Political ideology advocating traditional values and power structures
Social conservatism
is a
political philosophy
and a variety of
conservatism
which places emphasis on
traditional
social structures over
social pluralism
.
[1]
[2]
Social conservatives
organize
in favor of
duty
,
traditional values
and
social institutions
, such as traditional
family structures
,
gender roles
,
sexual relations
,
national patriotism
, and
religious traditions
.
[3]
[4]
Social conservatism is usually skeptical of social change, instead tending to support the
status quo
concerning social issues.
[4]
Social conservatives also value the rights of religious institutions to participate in the public sphere, thus often supporting
government-religious endorsement
and opposing
state atheism
, and in some cases opposing
secularism
.
[5]
[6]
[7]
Social conservatism, as a movement, is largely an outgrowth of
traditionalist conservatism
. The key difference is that traditional conservatism is broader and includes philosophical considerations, whereas social conservatism is largely focused on just
moralism
.
Social conservatism and other ideological views
[
edit
]
There is overlap between social conservatism and
paleoconservatism
, in that they both support and value traditional social forms.
[8]
[
self-published source
]
Social conservatism is not to be confused with
economically interventionist
conservatism, where conservative ideas are combined with
Keynesian
economics and a
welfare state
as practised by some European conservatives (e.g.
one-nation conservatives
in the
United Kingdom
,
Gaullists
in
France
). Some social conservatives support
free trade
and
laissez faire market
approaches to economic and fiscal issues, but social conservatives may also support economic intervention where the intervention serves moral or cultural aims. Historian
Jon Wiener
has described social conservatism as historically the result of an appeal from "
elitist preservationists
" to lower-class workers to 'protect' wealth from immigration.
[1]
[9]
Many social conservatives support a balance between
protectionism
and a
free market
. This concern for material welfare, like advocacy of traditional
mores
, will often have a basis in religion. Examples include the
Christian Social Union of Bavaria
, the
Family First Party
and
Katter's Australian Party
, and the
communitarian
movement in the United States.
[10]
Social conservatism by country
[
edit
]
Australia
[
edit
]
Mainstream conservatism in Australia generally incorporates
liberalism
, hence
liberal conservatism
being the primary ideology of the major centre-right coalition in Australia, the
Liberal
-
National
Coalition
. Therefore, the Coalition, while having members with some socially conservative views, is not considered socially conservative. However, both social conservatism and
right-wing populism
are present among
right-wing
minor parties, such as
Pauline Hanson's One Nation
, the
United Australia Party
(UAP) and
Katter's Australian Party
(KAP) amongst others.
Nevertheless, the
National Right
(also known as the "Conservative" faction or the "Right" faction) serves as the party's social conservative faction, although the party is still considered a
broad church
conservative party and factions do collaborate with each other; for example, the
New South Wales Liberal Party
often chooses a leadership team consisting of both a member of the more centrist
Moderate
faction and a member of the Right.
Social conservatives in Australia often need to take a broad church stance while governing, for example when
Dominic Perrottet
, a conservative
Catholic
was the party's state leader in New South Wales (as well as the state's Premier), despite voted against legalising
same-sex marriage
in 2018 and is an opponent of
abortion
, he backed a ban on gay
conversion therapy
(following Labor leader
Chris Minns
announcing his support for banning it),
[11]
whilst also vowing to protect
religious freedom
and
preaching
.
[12]
During the
Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey
of 2018, which successfully sought to legalise same-sex marriage in Australia, the government was a Coalition government (led by
Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull
). The Coalition allowed its members a
conscience vote
on the issue and while many members (including Turnbull) supported it, some were opposed to it (but supported holding a
plebiscite
on the issue). Federal Coalition MPs who opposed same-sex marriage during the debate included former Prime Minister
Tony Abbott
,
Peter Dutton
,
Scott Morrison
and many others. However, when the plebiscite was successful (with 61.6% in favour), a vote needed to be held in both chambers of
Parliament
. The
Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017
was tabled in the
Senate
and was subsequently passed in the
House of Representatives
, with just three votes against (excluding the members who abstained). Due to their respective electorates delivering a majority "yes" vote (as well as the entire country), members such as Dutton (who voted "no" in the plebiscite) voted in favour of the bill after his seat of
Dickson
voted 65.16% in favour.
