| , born at the end of the 19th century, largely as a result of the papal 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. Though the Christian Democratic movement is very heterogeneous, there is general agreement on certain issues. The proposed design of the Christian Democratic state is decentralized, made up by various bodies, but having an unquestionable capacity. Christian Democracy sees the
economy as being at the service of humanity; however, most Christian Democratic Parties do not call capitalism itself into question. The duty of the state to care for its citizens is of some importance for Christian Democrats, but they generally oppose Christian socialism. In recent decades, Christian Democratic parties in Europe have shifted more towards a right-wing policy of economic liberalism, based on reducing the role of the state in the economy. Meanwhile, Christian Democratic parties in Latin America are generally more inclined to support left-wing economic views than their European counterparts.On issues of public morality and tradition, Christian Democrats are conservative, and often tend to follow the views of the Vatican on such issues as abortion and same-sex marriage. However, most of them have accepted separation of church and state and divorce. While Christian Democracy is of Roman Catholic origin, it has been adopted by many Protestants and Orthodox Christians as well. Some Christian Democratic parties, particularly in Europe, no longer emphasize religion and have become much more secular in recent years. 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 properly function. For example, food is a human right because without food, humans are not able to properly function. Modern authors important to the formation of Christian Democratic ideology include: Emmanuel Mounier, Étienne Gilson and Jacques Maritain. Christian Democracy Internationally Christian Democracy has been especially important in Italy, inspired by Luigi Sturzo (see Democrazia Cristiana), Norway (see Christian Democratic Party of Norway), Chile (see Christian Democrat Party of Chile), and Germany (see Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union). Major Christian Democratic influence can also be seen in the politics of Belgium, Austria, Sweden, Ireland, the Netherlands, France, and Slovenia. The international organization of Christian Democratic parties, the Christian Democrat and People's Parties International, 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 forms the largest group in the European Parliament. Famous Christian Democrats - Konrad Adenauer, first chancellor of West Germany after World War II, and architect of the social market economy.
- Helmut Kohl, chancellor of West Germany and later the unified Germany.
- Robert Schuman, French politician who has served both as head of government and foreign minister. He was one of the founders of the European Union.
- Eduardo Frei Montalva, Chilean politician and former president.
- Patricio Aylwin, Chilean politician that served as president when Chile returned to democracy after the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet
- Alcide De Gasperi, Italian prime minister and pro-european leader.
- Angela Merkel, first female chancellor of Germany ( since 2005 ).
See also - Christian Democratic Parties
- Christian peoples Alliance
- Christian politics in New Zealand
- Communitarianism
- European Christian Political Movement
- International Democrat Union
- Christian Democrat and People's Parties International
- European People's Party - European Democrats
| See: Christian politics (index) for articles related to this subject. |
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Christdemokratie Democracia cristiana Démocratie chrétienne キリスト教民主主義 Christendemocratie Chrześcijańska demokracja Kristdemokrati
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