Christian Democratic Parties

Christian Democracy is a political ideology that found expression in Christian Democratic parties, which became prominent in postwar Europe.

Christian Democracy emerged as an ideology at the end of the 19th century, largely as a result of Pope Leo XIII's encyclical Rerum Novarum (1891), subtitled “Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor.” This rejected both communism and unrestricted capitalism but affirmed the right to private property. It also supported the rights of working people to form unions. Of primary importance was the need to improve the lot of the working class, reflecting a concern for the poor that was embedded in Catholic social teaching. The Catholic origins of Christian Democracy remain important, although the movement has developed variously in different parts of the world.

Following World War ...