Distinctive Features of Christian Democracy - Essay Example

MODERN POLITICAL IDEAS Name Professor Institution Date Christian democracy Introduction At a point in history Protestants and Catholics fought to a standstill. However some of the people still believe that the church and the state can be combined. The ruling parties in some countries are Christian democratic. However, their power remains within the constitution of their country. The issues they champion root from the Christian ideology their party is founded on. Researchers speculate the loss in power of Christian democracies especially on the European continent. The declining power comes at a time of intensified research on the Christian democracies. Christian democracies found their laws, opinions and actions on Christian values. The nineteenth century brought the birth of contemporary Christian parties1. As the idea of liberalism popularised, the Catholic Church feared the loss of control of its flock mainly by education. Therefore it formed a party to challenge the liberal party. Two issues evidently resulted from the formation of the party. The mixture of Christianity and politics remained challenging. Secondly, the Christian approach to politics attracted some individuals. Christian democracy effectively occupied its place after the Second World War. After the war in Europe the Christian parties had a role in repairing the countries. They spearheaded the formation of European Union and helped launch new party systems. By welfare and social security provision they managed to revive the economy. They based the social security on traditional families. Fascism had discredited the traditional nationalist Europeans right. Christian democrats therefore paraded themselves as ant totalitarians and despised godless communism. They branded fascism as a form of materialism and with their spiritualism provided a solution of the past. Several Christian democratic parties have emerged since then. Most Christian democratic parties operate with independence from the founder the Catholic Church. Their success was evident for a period of time. The Italian Christian democracy adopted the labour party as their replica. France, Georges Bidault described Christian democracy as “to govern in the centre, and pursue, by methods of the right, the policies of the left2. The Christian democratic are viewed as a third option parallel to socialism and liberalism. Italy, Austria, Germany, Netherlands and Belgium are countries in Europe that have embraced Christian democracy. South America has seen countries such as Venezuela, Chile, Costa Rica and El Salvador have electoral success. During the nineteenth century saw the liberalist suffer great electoral losses3. Public opinion championed liberalism however they felt the need for Christian values to be the centre of their communities. However it did not last long. For instance ; in Germany and Italy, a deal was; struck between the defenders of religion and the economic liberals. The morality and the market had to coexist. The compromise applied for a long time after that. There are fundamental principles that govern Christian principles4. This include Christian fundamental values can be achieved by the appreciation that free and constitutional democracy is the only political system. Communism and socialism seemed to be forceful revolutions as opposed to slow improvements to achieve change. Striving for individual happiness and satisfactions well as economic and political self realisation. Responsibility of others and oneself. This combines liberalism, Christian social ethics and the rule of law. The principle of subsidiary. This involved the recognition of shared responsibility and the subjection of authoritarian paternalism to personal responsibility and decentralisation. Submission to the commandment of charity and political reason by solidarity with the weak in society. This required the people to care for the deprived and unfortunate in society. The Christian democracy is structured differently from other governments. The valued institutions include churches, families, schools, companies and leisure clubs. This plurality in civil society differentiates it from other forms of government. The citizens and organisations are important and are allowed to take action without government approval. Illegal actions are charged in court later5. Christian democracy its civil society offers more compared to the personal economic initiatives ensuing in a market. Though characterised by a government distinct from the civil society, it is conjoined to the government by rule of law. Despite its limitation by the other spheres of society, it recognises the responsibility to the society. It stands clear of churches and distinguishable from spiritual societies functioning parallel to them in the civil society. The Christian democracies seek to combine democracy and Christianity. They champion liberal democratic values, human rights, and reconciliation of class. These values won the hearts of many voters ensuring that many Christian democratic got to power. Religion proved its power by the by the mobilisation of voters. One of the most distinctive features of Christian democracy is its efforts toward reconciliation and integration of societal groups. Reconciliation, integration, pluralism and accommodation resulted to the later opportunism and pragmatism. Christian democracy internally branched into institutions which fraternised with youth groups, labour unions and employers, women organisations and farmers. This unusual dimension of Christian democratic unions confused people and there were challenges in understanding its concept. The emphasis on religion caused the obscurity of class6. However new systems of class developed causing the integration of peasant association and catholic workers in new parties. This resulted in the adoption of a confederate structure defined as class but based on organisation. The new society order ignored the class system. The new systems were bombarded by conflict leading to extreme actions of consociation practices and mediation. This was in an effort to save and maintain the parties. This became the origin of Christian expertise on mediation talks as a problem solving technique. It was later described as an opportunistic method of mediation. The consociation and mediation allowed the justification of the end despite the means. These developments also brought the principal of subsidiary. The principle allowed the state to intervene only in the maters that smaller institutions were unable. This principle is still rooted deeply in European integration. However the appeal of the