What Is Social Conservatism?
Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism that places emphasis on conserving the traditional moral values of society, frequently sourced from a religion. Part of the Conservative family.
Definition
Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism that places emphasis on conserving the traditional moral values of society, frequently sourced from a religion.
Definition quoted from Wikipedia: Social conservatism (text available under CC BY-SA 4.0; checked October 20, 2026).
Core ideas
- Traditional family and marriage.
- Religious and moral values in public life.
- Caution about rapid cultural change.
Core ideas, origins and thinkers: Atlas summary.
Where Social Conservatism sits on the Atlas maps
| Map dimension | Score (0–100) | Position | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Collective / planned ↔ Market | 74 | toward market | |
| Social Progressive ↔ Traditional | 85 | toward traditional | |
| Authority Libertarian ↔ Authoritarian | 37 | near the center | |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 62 | near the center | |
| Foreign policy Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 34 | toward non-intervention |
All nine underlying dimensions
| Dimension | Score | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Economic ownership Collective ownership ↔ Private ownership | 80 | toward private ownership |
| Civil liberties Civil liberty ↔ State restrictions | 44 | near the center |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 62 | near the center |
| Social and cultural values Progressive ↔ Traditionalist | 94 | strongly toward traditionalist |
| Political governance Democratic ↔ Autocratic | 30 | toward democratic |
| Equality and hierarchy Egalitarian ↔ Hierarchical | 71 | toward hierarchical |
| Economic management Free market ↔ State planning | 35 | toward free market |
| Military intervention Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 34 | toward non-intervention |
| Religion and government Secular state ↔ Religious authority | 65 | near the center |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The means of production should ultimately be owned collectively. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Opposition parties should be free to compete in elections. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Central economic planning is preferable to decentralized market decisions. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| A national religious authority should have the power to veto legislation. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| People should be free to criticize the government without fear of legal punishment. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Traditional values should guide what society considers right and wrong. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| National borders should become less important over time. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Military power should be used proactively when serious external threats are emerging. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Class distinctions should gradually disappear. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Hate speech should be a criminal offense. | Disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
Related ideologies
Main differences from the closest ideologies
- Compared with Traditional Conservatism, Social Conservatism sits 7 points further toward authoritarian on the authority dimension.
- Compared with National Conservatism, Social Conservatism sits 28 points further toward cosmopolitan on the national identity dimension.
- Compared with Moderate Conservatism, Social Conservatism sits 20 points further toward traditional on the social dimension.
Comparisons
Social Conservatism vs Libertarian Conservatism
Figures with the closest estimated positions
Closeness of estimated positions only; this does not mean these people identify with Social Conservatism.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Social conservatism
- Wikipedia: Social Conservatism (Wikipedia search)
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Conservatism
Position last reviewed: not yet reviewed individually.