Canada
[
edit
]
In Canada, social conservatism, though widespread, is not as prominent in the public sphere as
in the United States
. It is prevalent in all areas of the country but is seen as being more prominent in
rural
areas. It is also a significant influence on the ideological and political culture of the western provinces of
Manitoba
,
Saskatchewan
,
Alberta
, and
British Columbia
.
[
citation needed
]
Compared to
social conservatism in the United States
, social conservatism has not been as influential in Canada. The main reason is that the
neoconservative
style of politics as promoted by leaders such as former Prime Ministers such as
Paul Martin
and
Stephen Harper
have focused on
fiscal conservatism
, with little or no emphasis on moral or social conservatism.
[13]
Without a specific, large political party behind them, social conservatives have divided their votes and can be found in all political parties.
[14]
Social conservatives often felt that they were being sidelined by officials in the
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
and its leadership of so-called "
Red Tories
" for the last half of the twentieth century and therefore many eventually made their political home with parties such as the
Social Credit Party of Canada
and the
Reform Party of Canada
. Despite the Reform Party being dominated by social conservatives, leader
Preston Manning
, seeking greater national support for the party, was reluctant for the party to wholly embrace socially conservative values. This led to his deposition as leader of the party (now called
Canadian Alliance
) in favor of social conservative
Stockwell Day
.
[15]
The party's successor, the
Conservative Party of Canada
, despite having a number of socially conservative members and cabinet ministers, has chosen so far not to focus on socially conservative issues in its platform. This was most recently exemplified on two occasions in 2012 when the current
Conservative Party of Canada
declared they had no intention to repeal
same-sex marriage
or
abortion
laws.
[16]
China
[
edit
]
Chiang Kai-shek
, a former president of
Republic of China
, could be seen as a social conservative who was critical of
liberal values
and defended the union of
Confucian
traditions and
modernism
. Under his rule, the
Kuomintang
led the
New Life Movement
.
After the
Chinese Communist Revolution
, social conservatism in China increased due to the rise of
New Confucianism
and others after the 1970s to 1980s during the
Chinese economic reform
.
President
Xi Jinping
has adopted a more conservative social view since he began his third presidency. He reflects traditional and patriarchal views of women in speeches and policies. This is related to China's low birth rate problem.
[17]
Islamic world
[
edit
]
Most Muslim countries are somewhat more socially conservative (such as
Tajikistan
and
Malaysia
) than neighbouring countries that are not Muslim. However, due to their interpretation of Islamic law also known as Shariah, they have some differences from social conservatism as understood in the nations of West Europe, North America and Oceania.
[
citation needed
]
Arab world
[
edit
]
The Arab world has recently
[
when?
]
been more conservative in social and moral issues due to the
Arab spring
.
[
citation needed
]
India
[
edit
]
Hindu social conservatism
[
edit
]
Hindu social conservatism in India in the twenty first century has developed into an influential movement, represented in the political arena by the
right-wing
Bharatiya Janata Party
. Hindu social conservatism, also known as the
Hindutva
movement, is spearheaded by the voluntary non-governmental organization
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
. The core philosophy of this ideology is
nativism
, and it sees
Hinduism
as a national identity, rather than a religious one. Due to an inclination towards
nativism
, much of its platform is based on the belief that Islamic and Christian denominations in India are the result of occupations, and, therefore, these groups should be uprooted from the
Indian subcontinent
by converting their members back to
Hinduism
.
In terms of political positions, Hindu social conservatives in India seek to institutionalize a
Uniform Civil Code
(which is also a directive under Article 44 of the
Constitution of India
) for members of all religions,
[18]
over the current scheme of different personal laws for different religions. For instance,
polygamy
is legal for Muslims in India, but not Hindus.
Muslim social conservatism
[
edit
]
There are several socially conservative Muslim organisations in India, ranging from groups such as the
Indian Union Muslim League
which aim to promote the preservation of Indian Muslim culture as a part of the nation's identity and history.
