democracy has evolved considerably since then, and it is no longer the Catholic ideology of Distributism
Distributism
Distributism is a third-way economic philosophy formulated by such Catholic thinkers as G. K...
, although it is based on Catholic social teaching. In Germany, for example, the Christian Democratic Party emerged as a grouping dominated by Rhenish and Westphalian Catholics, but also encompassed the more conservative elements of the Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
population. Following World War II, Christian democracy was seen as a neutral and unifying voice of compassionate conservatism, and distinguished itself from the far right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
. It gave a voice to 'conservatives of the heart', particularly in Germany, who had detested Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's regime yet agreed with the right on many issues.
In Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
countries, Christian democratic parties were founded by more conservative Protestants in reaction to the political power of liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
tendencies within the Protestant churches. In the Netherlands, for instance, the Anti Revolutionary Party
Anti Revolutionary Party
The Anti Revolutionary Party was a Dutch Protestant Christian democratic political party. The ARP is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal. After 1917 the party never received more than twenty percent of the vote.-History before 1879:The anti-revolutionary parliamentary caucus...
was founded in 1879 by conservative Protestants. It institutionalized early 19th century opposition against the ideas from the French Revolution on popular sovereignty. It held the position that government derived its authority from God and not from the people. This Burkean position is sometimes also called Christian Historian. It was a response to the liberal ideas that predominated in political life. The Christian Democrats of Sweden
Christian Democrats (Sweden)
The Christian Democrats ) is a political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1964 but did not enter parliament until 1985 in an electoral cooperation with the Centre Party and on the Christian Democrats' own accord in 1991. The leader since April 3, 2004 is Göran Hägglund. He succeeded Alf...
, rooted in the Pentecostal religious tradition, has a similar history.
While Christian democracy is of Roman Catholic origin, it has been adopted by many Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
and Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
Christians as well. Some Christian democratic parties, particularly in Europe, no longer emphasize religion and have become much more secular in recent years. Also within Europe, two essentially Islamic parties, the Democratic League of Kosovo
Democratic League of Kosovo
The Democratic League of Kosovo is the second largest political party in Kosovo. It is a conservative and liberal conservative party; the main right-wing party in Kosovo....
and Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party
Justice and Development Party (Turkey)
The Justice and Development Party , abbreviated JDP in English and AK PARTİ or AKP in Turkish, is a centre-right political party in Turkey. The party is the largest in Turkey, with 327 members of parliament...
(usually known by the Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
acronym AKP, for Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi) have moved towards the tradition. The Democratic League of Kosovo is now a full member of the Centrist Democrat International (see below).
Christian democracy can trace its philosophical roots back to Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
and his thoughts about Aristotelian
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
ontology
Ontology
Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, existence or reality as such, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations...
and the Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
tradition. According to him, human rights are defined as the things that humans need to function properly. For example, food is a human right because without food humans cannot function properly. Modern authors important to the formation of Christian democratic ideology include Emmanuel Mounier
Emmanuel Mounier
Emmanuel Mounier was a French philosopher.Mounier was the guiding spirit in the French Personalist movement, and founder and director of Esprit, the magazine which was the organ of the movement. Mounier, who was the child of peasants, was a brilliant scholar at the Sorbonne...
, Étienne Gilson
Étienne Gilson
Étienne Gilson was a French Thomistic philosopher and historian of philosophy...
, and Jacques Maritain
Jacques Maritain
Jacques Maritain was a French Catholic philosopher. Raised as a Protestant, he converted to Catholicism in 1906. An author of more than 60 books, he helped to revive St. Thomas Aquinas for modern times and is a prominent drafter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights...
.
Christian democracy around the world
Centrist Democrat International
The Centrist Democrat International was until 2001 the Christian Democrat International and before that the Christian Democrat and People's Parties International...
(CDI), is the second largest international political organization in the world (second only to the Socialist International
Socialist International
The Socialist International is a worldwide organization of democratic socialist, social democratic and labour political parties. It was formed in 1951.- History :...
). European Christian democratic parties have their own regional organization called the European People's Party
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
, which form the largest group in the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, the EPP Group.
Christian democracy in Europe
Christian democracy has been especially important in the politics of ItalyPolitics of Italy
The politics of Italy is conducted through a parliamentary, democratic republic with a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised collectively by the Council of Ministers, which is led by the President of the Council of Ministers, referred to as "Presidente del Consiglio" in Italian...
(inspired by Luigi Sturzo
Luigi Sturzo
Don Luigi Sturzo was an Italian Catholic priest and politician. Known in his lifetime as a "clerical socialist," Sturzo is considered one of the fathers of Christian democracy. Sturzo was one of the founders of the Partito Popolare Italiano in 1919, but was forced into exile in 1924 with the rise...
; see Christian Democracy (Italy)
Christian Democracy (Italy)
Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield ....
), Norway
Politics of Norway
Politics in Norway take place in the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy. Executive power is exercised by the King's council, the cabinet, led by the Prime Minister of Norway. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Storting, elected...
(see Christian Democratic Party of Norway), and Germany
Politics of Germany
The Federal Republic of Germany is a federal parliamentary republic, based on representative democracy. The Chancellor is the head of government, while the President of Germany is the head of state, which is a ceremonial role but with substantial reserve powers.Executive power is vested in the...
(see Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...
and Christian Social Union in Bavaria). Major Christian democratic influence can also be seen in the politics of Austria (see Austrian People's Party
Austrian People's Party
The Austrian People's Party is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Austria. A successor to the Christian Social Party of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is similar to the Christian Democratic Union of Germany in terms of ideology...
), Belgium (see Christene Volkspartij
Christene Volkspartij
The Christene Volkspartij was the first Belgian Christian democratic political party. The party was founded in 1891 by the Belgian priest Adolf Daens, who was inspired by the papal encyclical Rerum Novarum of Pope Leo XIII....
, Christian Democratic and Flemish and Humanist Democratic Centre
Humanist Democratic Centre
The Humanist Democratic Centre is a Francophone Christian democratic political party in Belgium. The cdH currently participates in the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region, the Government of the French Community and the Walloon Government.- History :...
), Finland, France, Ireland (see Fine Gael
Fine Gael
Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...
), Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
, Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, the Netherlands (see Christian Democratic Appeal
Christian Democratic Appeal
The Christian Democratic Appeal is a centre-right Dutch Christian democratic political party. It suffered severe losses in the 2010 elections and fell from the first to the fourth place...
), Portugal (see Democratic and Social Centre – People's Party), Poland (see Civic Platform
Civic Platform
Civic Platform , abbreviated to PO, is a centre-right, liberal conservative political party in Poland. It has been the major coalition partner in Poland's government since the 2007 general election, with party leader Donald Tusk as Prime Minister of Poland and Bronisław Komorowski as President...
and Polish Peasants' Party), Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
(see Christian Democratic Union (Ukraine)
Christian Democratic Union (Ukraine)
The Christian Democratic Union is a political party in Ukraine. On December 2, 2002, in Athens, Greece the party became a member of Centrist Democrat International. It is negotiated now its associated membership in the European People's Party...
), Spain (see, Partido Popular
People's Party (Spain)
The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...
, Democratic Union of Catalonia
Democratic Union of Catalonia
The Democratic Union of Catalonia is a political party in Catalonia, Spain. Together with the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia, it is part of the Convergence and Union coalition.It describes itself as Catalan nationalist and Christian Democrat....
), and Sweden (see Christian Democrats (Sweden)
Christian Democrats (Sweden)
The Christian Democrats ) is a political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1964 but did not enter parliament until 1985 in an electoral cooperation with the Centre Party and on the Christian Democrats' own accord in 1991. The leader since April 3, 2004 is Göran Hägglund. He succeeded Alf...
). Christian democracy is not very strong in the United Kingdom where the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
dominates conservative politics and does not advocate Christian democratic platforms.
The Nationalist Party of Malta
Nationalist Party (Malta)
The Nationalist Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta, along with the Labour Party. It was founded by Fortunato Mizzi in 1880 as the Anti-Reform Party, opposing taxation decreed by the British colonial authorities and measures to Anglicise the educational and the...
is a Christian democratic party and has won seven out of ten general elections since Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
's independence in 1964. Currently governing, it has won its third consecutive general election in 2008. It advocates staunch Christian values including bans on abortion and divorce.
Christian democracy in Latin America
Christian democracy has been especially important in ChilePolitics of Chile
The politics of Chile takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Chile is both head of state and head of government, and of a formal multi-party system that in practice behaves like a two-party one, due to binominalism. Executive power...
(see Christian Democrat Party of Chile
Christian Democrat Party of Chile
The Christian Democratic Party is a political party in Chile and governs as part of the Coalition of Parties for Democracy coalition. In the 2009 election it won 19 congress seats and 9 senate seats....
