Christian democracy is a politicalideology, born at the end of the 19th century with the papal encyclical Rerum Novarum of Pope Leo XIII, in which the Vatican recognizes workers' misery, in reaction to the rise of the socialist and trade-union movements. Though the Christian democratic movement is very heterogeneous, it agrees generally on certain topics. The proposed design of the State is different from that of the liberals: it must be decentralized, to be made up by various bodies, but to have an unquestionable capacity. Christian democracy sees economy as being at the service of humanity; they do not call capitalism into question. The duty of care of the State is thus of some importance for Christian democrats; this overlaps with the ideas of Christian socialism.
