What Is Political Catholicism?
Political Catholicism is political action and thought based on Catholic social teaching, including the dignity of the person, the common good, subsidiarity and solidarity. Part of the Religious family.
Definition
Political Catholicism is political action and thought based on Catholic social teaching, including the dignity of the person, the common good, subsidiarity and solidarity.
Atlas definition: written by The Ideology Atlas. Writers and movements define ideologies in different ways; this is a short working definition. Further reading: Wikipedia: Catholic Church and politics.
Core ideas
- Catholic social teaching.
- Subsidiarity and solidarity.
- Defense of the family and the Church's role.
Origins
19th-century Europe.
Associated thinkers and leaders
Core ideas, origins and thinkers: Atlas summary.
Where Political Catholicism sits on the Atlas maps
| Map dimension | Score (0–100) | Position | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Collective / planned ↔ Market | 54 | near the center | |
| Social Progressive ↔ Traditional | 90 | strongly toward traditional | |
| Authority Libertarian ↔ Authoritarian | 36 | near the center | |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 76 | toward nationalist | |
| Foreign policy Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 22 | toward non-intervention |
All nine underlying dimensions
| Dimension | Score | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Economic ownership Collective ownership ↔ Private ownership | 64 | near the center |
| Civil liberties Civil liberty ↔ State restrictions | 41 | near the center |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 76 | toward nationalist |
| Social and cultural values Progressive ↔ Traditionalist | 93 | strongly toward traditionalist |
| Political governance Democratic ↔ Autocratic | 31 | toward democratic |
| Equality and hierarchy Egalitarian ↔ Hierarchical | 64 | near the center |
| Economic management Free market ↔ State planning | 61 | near the center |
| Military intervention Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 22 | toward non-intervention |
| Religion and government Secular state ↔ Religious authority | 82 | toward religious authority |
These positions are estimates on the Atlas’s nine-dimension scale, produced by running the tradition’s core principles through the same questions and scoring used for test-takers. They are interpretations for comparison, not objective measurements. How scores are made.
Estimated positions on key questions
| Statement | Position | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Opposition parties should be free to compete in elections. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| The means of production should ultimately be owned collectively. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| People should be free to criticize the government without fear of legal punishment. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| National borders should become less important over time. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Traditional values should guide what society considers right and wrong. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Military power should be used proactively when serious external threats are emerging. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Central economic planning is preferable to decentralized market decisions. | Disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Class distinctions should gradually disappear. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| National legislation should reflect the moral teachings of the country’s majority religion. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Laws should be based on secular reasoning rather than religious teaching. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
Related ideologies
Main differences from the closest ideologies
- Compared with Agrarian Conservatism, Political Catholicism sits 10 points further toward intervention on the foreign policy dimension.
- Compared with National Conservatism, Political Catholicism sits 15 points further toward cosmopolitan on the national identity dimension.
- Compared with Paleoconservatism, Political Catholicism sits 13 points further toward cosmopolitan on the national identity dimension.
Figures with the closest estimated positions
Closeness of estimated positions only; this does not mean these people identify with Political Catholicism.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Catholic Church and politics
- Wikipedia: Political Catholicism (Wikipedia search)
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Religion and Political Theory
Position last reviewed: not yet reviewed individually.