Christians for Socialism ( es, Cristianos por el socialismo; CPS) is a worldwide political and cultural movement focused on
social inequality
Social inequality occurs when resources in a given society are distributed unevenly, typically through norms of allocation, that engender specific patterns along lines of socially defined categories of persons. It posses and creates gender c ...
and economic injustice,
inspired by
liberation theology
Liberation theology is a Christian theological approach emphasizing the liberation of the oppressed. In certain contexts, it engages socio-economic analyses, with "social concern for the poor and political liberation for oppressed peoples". I ...
. It was founded in 1971.
Founding
Having begun in April 1971, Christians for Socialism first gained notoriety when a collection of eighty
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
an priests, known as the "Group of 80", publicly declared their support of the construction of
socialism
Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...
along the lines being followed by then-President
Salvador Allende
Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (, , ; 26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean physician and socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 3 November 1970 until his death on 11 September 1973. He was the fir ...
.
The Secretariat of Christians for Socialism was formally established in September 1973. The group was predominantly composed of
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
members of the
Christian left
The Christian left is a range of left-wing Christian political and social movements that largely embrace social justice principles and uphold a social doctrine or social gospel.
Given the inherent diversity in international political thoug ...
who were inspired and spurred on by the
Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...
.
Project
CPS was founded to counteract a presumption that Christian institutions were inherently opposed to
socialism
Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...
. While its founders found aspects of socialist programs that they wished to critique, they wanted to do so as insiders within the socialist movement, rather than as adversaries. From their beginnings as supporters of Allende, CPS has been associated with firm support for socialist leaders. Accordingly, CPS leaders cultivated strong ties with Cuban revolutionary leader
Fidel Castro. It was intended as a movement of active political involvement and participation, and involved discussions bringing together current political events and church documents in light of each other. CPS inspired a series of social programs in the public sector. Priests in CPS led union units and organized peasant federations.
Antecedents
In Chile the immediate antecedent to CPS was the ' movement. In Italy, many of the young people who had been involved in the
Italian student and worker protests of 1968 joined the movement, and the
Christian Associations of Italian Workers The Christian Associations of Italian Workers (''Associazioni Cristiane dei Lavoratori Italiani'', ACLI; alternatively translated as Italian Christian Workers' Association) are a widespread lay Catholic association in Italy. Its work is based on th ...
(ACLI) was very supportive.
Leaders
López Trujillo considers a major leader of CPS. Another prominent leader was the
Salesian
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, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
, abbreviation = SDB
, formation =
, founder = John Bosco
, founding_location = Valdocco, Turin ...
priest
Lidia Menapace, who was also a significant figure in the
Italian Catholic resistance during World War II. In Spain,
Alfonso Carlos Comín was a key leader in establishing the movement. The theologian
Gustavo Gutiérrez
Gustavo Gutiérrez Merino (born 8 June 1928) is a Peruvian philosopher, Catholic theologian, and Dominican priest, regarded as one of the founders of Latin American liberation theology. He currently holds the John Cardinal O'Hara Professo ...
was also a member and led sessions at all the major conferences.
Suppression
CPS faced opposition from the start.
Left-leaning
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
priests from Brazil and Bolivia were supportive but unable to participate in gatherings due to severe police control.
CPS was short-lived in Chile, due to strong resistance from the
Episcopal Conference of Chile under the direction of its secretary general, bishop
Carlos Oviedo Cavada
Carlos Oviedo Cavada, O. de M. (19 January 1927 – 7 December 1998) was a Chilean Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Santiago de Chile from 1990 to 1998, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1994.
Biography
Cavad ...
. In their letter condemning the movement, the bishops there argued that while the church speaks to "politics insofar as it underlies every social reality", it should not be involved in "partisan activity". Chilean clergy involved in the movement were banned from political participation altogether in April 1973. The movement was suppressed by the Chilean military dictatorship after the
coup of 1973. Father , one of the most active members of CPS, left Chile at this time.
Gatherings
A number of important gatherings have been held under the auspices of Christians for Socialism. In 1972, 400 members met for a week at a textile union hall, urging "class struggle
sthe only valid course to necessary social change in Latin America."
CPS brought together similar Latin American movements in the Latin American Meeting of Christians for Socialism 1974 in
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...
, Chile.
In 1975, the Christians for Socialism conference in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
, formally introduced
liberation theology
Liberation theology is a Christian theological approach emphasizing the liberation of the oppressed. In certain contexts, it engages socio-economic analyses, with "social concern for the poor and political liberation for oppressed peoples". I ...
to the United States. This event was a significant convergence where
black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
,
feminist, and third-world
anti-imperialist
Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is a term used in a variety of contexts, usually by nationalist movements who want to secede from a larger polity (usually in the form of an empire, but also in a multi-ethnic so ...
movements joined together and recognized each other as peers in the same process of liberation, while also strongly critiquing one another. A detailed account of the meeting was published.
Christians for Socialism groups sprung up in France, Italy, and West Germany. In Germany, CPS was a radical rival to
Enlightenment liberalism and "
German idealism
German idealism was a philosophical movement that emerged in Germany in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It developed out of the work of Immanuel Kant in the 1780s and 1790s, and was closely linked both with Romanticism and the revolutionary ...
's aspirations to freedom".
Critiques
López Trujillo has critiqued CPS for holding an understanding of liberation too strongly influenced by
Marxist political theory rather than the integral Christian liberation stance espoused by the
Latin American Episcopal Conference
Based in Bogotá ( Colombia), the Latin American Episcopal Council ( es, Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano; pt, Conselho Episcopal Latino-Americano), better known as CELAM, is a council of the Roman Catholic bishops of Latin America, created i ...
. It has been said that for some members of Christians for Socialism, there is "no salvation incarnate outside of class struggle."
See also
*
Christian democracy
*
Catholic social teaching
*
Christian socialism
*
Socialism with a human face
Socialism with a human face ( cs, socialismus s lidskou tváří, sk, socializmus s ľudskou tvárou) is a slogan referring to the reformist and democratic socialist programme of Alexander Dubček and his colleagues, agreed at the Presidium of ...
References
Notes
Bibliography
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Further reading
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* Encuentro Latinoamericano de Cristianos por el Socialismo, Latin American Working Group (Toronto, Ont.), & Student Christian Movement of Canada. (1972). ''First Latin American Encounter of Christians for Socialism.'' Toronto: Latin American Working Group and the Student Christian Movement of Canada.
{{Authority control
Catholic theology and doctrine
Liberation theology
World Christianity