[
citation needed
]
South Africa
[
edit
]
Social conservatism had an important place in
Apartheid
South Africa ruled by the
National Party
. Pornography,
[19]
gambling
[20]
and other activities that were deemed undesirable were severely restricted. The majority of businesses were forbidden from doing
business on Sunday
.
[21]
United States
[
edit
]
Social conservatism in the
United States
is a
right-wing
political ideology that opposes
social progressivism
. It is centered on the preservation of what adherents often call 'traditional' or '
family values
', though the accepted aims of the movement often vary amongst the organisations it comprises, making it hard to generalise about ideological preferences. There are, however, a number of general principles to which at least a majority of social conservatives adhere, such as
opposition to abortion
and opposition to
same-sex marriage
.
[1]
[22]
[23]
[24]
Sociologist
Harry F. Dahms
suggests that Christian doctrinal conservatives (anti-abortion, anti-same-sex marriage) and gun-use conservatives (such as supporters and members of the
National Rifle Association of America
(NRA)) form two domains of ideology within American social conservatism.
[25]
The
Republican Party
is the largest United States political party with socially conservative ideals incorporated into its platform. Other socially conservative parties include the
American Solidarity Party
, the
Constitution Party
and the
Prohibition Party
.
Social conservatives are strongest in the South, where they are a mainstream political force with aspirations to translate those ideals using the party platform nationally. Supporters of social conservatism played a major role in the political coalitions of
Ronald Reagan
and
George W. Bush
.
[26]
Other areas
[
edit
]
There are also social conservative movements in many other parts of the world, such as
Latin America
,
Eastern Europe
, the
Balkans
, the
Caucasus
,
Central Europe
,
Mediterranean countries
,
Southeast Asia
, and
Oceania
.
Examples of social conservative political parties
[
edit
]
Armenia
[
edit
]
Australia
[
edit
]
Austria
[
edit
]
Belgium
[
edit
]
Bosnia and Herzegovina
[
edit
]
Brazil
[
edit
]
Bulgaria
[
edit
]
Cambodia
[
edit
]
Canada
[
edit
]
Chile
[
edit
]
Czech Republic
[
edit
]
Denmark
[
edit
]
El Salvador
[
edit
]
Estonia
[
edit
]
Faroe Islands
[
edit
]
Fiji
[
edit
]
Finland
[
edit
]
France
[
edit
]
Germany
[
edit
]
Georgia
[
edit
]
Greece
[
edit
]
Hungary
[
edit
]
India
[
edit
]
Ireland
[
edit
]
Israel
[
edit
]
Italy
[
edit
]
Japan
[
edit
]
Latvia
[
edit
]
Liechtenstein
[
edit
]
Lithuania
[
edit
]
Luxembourg
[
edit
]
Malaysia
[
edit
]
Mexico
[
edit
]
Moldova
[
edit
]
Netherlands
[
edit
]
New Zealand
[
edit
]
Norway
[
edit
]
Philippines
[
edit
]
Poland
[
edit
]
Portugal
[
edit
]
Romania
[
edit
]
Russia
[
edit
]
Slovakia
[
edit
]
Spain
[
edit
]
Serbia
[
edit
]
Sweden
[
edit
]
Switzerland
[
edit
]
Turkey
[
edit
]
Ukraine
[
edit
]
United Kingdom
[
edit
]
Northern Ireland
[
edit
]
United States
[
edit
]
Social conservative factions of political parties
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Wiener, Jonathan
(Spring 1973).
"Review:
The Politics of Unreason: Right-Wing Extremism in America, 1790-1970
"
.
The Journal of Interdisciplinary History
.
3
(4).
MIT Press
: 791?793.
doi
:
10.2307/202704
.
JSTOR
202704
– via
JSTOR
.
- ^
Cooper, Melinda (2019).
Family Values: Between Neoliberalism and the New Social Conservatism
. Zone Books.
- ^
Smith, Robert B. (2014). Harry F. Dahms (ed.).