), among others, and also in Mexico
Politics of Mexico
The politics of Mexico take place in a framework of a federal presidential representative democratic republic whose government is based on a congressional system, whereby the president of Mexico is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system...
, starting with the ascendancy of President
President of Mexico
The President of the United Mexican States is the head of state and government of Mexico. Under the Constitution, the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces...
Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox Quesada is a Mexican former politician who served as President of Mexico from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006 and currently serves as co-President of the Centrist Democrat International, an international organization of Christian democratic political parties.Fox was elected...
in 2000, and in 2006 with Felipe Calderón Hinojosa (see National Action Party (Mexico)
National Action Party (Mexico)
The National Action Party , is one of the three main political parties in Mexico. The party's political platform is generally considered Centre-Right in the Mexican political spectrum. Since 2000, the President of Mexico has been a member of this party; both houses have PAN pluralities, but the...
).
Christian democracy in Australia
Christian democratic parties in Australia are said to include not only the party called 'The Christian Democratic Party", but also the Democratic Labor PartyDemocratic Labor Party
The Democratic Labor Party is a political party in Australia that espouses social conservatism and opposes neo-liberalism. The first "DLP" Senator in decades, party vice-president John Madigan was elected to the Australian Senate with 2.3 percent of the primary vote in Victoria at the 2010 federal...
(which is a social democratic party) and Family First Party
Family First Party
The Family First Party is a socially conservative minor political party in Australia. It has two members in the South Australian Legislative Council...
(which is regarded by some as a liberal democratic party).
In Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, and NSW Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
(ALP) state executive members, parliamentarians and branch members associated (rightly or wrongly) with the Industrial Groups or B. A. Santamaria
B. A. Santamaria
Bartholomew Augustine "B. A." Santamaria, otherwise 'Bob' , was an Australian political activist and journalist and one of the most influential political figures in 20th century Australian history...
and The Movement, were expelled from the party (against that party's rules). They formed a new party, soon to be known as the Democratic Labor Party
Democratic Labor Party
The Democratic Labor Party is a political party in Australia that espouses social conservatism and opposes neo-liberalism. The first "DLP" Senator in decades, party vice-president John Madigan was elected to the Australian Senate with 2.3 percent of the primary vote in Victoria at the 2010 federal...
(DLP). Later in 1957, a similar split occurred in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, with the resulting group subsequently joining the DLP. The party also had sitting members from Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
and New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
at various times, though it was much stronger in the former mentioned states.
The party was in agreement with the ruling conservative Liberal
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
and Country
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
parties on many issues, which resulted in their preferencing
Preferential voting
Preferential voting is a type of ballot structure used in several electoral systems in which voters rank candidates in order of relative preference. For example, the voter may select their first choice as '1', their second preference a '2', and so on...
of these parties over the ALP. However, it was more morally conservative, militantly anti-communist and socially compassionate than the Liberals. The DLP was defeated by the federal election of 1974 that saw its primary vote cut by nearly two thirds, and the entry 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.
Though his party was effectively gone, Santamaria and his National Civic Council took a strong diametrically opposed stance to dominant neoliberal/New Right
New Right
New Right is used in several countries as a descriptive term for various policies or groups that are right-wing. It has also been used to describe the emergence of Eastern European parties after the collapse of communism.-Australia:...
tendencies within both the ALP and Liberal parties throughout the eighties and early nineties.
A new Christian party that found its first strength in 1981 was the Christian Democratic Party
Christian Democratic Party (Australia)
The Christian Democratic Party is a right-wing political party in Australia. Its leader is Fred Nile, a Congregational Church minister and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.-Formation:...
(initially known as the "Call to Australia" party). It gained 9.1% of the vote in the New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
(NSW) state election of 1981, but its vote rapidly declined thereafter. This Protestant party had some very similar social policies to the DLP. Its support base has generally been restricted to NSW and Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, where it usually gains between 2–4% of votes, with its support being minuscule in other states. It has had two members of the NSW state parliament for most of its existence.
Another Australian Christian democratic party of note is the Family First Party
Family First Party
The Family First Party is a socially conservative minor political party in Australia. It has two members in the South Australian Legislative Council...
. It has had one or two members in the SA parliament since 2002, and in 2004 also managed to elect a Victorian senator. Its electoral support is small, with the largest constituencies being South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
(4–6%), and Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
(around 4%). Family First generally receives lower support in national elections than in state elections.
