Everything about Christian Socialism totally explained
Christian socialism generally refers to those on the
Christian left whose politics are both
Christian and
socialist and who see these two things as being interconnected. This category can include
Liberation theology and the doctrine of the
social gospel. The term "Christian Socialism" is used in this sense by organizations such as the
Christian Socialist Movement (CSM), a specifically Christian grouping affiliated with the British
Labour Party. The term also pertains to such earlier figures as the nineteenth century writers
Frederick Denison Maurice (
The Kingdom of Christ, 1838),
Charles Kingsley (
Water-Babies, 1863),
Thomas Hughes (
Tom Brown's Schooldays, 1857),
Frederick James Furnivall (co-creator of the
Oxford English Dictionary),
Adin Ballou (
Practical Christian Socialism, 1854), and
Francis Bellamy — Baptist minister and author of the United States'
Pledge of Allegiance.
On the Catholic side, the
Rerum Novarum encyclical letter of
Leo XIII (
1891) was the starting point of a Teaching on social questions that was expanded and updated all through the
20th century. Though avoiding the word
Socialism (as the Socialist movements of the day were anti-religious) the
encyclical promotes a kind of
corporatism based on
social solidarity among the classes with respects for the needs and rights of all. In the more Catholic countries of
Europe the encyclical's teaching was the inspiration that led to the formation of new Christian-inspired Socialist parties.
A number of Christian socialist movements and political parties throughout the world group themselves into the
International League of Religious Socialists. It has member organizations in 21 countries representing 200,000 members.
Christian socialists draw parallels between what some have characterized as the
egalitarian and anti-establishment message of
Jesus, who — according to Christian
Gospel — spoke against the religious authorities of his time, and the egalitarian, anti-establishment, and sometimes
anti-clerical message of most contemporary socialisms. Some Christian Socialists have gone as far as to become active
Communists (see Christian communism). This phenomenon was most common among Christian
missionaries in
China, the most notable being
James Gareth Endicott, who became supportive of the struggle of the
Communist Party of China in the 1930s and 1940s.
Christian socialism isn't to be confused with certain parties with "Christian Social" in their names which are found in the
German-speaking world, such as the contemporary
Christian Social Union in Bavaria or the
Christian Social Party in
Austria-Hungary circa 1900. Such parties don't claim to be socialist, nor are they considered socialist by others. The term
Christian Democrat is more appropriately applied to the contemporary parties.
Christian socialist parties
Prominent Christian socialists
The
British Labour Party and
Australian Labor Party have both been influenced by Christian socialism, and many figures from both parties could be considered to be Christian socialists, depending on the definition of 'socialism' used.
Former British Labour leader
Tony Blair is a member of the
Christian Socialist Movement although his adherence to Christian Socialist ideals are highly disputed.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd wrote in 2006 that "A Christian perspective, informed by a social gospel or Christian socialist tradition, shouldn't be rejected contemptuously by secular politicians as if these views are an unwelcome intrusion into the political sphere." However he also described socialism as an "arcane, 19th century" doctrine and stated that "I am not a socialist. I've never been a socialist and I never will be a socialist."
Karl Barth
Tony Benn
Robert Malachy Burke
Walt Brown
Dorothy Day
Percy Dearmer
Tommy Douglas
Diane Drufenbrock
Vekoslav Grmič, Slovenian Roman Catholic bishop, writer, essayist and public figure
Thomas J. Hagerty
Keir Hardie
Thomas Hughes
Sir David Fletcher Jones
Edvard Kocbek, Slovenian thinker, poet and politician
George Lansbury
John Ludlow
Martin Luther King, arguably the most famous Christian socialist, though not famous as a Christian socialist.
Charles Kingsley
Father Walter Lini, for whom Christianity and socialism held strong similarities and could be combined to form the basis of Melanesian socialism
Margaret MacDonald, wife of UK Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald
F. O. Matthiessen
Frederick Maurice
Jürgen Moltmann
Brian P. Moore, candidate for the 2008 US Presidential elections
Reinhold Niebuhr
Huub Oosterhuis
Michael Joseph Savage
Dorothee Sölle
R. H. Tawney
Norman Thomas
Paul Tillich
Cornel West
Jackson Stitt Wilson (1868-1942) Methodist minister and socialist mayor of Berkeley, California from 1911-13.
Frank P. Zeidler, ex-Milwaukee mayor, Socialist Party USA
Quotes
}}
Further Information
Get more info on 'Christian Socialism'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://christian_socialism.totallyexplained.com">Christian socialism Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