Social Conservatism, Distractors, and Authoritarianism: Axiological versus instrumental rationality
. Emerald Group Publishing. p. 101.
ISBN
9781784412227
.
- ^
a
b
"Social Conservatism"
.
Populism Studies
. Retrieved
17 August
2022
.
- ^
Dean, John W. (11 July 2006).
Conservatives Without Conscience
. Penguin Publishing Group. p. 77.
ISBN
9781101201374
.
- ^
Wald, Kenneth D.; Calhoun-Brown, Allison (2007).
Religion and Politics in the United States
. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 240.
ISBN
9780742540415
.
- ^
Booten, Matthew (11 May 2020).
"19 different types of conservatives"
.
Politic-Ed
.
Social conservatism often opposes state-atheism, however not necessarily atheism itself. They believe that if we allow states to stop believing in God, that societal order will simply break down as a result.
- ^
Rowland, Howard S. (2010).
Things to Think About
. Xlibris Corporation. p. 171.
ISBN
9781453571286
.
[
self-published source
]
- ^
West, Ed (2020).
Small Men on the Wrong Side of History: The Decline, Fall and Unlikely Return of Conservatism
.
- ^
Robin, Corey.
The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Donald Trump
. Oxford University Press.
- ^
"NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet agrees to gay conversion therapy ban"
.
- ^
"NSW election 2023: Perrottet puts caveats on gay conversion law"
.
- ^
John Middlemist Herrick and Paul H. Stuart, eds.
Encyclopedia of social welfare history in North America
(2005) p. 143
- ^
David M. Haskell,
Through a lens darkly: how the news media perceive and portray evangelicals
(2009) p 57
- ^
Murray Dobbin,
Preston Manning and the Reform Party
(1991)
- ^
"Same-sex marriages declared legal and valid by federal justice minister Rob Nicholson"
.
National Post
. 13 January 2012.
- ^
"Facing Population Decline, China's Xi Promotes 'Childbirth Culture' for Women"
.
Time
. 31 October 2023.
- ^
Press Trust of India (2 August 2003).
"Muslim leaders oppose uniform civil code"
. Express India. Archived from
the original
on 25 September 2012
. Retrieved
18 August
2014
.
- ^
JCW Van Rooyen, Censorship in South Africa (Cape Town: Juta and Co., 1987),
- ^
Bet and board in the new South Africa. (legalisation of gambling could lead to growth of casinos, lotteries)(Brief Article)
The Economist
(US) | 5 August 1995
- ^
Apartheid mythology and symbolism.
desegregated and re-invented in the service of nation building in the new South Africa: the covenant and the battle of Blood/Ncome River
- ^
Riley, Jim.
"Liberalism & Conservatism"
.
academic.regis.edu
. Archived from
the original
on 14 November 2017
. Retrieved
4 July
2017
.
- ^
Farney, James Harold (2012).
Social Conservatives and Party Politics in Canada and the United States
. University of Toronto Press.
ISBN
9781442612600
.
- ^
Cramer, Clayton E. (2016).
Social Conservatism in An Age of Revolution: Legislating Christian Morality in Revolutionary America
.
- ^
Smith, Robert B. (2014). Harry F. Dahms (ed.).
Social Conservatism, Distractors, and Authoritarianism: Axiological versus instrumental rationality
. Emerald Group Publishing. p. 101.
ISBN
9781784412227
.
- ^
Darren Dochuk,
From Bible Belt to Sun Belt: Plain-Folk Religion, Grassroots Politics, and the Rise of Evangelical Conservatism
(W.W. Norton & Company; 2010) shows how migrants to Southern California from Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas provided evangelical support for social conservatism.
- ^
Il programma del Popolo della Famiglia di Mario Adinolfi
Archived
18 January 2017 at the
Wayback Machine
(intelligonews)
- ^
Programma
Archived
7 March 2017 at the
Wayback Machine
(Italia Cristiana)
- ^
Parties and Elections in Europe
Archived
15 June 2012 at the
Wayback Machine
. Parties-and-elections.eu. Retrieved on 24 August 2013.
