The Christian Workers' Union of Finland (; , abbreviated SKrTL) was a political party in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. 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 A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Chr ...

profile. The program of the party was largely similar as that of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

, 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 "on the basis of the Christian faith, liberate our people from the oppression of

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

".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 Matti Oskar Helenius-Seppälä (27 June 1870, Pälkäne – 18 October 1920) was a Finland, Finnish social scientist, temperance movement activist and politician. He was a member of the Parliament of Finland from 1908 to 1909, from 1911 to 1914, ...

. The party retained both seats in the

1908 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1908. Africa *1908 Southern Rhodesian Legislative Council election Australia * 1908 Adelaide by-election * 1908 Queensland state election Europe *1908 Bulgarian parliamentary election *1908 Croatian ...

, 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 Events January * January 6 – Abé people in the French West Africa colony of Côte d'Ivoire rise against the colonial administration; the rebellion is brutally suppressed by the military. * January 8 – By the Treaty of Punakha, t ...

and

1911 Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * January 3 ** 1911 Kebin earthquake: An earthquake of 7.7 m ...

, but lost their parliamentary representation in the

1913 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1913. * 1912 Argentine legislative election * 1913 Danish Folketing election * 1913 Dutch general election * 1913 Finnish parliamentary election * 1913 Italian general election * 1913 Newfoundland gener ...

. 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 whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

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 was a civil war in Finland in 1918 fought for the leadership and control of the country between Whites (Finland), White Finland and the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (Red Finland) during the country's transition fr ...

. 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 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (later Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off th ...

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 ex ...

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

Election results

Parliament

References

{{Portal bar, Christianity, Finland, Socialism 1906 establishments in Finland Christian socialist organizations Defunct Christian political parties Defunct political parties in Finland Defunct socialist parties in Europe History of Christianity in Finland Political parties established in 1906 Political parties of the Russian Revolution Political parties with year of disestablishment missing Socialist parties in Finland