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 very small in Victoria (around 2%). It has recently reformed state parties in Queensland and New South Wales. However, as of 2 September 2010, the DLP may win the sixth senate seat in Victoria.
Notable Christian democrats
- Konrad AdenauerKonrad AdenauerKonrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman. He was the chancellor of the West Germany from 1949 to 1963. He is widely recognised as a person who led his country from the ruins of World War II to a powerful and prosperous nation that had forged close relations with old enemies France,...
, first chancellor of West GermanyWest GermanyWest Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
after World War II, and architect of the social market economySocial market economyThe social market economy is the main economic model used in West Germany after World War II. It is based on the economic philosophy of Ordoliberalism from the Freiburg School...
. - Giulio AndreottiGiulio AndreottiGiulio Andreotti is an Italian politician of the now dissolved centrist Christian Democracy party. He served as the 42nd Prime Minister of Italy from 1972 to 1973, from 1976 to 1979 and from 1989 to 1992. He also served as Minister of the Interior , Defense Minister and Foreign Minister and he...
, long-time Prime Minister of Italy. - Iuliu ManiuIuliu ManiuIuliu Maniu was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian politician. A leader of the National Party of Transylvania and Banat before and after World War I, he served as Prime Minister of Romania for three terms during 1928–1933, and, with Ion Mihalache, co-founded the National Peasants'...
, former Prime Minister of RomaniaRomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. - Patricio AylwinPatricio AylwinPatricio Aylwin Azócar was the first president of Chile after its return to democratic rule in 1990, following the military dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet.- Early life :...
, ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an politician who served as president when Chile returned to democracy after the dictatorshipDictatorshipA dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
of Augusto PinochetAugusto PinochetAugusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
. - Jerzy BuzekJerzy BuzekJerzy Karol Buzek is a Polish engineer, academic lecturer and politician who was the ninth post-Cold War Prime Minister of Poland from 1997 to 2001...
, president of European ParliamentEuropean ParliamentThe European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
since 2009. - Rafael CalderaRafael CalderaRafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez was president of Venezuela from 1969 to 1974 and again from 1994 to 1999.Caldera taught sociology and law at various universities before entering politics. He was a founding member of COPEI, Venezuela's Christian Democratic party...
, two-time VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n president, and author. - Felipe CalderónFelipe CalderónFelipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa is the current President of Mexico. He assumed office on December 1, 2006, and was elected for a single six-year term through 2012...
, president of Mexico. - Alcide De GasperiAlcide De GasperiAlcide De Gasperi was an Italian statesman and politician and founder of the Christian Democratic Party. From 1945 to 1953 he was the prime minister of eight successive coalition governments. His eight-year rule remains a landmark of political longevity for a leader in modern Italian politics...
, Italian prime minister and pro-EuropeanEuropean UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
leader. - Éamon de ValeraÉamon de ValeraÉamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...
, president and prime minister of IrelandRepublic of IrelandIreland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, whose Constitution of IrelandConstitution of IrelandThe Constitution of Ireland is the fundamental law of the Irish state. The constitution falls broadly within the liberal democratic tradition. It establishes an independent state based on a system of representative democracy and guarantees certain fundamental rights, along with a popularly elected...
was influenced by Catholic social teaching - José Napoleón DuarteJosé Napoleón DuarteJosé Napoleón Duarte Fuentes was a Salvadoran political figure who, from March 3, 1980, to 1982, led the civil-military Revolutionary Government Junta that took power in a 1979 coup d'état...
, democratically-elected president of El SalvadorEl SalvadorEl Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
during its Civil War. - Eddie Fenech AdamiEddie Fenech AdamiEdward “Eddie” Fenech Adami is a Maltese politician who was Prime Minister of Malta from 1987 until 1996 and again from 1998 until 2004...
, former leader of the Nationalist PartyNationalist Party (Malta)The Nationalist Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta, along with the Labour Party. It was founded by Fortunato Mizzi in 1880 as the Anti-Reform Party, opposing taxation decreed by the British colonial authorities and measures to Anglicise the educational and the...
in MaltaMaltaMalta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
(Partit Nazzjonalista); former prime minister and former President of the Republic of Malta. - Eduardo Frei MontalvaEduardo Frei MontalvaEduardo Frei Montalva was a Chilean political leader of world stature. In his long political career, he was Minister of Public Works, president of his Christian Democratic Party, senator, President of the Senate, and president of Chile from 1964 to 1970...
, ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an politician and former president. - Helmut KohlHelmut KohlHelmut Josef Michael Kohl is a German conservative politician and statesman. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union from 1973 to 1998...
, chancellor of West GermanyWest GermanyWest Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
and later the unified Germany. - Abraham KuyperAbraham KuyperAbraham Kuijper generally known as Abraham Kuyper, was a Dutch politician, journalist, statesman and theologian...
, founder of the Netherlands' Anti Revolutionary PartyAnti Revolutionary PartyThe Anti Revolutionary Party was a Dutch Protestant Christian democratic political party. The ARP is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal. After 1917 the party never received more than twenty percent of the vote.-History before 1879:The anti-revolutionary parliamentary caucus...
(the first Christian democratic party), as well as the Neo-Calvinist Protestant movement, and a prime minister of the NetherlandsPrime Minister of the NetherlandsThe Prime Minister of the Netherlands is the chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Netherlands. He is the de facto head of government of the Netherlands and coordinates the policy of the government...
. - Giorgio La PiraGiorgio La PiraGiorgio La Pira was an Italian politician who served as mayor of Florence twice . He also served as deputy of the Christian Democratic Party and participated in the assembly that wrote the Constitution of Italy after World War II...
, Italian politician, from the left wing of Democrazia Cristiana. - Ruud LubbersRuud LubbersRudolphus Franciscus Marie "Ruud" Lubbers is a retired Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal . He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from November 4, 1982 until August 22, 1994....
, a prime minister of the Netherlands and United Nations High Commissioner for RefugeesUnited Nations High Commissioner for RefugeesThe Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , also known as The UN Refugee Agency is a United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to...
. - Wilfried MartensWilfried MartensWilfried Martens is a Belgian politician. He was born in Sleidinge . Martens was the 44th Prime Minister of Belgium from 3 April 1979 to 6 April 1981 and 17 December 1981 to 7 March 1992....
, former Prime Minister of Belgium, president of the European People's PartyEuropean People's PartyThe European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
. - Kjell Magne BondevikKjell Magne BondevikKjell Magne Bondevik is a Norwegian Lutheran minister and politician . He served as Prime Minister of Norway from 1997 to 2000, and from 2001 to 2005, making him Norway's longest serving non-Labour Party Prime Minister since World War II...
, former Prime Minister of NorwayPrime Minister of NorwayThe Prime Minister of Norway is the political leader of Norway and the Head of His Majesty's Government. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Stortinget , to their political party, and ultimately the...
. - Angela MerkelAngela MerkelAngela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...
, became, in 2005, the first female chancellor of Germany. - Xabier ArzalluzXabier ArzalluzXabier Arzalluz Antia is a Spanish Basque nationalist politician, who has been the leader of the Basque Nationalist Party for two decades, until 2004. He is a nationalist and a Christian Democrat...
, leader of the Basque Nationalist Party for two decades, until 2004. - Luigi SturzoLuigi SturzoDon Luigi Sturzo was an Italian Catholic priest and politician. Known in his lifetime as a "clerical socialist," Sturzo is considered one of the fathers of Christian democracy. Sturzo was one of the founders of the Partito Popolare Italiano in 1919, but was forced into exile in 1924 with the rise...
, Italian politician and one of the founders of the Partito Popolare Italiano in 1919. - Aldo MoroAldo MoroAldo Moro was an Italian politician and the 39th Prime Minister of Italy, from 1963 to 1968, and then from 1974 to 1976. He was one of Italy's longest-serving post-war Prime Ministers, holding power for a combined total of more than six years....
, prime minister of Italy, killed by the Brigate Rosse. - Boris TrajkovskiBoris TrajkovskiTrajkovski died on 26 February 2004 in a plane crash en route to an economic conference in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The aircraft crashed in thick fog and heavy rain on a mountainside in southeastern Herzegovina, near the villages of Huskovici and Rotimlja some eight miles south-south-east...
, President of the Republic of MacedoniaRepublic of MacedoniaMacedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991... - Fidel V. RamosFidel V. RamosFidel "Eddie" Valdez Ramos , popularly known as FVR, was the 12th President of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. During his six years in office, Ramos was widely credited and admired by many for revitalizing and renewing international confidence in the Philippine economy.Prior to his election as...