- ^
Piero Ignazi (2008).
Partiti politici in Italia
. Il Mulino, Bologna. p. 58.
- ^
Inada, Miho; Dvorak, Phred.
"Same-Sex Marriage in Japan: A Long Way Away?"
Archived
16 June 2016 at the
Wayback Machine
.
The Wall Street Journal
. 20 September 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
- ^
Lockhart, Charles (2010).
Protecting the Elderly: How Culture Shapes Social Policy
. Penn State Press. p. 84.
ISBN
978-0-271-02289-5
. Retrieved
22 November
2020
.
- ^
Magara, Hideko; Sacchi, Stefano, eds. (2013).
The Politics of Structural Reforms: Social and Industrial Policy Change in Italy and Japan
. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 95.
ISBN
978-0-85793-292-1
. Retrieved
22 November
2020
.
- ^
Pekkanen, Robert J.; Scheiner, Ethan; Reed, Steven R., eds. (2016).
Japan decides 2014: the Japanese general election
. Springer. pp. 104, 106.
doi
:
10.1057/9781137552006
.
ISBN
978-1-349-56437-8
. Retrieved
22 November
2020
.
- ^
Lucien Ellington, ed. (2009).
Japan
.
ABC-CLIO
. p. 168.
ISBN
9781598841626
.
... Because of this political strength, the Liberal Democratic Party has in recent years included the moderate to socially conservative Komeito Party in coalition governments.
- ^
"Philippines".
World Encyclopedia of Political Systems and Parties
. Facts On File. 1999. p. 887.
- ^
Perron, Louis (2009).
Election Campaigns in the Philippines
. Routledge. p. 361.
- ^
"Gay Marriage Bill In Northern Ireland Blocked Again By Socially Conservative Democratic Unionist Party"
.
Huffingtonpost.co.uk
. 27 April 2015
. Retrieved
9 January
2019
.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Heywood, Andrew (2017).
Political Ideologies: An Introduction
. Palgrave Macmillan.
ISBN
978-1-137-60604-4
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Carlson, Allan
,
The Family in America: Searching for Social Harmony in the Industrial Age
(2003)
ISBN
0-7658-0536-7
- Carlson, Allan
,
Family Questions: Reflections on the American Social Crisis
(1991)
ISBN
1-56000-555-6
- Fleming, Thomas,
The Politics of Human Nature,
(1988)
ISBN
1-56000-693-5
- Gallagher, Maggie,
The Abolition of Marriage: How We Destroy Lasting Love
(1996)
ISBN
0-89526-464-1
- Himmelfarb, Gertrude,
The De-moralization Of Society
(1996)
ISBN
0-679-76490-9
- Hitchens, Peter,
The Abolition of Britain
. (1999)
ISBN
0-7043-8117-6
- Jones, E. Michael,
Degenerate Moderns: Modernity As Rationalized Sexual Misbehavior
. (1993)
ISBN
0-89870-447-2
- Kirk, Russell,
The Conservative Mind,
7th Ed. (2001)
ISBN
0-89526-171-5
- Magnet, Myron,
Modern Sex: Liberation and Its Discontents
(2001)
ISBN
1-56663-384-2
- Medved, Diane and Dan Quayle,
The American Family: Discovering the Values That Make Us Strong
(1997)
ISBN
0-06-092810-7
- Sobran, Joseph,
Single Issues: Essays on the Crucial Social Questions
(1983)
ISBN
1-199-24333-7
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Concepts
| |
---|
Schools
| |
---|
Philosophers
| Ancient
| |
---|
Medieval
| |
---|
Early modern
| |
---|
18th and 19th
centuries
| |
---|
20th and 21st
centuries
| |
---|
|
---|
Works
| |
---|
See also
| |
---|
|
|
---|
|
Schools
by region
| |
---|
Philosophy
| |
---|
Politics
| |
---|
Religion
| |
---|
Historical
background
| |
---|
Related
| |
---|
|
|
---|
Issues and ideas
| |
---|
Advocates
| |
---|
Groups
| |
---|
Political parties
| |
---|
Related
| |
---|
|