What Is Religious Socialism?
Religious socialism is a type of socialism based on religious values and religious worldviews. Members of several major religions have found that their beliefs about human society fit with socialist principles and ideas. Part of the Religious family.
Definition
Religious socialism is a type of socialism based on religious values and religious worldviews. Members of several major religions have found that their beliefs about human society fit with socialist principles and ideas.
Definition quoted from Wikipedia: Religious socialism (text available under CC BY-SA 4.0; checked October 20, 2026).
Core ideas
- Economic justice as a religious duty.
- Equality and community.
- Criticism of materialism and exploitation.
Core ideas, origins and thinkers: Atlas summary.
Where Religious Socialism sits on the Atlas maps
| Map dimension | Score (0–100) | Position | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Collective / planned ↔ Market | 22 | toward collective / planned | |
| Social Progressive ↔ Traditional | 80 | toward traditional | |
| Authority Libertarian ↔ Authoritarian | 45 | near the center | |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 54 | near the center | |
| Foreign policy Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 20 | toward non-intervention |
All nine underlying dimensions
| Dimension | Score | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Economic ownership Collective ownership ↔ Private ownership | 21 | toward collective ownership |
| Civil liberties Civil liberty ↔ State restrictions | 46 | near the center |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 54 | near the center |
| Social and cultural values Progressive ↔ Traditionalist | 80 | toward traditionalist |
| Political governance Democratic ↔ Autocratic | 45 | near the center |
| Equality and hierarchy Egalitarian ↔ Hierarchical | 30 | toward egalitarian |
| Economic management Free market ↔ State planning | 76 | toward state planning |
| Military intervention Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 20 | toward non-intervention |
| Religion and government Secular state ↔ Religious authority | 80 | 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 |
| People should be free to criticize the government without fear of legal punishment. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Preserving a historic national majority is a legitimate immigration objective. | Disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Military power should be used proactively when serious external threats are emerging. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Society works best when established social hierarchies are respected. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Major industries should be publicly owned rather than privately controlled. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Traditional values should guide what society considers right and wrong. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Regulations on business should be minimized whenever possible. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| National legislation should reflect the moral teachings of the country’s majority religion. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Price signals should be the main guide for production and investment. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
Related ideologies
Main differences from the closest ideologies
- Compared with Agrarian Socialism, Religious Socialism sits 16 points further toward traditional on the social dimension.
- Compared with Christian Socialism, Religious Socialism sits 20 points further toward traditional on the social dimension.
- Compared with Distributism, Religious Socialism sits 18 points further toward collective / planned on the economic dimension.
Figures with the closest estimated positions
Closeness of estimated positions only; this does not mean these people identify with Religious Socialism.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Religious socialism
- Wikipedia: Religious Socialism (Wikipedia search)
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Socialism
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Religion and Political Theory
Position last reviewed: not yet reviewed individually.