Christian socialism
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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. Broadly speaking, 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 writer Frederick Denison Maurice (The Kingdom of Christ, 1838) and Francis Bellamy — Baptist minister and author of the United States' Pledge of Allegiance.
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 is not 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 do not claim to be socialist, nor are they considered socialist by others. The term Christian Democrat is more appropriately applied to the contemporary parties.
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[edit] Christian socialist parties
- Democracia Popular
- Social Christians (Italy)
- Partido Social Cristiano (Ecuador)
- Christian Left Party (Chile)
- Marc Sangnier's Sillon and then Ligue de la jeune République
- League of Christian Socialists (the Netherlands)
- Christian Social Party (Netherlands)
- Christian Social Party (Switzerland)
[edit] 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.
Current British Labour leader Tony Blair is a member of the Christian Socialist Movement[1].
Australian Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd wrote in 2006 that "A Christian perspective, informed by a social gospel or Christian socialist tradition, should not be rejected contemptuously by secular politicians as if these views are an unwelcome intrusion into the political sphere" [1]. However he also described socialism as an "arcane, 19th century" doctrine and stated that "I am not a socialist. I have never been a socialist and I never will be a socialist". [2].
- Karl Barth
- Robert Malachy Burke
- Hugo Chávez
- Dorothy Day
- Percy Dearmer
- Tommy Douglas
- Diane Drufenbrock
- Thomas J. Hagerty
- Keir Hardie
- Thomas Hughes
- John Ludlow
- Martin Luther King – arguably the most famous Christian socialist, though not famous as a Christian socialist. [2]
- Charles Kingsley
- Father Walter Lini (for whom Christianity and socialism held strong similarities and could be combined to form the basis of Melanesian socialism)
- F. O. Matthiessen
- Frederick Maurice
- Jürgen Moltmann
- Dorothee Sölle
- R. H. Tawney
- Paul Tillich
- Cornel West
- Jackson Stitt Wilson (1868-1942) Methodist minister and socialist mayor of Berkeley, California from 1911-13.
[edit] Quotes
| “ | He [Jesus] accompanied me in difficult times, in crucial moments. So Jesus Christ is no doubt a historical figure — he was someone who rebelled, an anti-imperialist guy. He confronted the Roman Empire… Because who might think that Jesus was a capitalist? No. Judas was the capitalist, for taking the coins! Christ was a revolutionary. He confronted the religious hierarchies. He confronted the economic power of the time. He preferred death in the defense of his humanistic ideals, who fostered change… He is our Jesus Christ.—Hugo Chávez[3] | ” |
| “ | Capitalism is the way of the devil and exploitation. If you really want to look at things through the eyes of Jesus Christ — who I think was the first socialist — only socialism can really create a genuine society.—Hugo Chávez [3] | ” |
| “ | If we all came of the same father and mother, of Adam and Eve, how can they say or prove that they are better than we, if it be not that they make us gain for them by our toil what they spend in their pride?—Attributed to John Ball[4] | ” |
[edit] See also
- Christian anarchism
- Christian left
- Christian communism
- Christian politics (index)
- Liberation theology
- Postmodern Christianity
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.rationalistinternational.net/article/20030827_3_en.htm
- ^ http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0120-08.htm
- ^ untitled speech delivered at the Latino Pastoral Action Center in Bronx, New York City.[citation needed]
- ^[citation needed]
- Agrarian socialism in America: Marx, Jefferson, and Jesus in the Oklahoma Countryside, 1904-1920 (University of Oklahoma Press, 1999).
