Christian democracy
Part of the Politics series on
Christian democracy
Parties
List of Christian Democratic parties
Centrist Democrat International
Christian Democratic Organization of America
European People’s Party
European Christian Political Movement
European Democratic Party
Ideas
Social conservatism
Market economy
Mixed economy
Communitarianism
Human dignity
Stewardship
Sphere sovereignty
Distributism
Catholic social teaching
Neo-Calvinism · Neo-Thomism
Documents
Stone Lectures
Rerum Novarum
Graves de Communi Re
Quadragesimo Anno
Laborem Exercens
Sollicitudi Rei Socialis
Centesimus Annus
People
Thomas Aquinas · John Calvin
Pope Leo XIII · Abraham Kuyper
Jacques Maritain
Konrad Adenauer
Alcide De Gasperi
Pope Pius XI
Robert Schuman
Pope John Paul II
Helmut Kohl
Politics portal
This article is part of the
Politics series
? Democracy ?
History · Varieties
List of types
• Anticipatory
• Athenian
• Christian
• Consensus
• Constitutional
• Deliberative
• Demarchy
• Direct
• Grassroots
• Illiberal
• Islamic
• Liberal
• Messianic
• Non-partisan
• Participatory
• Religious
• Representative
• Representative direct
• Republican
• Social
• Sociocracy
• Soviet
• Totalitarian
Politics portal
Christian democracy is a political ideology
that seeks to apply Christian principles to
public policy. It emerged in nineteenth-cen-
tury Europe, largely under the influence of
Catholic social teaching, and 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 and progressive on fiscal
and economic issues. In Europe, where their
opponents have traditionally been secularist
socialists and social democrats, Christian
democratic parties are moderately conservat-
ive, whereas in the very different cultural and
political environment of Latin America they
tend to lean to the left.
Examples of Christian democratic parties
include the German Christ