What is Christian Democracy?
Christian democracy is a political movement that draws on Christian, especially Catholic, social teaching. It does not fit neatly into left or right. It rejects both unregulated capitalism and state socialism, and instead supports a social market economy, in which private enterprise operates alongside strong social protections and cooperation between employers and workers. Christian democrats stress the dignity of each person, the importance of the family and the value of community groups between the individual and the state. Their parties have often welcomed voters of any faith or none.
Core beliefs
- Every person has dignity and should never be treated only as a means.
- The family is the foundation of society and deserves public support.
- Subsidiarity: decisions should be made at the lowest level that can handle them well.
- A social market economy should combine private enterprise with social protection.
- Employers and workers should cooperate rather than treat each other as enemies.
- Nations should work together for peace, as in European integration.
History
Christian democracy grew out of the Catholic response to industrialization in the late nineteenth century. In 1891 Pope Leo XIII issued the encyclical Rerum Novarum, which defended private property while calling for fair wages and the right of workers to organize. In the Netherlands, the Protestant theologian and prime minister Abraham Kuyper developed the related idea of 'sphere sovereignty.' The Italian priest Luigi Sturzo founded the Italian Popular Party in 1919. The French philosopher Jacques Maritain argued that democracy and human rights were rooted in Christian ideas of the person. After the Second World War, Christian democratic parties became leading forces in Western Europe. Leaders such as Konrad Adenauer in West Germany, Alcide De Gasperi in Italy and Robert Schuman in France played central roles in rebuilding democracy and in founding what became the European Union.
Variants
European Christian democracy is mainly Catholic in origin but in countries such as Germany and the Netherlands it unites Catholics and Protestants. Some parties lean toward conservatism and free markets, while others are closer to the center or center-left on economics. In Latin America, Christian democratic parties were often reformist and focused on social justice. Over time many European parties have become less explicitly religious and more broadly center-right.
Criticisms
Critics on the left argue that Christian democracy defends traditional family roles and religious influence in public life, and that its parties have been slow to accept social changes such as same-sex marriage. Free-market liberals argue from the right that its corporatist and welfare policies are costly and slow economic change. Secular critics question whether religious teaching should guide law in a pluralist society. Some religious conservatives argue that modern Christian democratic parties have drifted too far from their religious roots.
In practice
Christian democracy shaped the post-war social market economy in West Germany, the welfare and education systems of several European countries, and the early institutions of European integration. Christian democratic parties have led governments in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Chile and other countries. Policies associated with the movement include child benefits, worker participation in company boards, support for religious schools and strong backing for the European Union.