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 South America they tend to lean to the left.
Examples of Christian democratic parties include the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Christian Democratic 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.
Read more about Christian Democracy: Political Viewpoints, History, Christian Democracy Around The World, Notable Christian Democrats
Famous quotes containing the words christian and/or democracy:
“Prayer the Churches banquet, Angels age,
Gods breath in man returning to his birth,
The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage,
The Christian plummet sounding heavn and earth;”
—George Herbert (15931633)
“Not only does democracy make every man forget his ancestors, but also clouds their view of their descendants and isolates them from their contemporaries. Each man is for ever thrown back on himself alone, and there is danger that he may be shut up in the solitude of his own heart.”
—Alexis de Tocqueville (18051859)