Christian Democracy is a political ideology, 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 recognizes workers' misery and agrees 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, it generally agrees on certain topics. The proposed design of the State is different from that advocated by the liberals: it must be decentralized, to be made up by various bodies, but to have an unquestionable capacity. Christian Democracy sees economy as being at the service of humanity; however, it does not call the basic idea of capitalism itself into question. The duty of the State to care for its citizens is thus of some importance for Christian Democrats; this overlaps somewhat with the ideas of Christian socialism.
Christian Democrats have usually followed the Vatican positions on public-moral issues. However, most of them have accepted separation of church and state, divorce and, at times, even abortion.
Christian Democracy has been especially important in Italy, inspired by Dom Sturzo , and Germany (see CDU and CSU).
There are also Christian trade unions that set themselves apart from revolutionary trade unions .
The Justice and Development Party, currently in power in Turkey, is often described abroad as espousing Islamic Democracy.
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Last updated: 05-07-2005 12:19:25
Last updated: 05-13-2005 07:56:04