Christian democracy lay in its capability to accommodate diversity. Christian democracies operate independent from the churches in their countries and the Catholic Church as well. Even before the success of the Christian democratic parties in the second half of the nineteenth century, the parties wanted distinction and independence from the church. The ideologies and decisions made were independent of the church. The church also preferred to keep its distance from politics. To date the parties still operate free of the church. The parties created a vague concept of morality and humanitarianism. The parties combined religion with modernity allowing them to be Christian and secular. The Christian party in Germany for example, is led by Angela Markel. Angell Markel is divorced and childless. The church especially Catholics are anti divorce since marriage is considered a covenant with god. The party is in power however despite the catholic view and opinions. The Catholic Church even disputes some of her policies but have no influence over her or her party. The decisions and policies should be made with considerations of the Christian values but it does not happen all the time. The Christian democracies were labelled as opportunistic organisations due to this7. Ruling over secular societies and adopting secular policies confused the connection of the church and the Christian democratic. Values regarding life and human rights are always based on the Christian values. A tricky situation always arises from modern issues such as same sex relationships and divorce. The Christian democracies are unable to control these issues in society hence they put up with them. Another distinctive feature of the Christian democracies is the generosity to welfare8. The Christian values suggest that it is the duty of the society to care for the poor and weak in society. The Christian democracies therefore spend a lot of resources on the welfare of the elderly, poor and weak. This approach appears similar to the social democrats. However it is different in that the social democrats provide welfare by funding public hospitals and education. Christian democrats delegate social responsibility to smaller individuals and institutions and only come in case of incapability. The government tries to reconcile the diversity between people of diverse backgrounds. This is done by provision of housing and education. Social welfare is offered to individuals despite their position in the labour market. This is affiliated to the solidarity principle. Christian democracy fails to champion market liberalism9. Instead it advocates for social market economy. The social market economy perfectly blends with the social services to promote fairness and equality. This creates not just an economic structure but also a society vision rooted on the beliefs of social responsibility and freedom, solidarity and competition. Though the Christian democracy carries a Christian view it is impossible to derive a political ideology from it. Also it believes in a certain degree of individual freedom and development but maintains that freedom should be limited to gain control of society. Christian democrats are committed to individual freedom protection therefore entrepreneurial activities’ are encouraged in a fair competition field. An entrepreneur is their own boss allowed to make their own decision. The profits are for family maintenance of the entrepreneur while the economy is supported by the purchase of raw materials and machineries. Therefore a sustainable economy is created. Christian democrats embrace other religions and promote peaceful co existence with everyone. This spirit led to the process of European integration. There is emphasis on the significance of one’s nationality. National symbols and values are of great importance and should be protected. They preserve the environment by creating environmental friendly technologies. Also there is a social aspect where they encourage the society to conserve the environment. This is done by creating awareness in the public. Through freedom and responsibility principles the environment is protected. Germany a Christian democracy was among the first countries to implement environment conservation policies in 197810. Solidarity continues to foster development in Christian democrats. Policies built around solidarity, counter self-indulgence, neglect and self-centredness to ensure development. This creates an environment cured of poverty, hunger, ignorance and disease. National interest also motivate solidarity save for personal obligations. The family being a structure in the Christian democrat require family development11. The structure provides stability and reliability. Families play the parenting and educational roles providing a child with the basic skills of a good citizen. There is social responsibility where children and parents are responsible for each other. This also ensures the maintenance of generations. The Christian democrats also champion the conservation of the environment. From the Christian perspective it is necessary to preserve the creations of God. Therefore they conserve their natural resources not only to prevent the negative effects but also to ensure the preservation of God’s creation. Conclusion Recently the increased individuality and reduced solidarity led to the decline in power of the Christian democrat parties. The challenge of mobilising voters and supporters has become increasingly hard. Rural areas comprise of few farmers, enterprises and practising Christians. This percentage is however not enough compared to the urban population. Globalisation posed a challenge on the social welfare structure. A restructuring of the social welfare is necessary. However the restructure should not shun the Christian responsibilities. This results to the Christian democrats appealing for the support and membership of the urban society. The parties also face challenges due to lack of support from the church sometimes. Some parties still remain in power while others have lost complete control of the supporters who adored them. Christian democratic in Europe is the worst hit and remains only in Germany, Belgium and Austria. Bibliography Hecke, S., Gerard, E., Christian democratic parties in Europe since the end of the cold war, Leuven University Press, Leuven, 2004. Mainwaring, S., Scully, T., Christian democracy in Latin America, Stanford university Press, California, 2003. Freston, P., Protestant political parties, Ash gate publishers, Aldershot, 2004. Smith, W., Latin American democratic transformations, Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, 2009. Read More