, first Protestant president of the Catholic-dominated PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, and founder and chair emeritus of the political party Lakas-Christian Muslim DemocratsLakas-Christian Muslim DemocratsLakas-CMD , popularly known as Lakas, was a political party in the Philippines and the predecessor of Lakas Kampi CMD. Its ideology and that of its successor is heavily influenced by Christian and Islamic democracy, and by Populism...
. - Herman Van RompuyHerman Van RompuyHerman Achille Van Rompuy is the first long-term and full-time President of the European Council...
, first fixed-term President of the European CouncilPresident of the European CouncilThe President of the European Council is a principal representative of the European Union on the world stage, and the person presiding over and driving forward the work of the European Council...
. - Robert SchumanRobert SchumanRobert Schuman was a noted Luxembourgish-born French statesman. Schuman was a Christian Democrat and an independent political thinker and activist...
, French politician who has served both as head of government and foreign minister, leader of Popular Republican MovementPopular Republican MovementThe Popular Republican Movement was a French Christian democratic party of the Fourth Republic...
; one of the founders of the European UnionEuropean UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. - Wolfgang SchüsselWolfgang SchüsselWolfgang Schüssel is an Austrian People's Party politician. He was Chancellor of Austria for two consecutive terms from February 2000 to January 2007...
, former Austrian chancellor. - Joaquín BalaguerJoaquín BalaguerJoaquín Antonio Balaguer Ricardo was the President of the Dominican Republic from 1960 to 1962, from 1966 to 1978, and again from 1986 to 1996.-Early life and introduction to politics:...
, former President of the Dominican RepublicDominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
. - Adone ZoliAdone ZoliAdone Zoli was an Italian politician and member of the Christian Democratic Party. He served as the 36th Prime Minister of Italy from 1957-1958.-Biography:Zoli was born in Cesena, in the province of Forlì-Cesena....
, former Prime Minister of Italy. - Lech WałęsaLech WałęsaLech Wałęsa is a Polish politician, trade-union organizer, and human-rights activist. A charismatic leader, he co-founded Solidarity , the Soviet bloc's first independent trade union, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and served as President of Poland between 1990 and 95.Wałęsa was an electrician...
, Polish politician, trade-union organizer, and human-rights activist. A charismatic leader, he co-founded Solidarity, the Soviet bloc's first independent trade union, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and served as President of Poland 1990–95. - Lech Aleksander Kaczyński, President of Poland from 2005 until his sudden death in 2010.
- Ludwig WindthorstLudwig WindthorstLudwig Windthorst , was a German politician.-Biography:Windthorst was born at Kaldenhof, a country house near Osnabrück in the Kingdom of Hanover. He was raised by a Roman Catholic family, which for some generations had held important posts in the Hanoverian civil service...
, German politician and leader of Centre PartyCentre Party (Germany)The German Centre Party was a Catholic political party in Germany during the Kaiserreich and the Weimar Republic. Formed in 1870, it battled the Kulturkampf which the Prussian government launched to reduce the power of the Catholic Church... - Joseph Görres, German writer and journalist, co-founder of an idea of the political Catholic movementPolitical CatholicismPolitical catholicism is a political and cultural conception which promotes the ideas and social teaching of the Catholic Church in public life...
- José Maria EymaelJosé Maria EymaelJosé Maria Eymael is a Bazillian politician, lawyer, and businessman, and founder of the Partido Social Democrata Cristão , known in English as the Christian Social Democratic Party.-Political Biography:...
, a Bazillian politician, lawyer, and businessman, and founder of the Partido Social Democrata Cristão (PSDC).
Similar but unaffiliated parties and politicians
Though they do not identify with Christian democracy directly, being JudaicJudaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, Israel's Shas
Shas
Shas is an ultra-orthodox religious political party in Israel, primarily representing Sephardic and Mizrahi Haredi Judaism.Shas was founded in 1984 by dissident members of the Ashkenazi dominated Agudat Israel, to represent the interests of religiously observant Sephardic and Mizrahi ...
(orthodox
Orthodoxy
The word orthodox, from Greek orthos + doxa , is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion...
Sephardic Orthodox party) and United Torah Judaism
United Torah Judaism
United Torah Judaism is an alliance of Degel HaTorah and Agudat Israel, two small Israeli Haredi political parties in the Knesset. It was first formed in 1992.The two parties have not always agreed with each other about policy matters...
