|
|||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Social conservative |
 |
This article or section has multiple issues. Please help improve the article or discuss these issues on the talk page.
|
| The Conservatism series, part of the Politics series |
| Schools |
|---|
| Compassionate conservatism |
| Cultural conservatism |
| Fiscal conservatism |
| Green conservatism |
| Liberal conservatism |
| Libertarian conservatism |
| National conservatism |
| Neoconservatism |
| Paleoconservatism |
| Social conservatism |
| Theoconservatism |
| Traditionalist conservatism |
| Organizations |
| Conservative parties |
| Int'l Democrat Union |
| European People's Party |
| European Democrats |
| Movement for European Reform |
| National variants |
| Australia |
| Canada |
| Colombia |
| Germany |
| United States
|
| Politics Portal |
Social conservatism is a political or moral ideology that believes the government has a role in encouraging or enforcing traditional values or behaviors based on the belief that these are what keep people civilized and decent. However, the accepted meaning of traditional morality often differs from group to group within social conservatism. Thus, there are really no policies or positions that could be considered universal among social conservatives. There are, however, a number of principles to which at least a majority of social conservatives adhere.
A second meaning of the term has developed in the Nordic countries and Continental Europe. Here it refers to liberal conservatives supporting modern European welfare states.
Contents |
Social conservatism is distinct from cultural conservatism which focuses on cultural aspects of the issues, such as protecting one's culture. Although there are some overlaps.
Social conservatives in many countries generally:
There is no necessary link between social and fiscal conservatism. In fact, some social conservatives are otherwise apolitical or even left-wing on fiscal issues. For example, social conservatives may also support a degree of government intervention in the economy, and as such will tend to support the concept economic intervention to further this aim. This concern for material welfare, like advocacy of traditional mores, will often have a basis in the religion of the social conservatives in question. Examples include the Christian Social Union of Bavaria, the Family First and Democratic Labor Party of Australia, and the Communitarian movement in the United States.
There is more overlap between social conservatism and paleoconservatism in that they both have respect for traditional social forms. However, paleoconservatism has a strong cultural conservative strain which social conservatism, in and of itself, is not necessarily allied with. For example, John Burger, writing in Crisis Magazine in 2005, said:
"The presence of a significant population of culturally Catholic immigrants offers hope that their culture will permeate a decadent American society and contribute to the re-evangelization of native-born Catholics. . . Abortion is still illegal in most Latin American countries. And in most areas, it’s not even part of a person’s consciousness." 1
Many Christian Democratic Parties and Muslim parties around the world are socially conservative.
In Europe, some social conservative parties also support nationalism, and regionalism, based on ideas according to which the national wealth and the traditional values would lose from free immigration and free trade.
However, these positions are contradictory with Christian religious beliefs and repetitively criticized by representatives of Catholic and Protestant churches. Dominant conservative parties, also called moderate right parties refrain from nationalism, trying to integrate citizens from ethnic minorities.
Australia
Austria
Belgium including far right and separatist ideas
Canada
Chile
Czech Republic
France
and, including far right and nationalist ideas
Germany
Greece
India
Ireland
Italy
and, with nationalist and separatist ideas
Japan
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
Poland
Philippines
Slovakia
Serbia
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United States
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |