The Christian Workers' Union of Finland ( fi, Suomen Kristillisen Työväen Liitto; sv, Finlands kristliga arbetarförbund, abbreviated SKrTL) was a political party in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. The party was led by the industrial worker

Antti Kaarne Antti Johannes Kaarne (27 November 1875, Messukylä - 14 July 1924, Turku; surname until 1906 ''Karlsson'') was a Finnish industrial worker, smallholder, newspaper editor and politician. He was a member of the Parliament of Finland, representing ...

until 1918.

History

The party was founded in 1906, in the aftermath of the 1905 general strike. It had a radical

Christian socialist Christian socialism is a religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing left-wing politics and socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe cap ...

profile. The program of the party was largely similar as that of the Social Democratic Party of Finland, but it could not reconcile with the atheism of the Social Democrats.Ekberg, Henrik, and Vivi-Ann Rehnström.
Uppslagsverket Finland. 2, 2
'. Helsingfors: Schildt, 1983. p. 137 The motto of the party was to "n the basis of the Christian faith, liberate our people from the oppression of capital".Donner, Anders.
Suomi : maa, kansa, valtakunta 1
'. Helsinki: Otava, 1923. p. 377 In the early years of the party, two distinct tendencies were active in its membership; a tendency dominated by priests that hoped that the party would enable them to win allies in the struggle against atheism, and a tendency led by

that sought to implement social reforms on the basis of Christian principles. Soon, however, the clergy-based faction was marginalised in the competition over the orientation of the party. In the 1907 elections, the party won two seats in the

Eduskunta The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The ...

and was represented in the assembly by Kaarne and Matti Helenius-Seppälä. The party retained both seats in the 1908 elections, but was reduced to a single seat in the 1909 elections.Nousiainen, Jaakko.
Finlands politiska system
'. 1966. p. 36 The SKrTL retained a single seat in elections in 1910 and 1911, but lost their parliamentary representation in the 1913 elections. The 1916 elections saw the party regain a single seat, which it lost in the

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative ...

a year later. In 1917, the party changed its name to Christian Workers Party (''Kristillinen työväenpuolue''). During its later years, Helenius-Seppälä played an important role in shaping the ideological profile of the party. The activities of the party were disrupted by the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...

. The party maintained a policy of neutrality in the war, but it was interpreted by the Whites as having sided with the Reds.Björkstrand, Mats.
Det Svenska stiftets tillkomst: en undersökning med särskild hämsyn till de politiska besluten
'. Åbo: Åbo Akademis tryckeri, 1998. p. 14 The party won two seats in 1919 but did not contest any further elections.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An expe ...

& Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p611 The party was dissolved as its key leaders joined the Social Democrats.

References

{{Portal bar, Christianity, Finland, Socialism Christian socialist organizations Defunct political parties in Finland Political parties of the Russian Revolution Political parties established in 1906