(orthodox Ashkenazi party) are politically similar to Christian democratic parties, due to their combination of conservative social and religious policies with an emphasis on increased social spending. They also tend to be centrist and relatively flexible in terms of their positions on national security and the peace process.
Turkey's conservative Justice and Development Party
Justice and Development Party (Turkey)
The Justice and Development Party , abbreviated JDP in English and AK PARTİ or AKP in Turkish, is a centre-right political party in Turkey. The party is the largest in Turkey, with 327 members of parliament...
(AK Party) bears important similarities to the West's Christian democratic parties. Broadly pro-Western and inclined to economic liberalism
Economic liberalism
Economic liberalism is the ideological belief in giving all people economic freedom, and as such granting people with more basis to control their own lives and make their own mistakes. It is an economic philosophy that supports and promotes individual liberty and choice in economic matters and...
, the AKP rejects Turkey's traditional stringent anti-clericalism
Secularism in Turkey
Secularism in Turkey defines the relationship between religion and state in the country of Turkey. Secularism was first introduced with the 1928 amendment of the Constitution of 1924, which removed the provision declaring that the "Religion of the State is Islam", and with the later reforms of...
in favor of a more friendly separation of church and state
Separation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
.
Francis Davis, a former advisor to both the Labour and Colaition governments in the UK blogs at http://theprincipledsociety.com and has a close interest in Christian Democratic parties
New Zealand
Until 1993, New Zealand's first-past-the-postFirst-past-the-post
First-past-the-post voting refers to an election won by the candidate with the most votes. The winning potato candidate does not necessarily receive an absolute majority of all votes cast.-Overview:...
electoral system, like that of the United States, imposed strong centralizing and bipartisan pressures on its political configurations, which disadvantaged minor parties. For this reason, Catholics have remained enmeshed within the New Zealand Labour Party
New Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....
. As in Australia, conservative Catholics opposed Labour and National New Right policies during the 1980s and 1990s. However, the New Zealand Labour Party never split as the Australian Labor Party did in the 1950s.
However, by the 1980s, New Zealand Catholic voting patterns were diversifying. Class seemed to trump confessional adherence, as older Catholic sectarians died off, and became less able to enforce preferred economic and social policies through unified bloc pressure. Occupational and class divisions may have led to left/right bifurcation. Rural Catholics might therefore vote National due to occupational preferences as farmers, while urban working-class Catholics might have voted Labour, Alliance or Green, due to each party's commitment to stronger social policy expenditure, or commitment to peace movement and anti-war stances.
In 1993 New Zealand introduced the Mixed Member Proportional system of proportional representation, which created greater openings for small parties, and since 1996 all governments have involved coalitions. An example of this is independent MP Gordon Copeland
Gordon Copeland
Gordon Copeland is a New Zealand politician who was a Member of Parliament from 2002 to 2008. He was a list MP for the United Future New Zealand party from 2002 until he resigned from the party in 2007. He is now Party President of The Kiwi Party, which he co-founded with another former United...
being aligned with New Zealand's Labour Party-led government in matters of confidence and supply
Confidence and supply
In a parliamentary democracy confidence and supply are required for a government to hold power. A confidence and supply agreement is an agreement that a minor party or independent member of parliament will support the government in motions of confidence and appropriation votes by voting in favour...
for the 2005-2008 term, but voting along social conservative lines in other matters.
Within the New Zealand National Party
New Zealand National Party
The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...
, Bill English
Bill English
Simon William "Bill" English is the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Minister of Infrastructure of New Zealand.English entered parliament in 1990 as a National party MP representing the Wallace electorate...
has often voiced anxieties about the New Right direction of his party since the late 1990s, consistent with what one would expect from a European Christian democrat.
By contrast, Jim Anderton
Jim Anderton
James Patrick Anderton, usually known as Jim Anderton , is the leader of the Progressive Party, a New Zealand political party. He has served in Parliament since 1984. He served as Deputy Prime Minister from 1999 to 2002 and is currently also the sitting Father of the House, the longest...
broke away from the Labour Party and was party leader of the New Labour Party and Alliance until left/pragmatist strains broke it apart in 2001–02. Since then, his Progressive Party has adopted social conservative stances against prostitution in New Zealand
Prostitution in New Zealand
Prostitution , brothel keeping, living off the proceeds of someone else's prostitution and street solicitation are legal and regulated in New Zealand...
, euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
, and decriminalisation of cannabis (marijuana), while strongly supporting increased expenditure on public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
, social welfare and public education
Public education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
; all these policies are consistent with a Christian democrat framework.
See also
- Catholic social teachingCatholic social teachingCatholic social teaching is a body of doctrine developed by the Catholic Church on matters of poverty and wealth, economics, social organization and the role of the state...
- Christianity and politicsChristianity and politicsThe relationship between Christianity and politics is a historically complex subject and a frequent source of disagreement throughout Church history, and in modern politics between the Christian right and Christian left.-Foundations:...
- List of Christian democratic parties around the world
- Political CatholicismPolitical CatholicismPolitical catholicism is a political and cultural conception which promotes the ideas and social teaching of the Catholic Church in public life...
International Christian democratic organizations
- Centrist Democrat InternationalCentrist Democrat InternationalThe Centrist Democrat International was until 2001 the Christian Democrat International and before that the Christian Democrat and People's Parties International...
(CDI) formerly Christian Democratic International - Christian Democratic Organization of America (ODCA) a CDI regional organization for the Americas
- European Christian Political MovementEuropean Christian Political MovementThe European Christian Political Movement, abbreviated to ECPM, is a political party at European level that unites national parties from across Europe that share Christian democratic politics. The member parties are generally more socially conservative and Eurosceptic than the European People's...
(ECPM) a European party (non-CDI) - European Democratic PartyEuropean Democratic PartyThe European Democratic Party is a centrist European political party in favour of European integration. It was initiated on April 16, 2004 and formally founded on December 9 in Brussels...
(EDP) a European party (non-CDI) - European People's PartyEuropean People's PartyThe European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
(EPP) the largest transnational European party of Christian democratic and conservative parties (a CDI and IDU regional)
Related concepts
- CommunitarianismCommunitarianismCommunitarianism is an ideology that emphasizes the connection between the individual and the community. That community may be the family unit, but it can also be understood in a far wider sense of personal interaction, of geographical location, or of shared history.-Terminology:Though the term...
- Compassionate conservatismCompassionate conservatismCompassionate Conservatism is a political philosophy that stresses using traditionally conservative techniques and concepts in order to improve the general welfare of society. The term itself is often credited to U.S. historian and politician Doug Wead who used it as the title of a speech in 1979....
- Christian leftChristian leftThe Christian left is a term originating in the United States, used to describe a spectrum of left-wing Christian political and social movements which largely embraces social justice....
- Christian rightChristian rightChristian right is a term used predominantly in the United States to describe "right-wing" Christian political groups that are characterized by their strong support of socially conservative policies...
- Christian socialismChristian socialismChristian socialism generally refers to those on the Christian left whose politics are both Christian and socialist and who see these two philosophies as being interrelated. This category can include Liberation theology and the doctrine of the social gospel...
- DistributismDistributismDistributism is a third-way economic philosophy formulated by such Catholic thinkers as G. K...
- Liberation theologyLiberation theologyLiberation theology is a Christian movement in political theology which interprets the teachings of Jesus Christ in terms of a liberation from unjust economic, political, or social conditions...
- Moderation theoryModeration theoryModeration theory is a set of interrelated hypotheses that explain the process through which political groups eschew radical platforms in favor of more moderate policies and prefer electoral, compromising and non-confrontational strategies over non-electoral, exclusive, and confrontational strategies...
- Neo-CalvinismNeo-CalvinismNeo-Calvinism, a form of Dutch Calvinism, is the movement initiated by the theologian and former Dutch prime minister Abraham Kuyper.- Introduction :...
- Radical center (politics)
- Social conservatismSocial conservatismSocial Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
- Social market economySocial market economyThe social market economy is the main economic model used in West Germany after World War II. It is based on the economic philosophy of Ordoliberalism from the Freiburg School...
- Third Way (centrism)Third way (centrism)The Third Way refers to various political positions which try to reconcile right-wing and left-wing politics by advocating a varying synthesis of right-wing economic and left-wing social policies. Third Way approaches are commonly viewed from within the first- and second-way perspectives as...
External links
- New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia — an article on Christian Democracy
- Christian Democracy in Western Europe: 1820-1953 — a book by Michael Fogarty
- Conservativism and Christian Democracy — an essay by UK Conservative MP David Willetts
- The Commoner — a Christian Democratic blog
- Christian Democratic Union (USA)
- Christian Democratic Party of the United States