Christian democracy

Christian democracy is a political tradition that joins democratic government and social reform with Christian ethics, often stressing human dignity, social solidarity, and a social market economy.

Personalism: A philosophical tradition that treats the human person as irreducible and relational, grounding moral and political life in human dignity. It supplies a philosophical basis for Christian democracy’s emphasis on dignity and personal responsibility.
Pope Leo XIII: The pope from 1878 to 1903, known for addressing social questions and modern political conditions. His encyclical Rerum novarum helped shape Christian responses to industrial labor and inequality.
Konrad Adenauer: A German statesman who served as the first chancellor of West Germany from 1949 to 1963. He led the Christian Democratic Union and helped shape West Germany’s postwar political order.
Social democracy: A political tradition that seeks social equality and welfare through democratic institutions and a regulated economy. Both support social protection, but Christian democracy grounds its politics in Christian ethics and often favors subsidiarity.
European integration: The process through which European states have developed shared institutions, policies, and economic arrangements. Christian-democratic leaders were prominent advocates of early cooperation that developed into European integration.
Subsidiarity: The principle that decisions should be made by the smallest competent social or political unit. It limits central authority while assigning larger institutions responsibility when local bodies cannot act effectively.
Rerum novarum: An 1891 papal encyclical addressing workers’ rights, private property, and the social responsibilities of employers and states. It articulated positions on labor and property that later informed Christian-democratic politics.
Robert Schuman: A French statesman who served as foreign minister and prime minister in the early postwar period. His Christian-democratic politics informed the proposal for European coal and steel cooperation.
Christian socialism: A political tradition that applies Christian teachings to socialist goals such as economic equality and collective ownership. It shares Christian ethical sources but generally presses further toward socialist economic arrangements.
European People's Party: A transnational political party bringing together centre-right parties in the European Union. It is a major contemporary European party family rooted in Christian-democratic politics.

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