Christian Democratic Party (Norway)

The Norwegian Christian Democratic Party (Norwegian: Kristelig Folkeparti, KrF) was founded in 1933 in response to growing secularism in Norway. They claim to be a society that:

1. protects life and human dignity, equality and diversity
2. respects man's material and spiritual needs
3. promotes sustainable development, and includes everyone in a more just distribution of earthly resources, characterized by love for our fellow neighbours, and solidarity with the poor and persecuted in other countries.

History[edit]

The Christian Democratic Party aimed to be an alternative to existing political parties in Norway, which were largely secular. A few months after the party's founding, its first candidate, Nils Lavik, was elected to parliament. During the years of Nazi occupation in the early 1940s, interest in a Christian party spiked amongst members of the Norwegian public who had seen the atrocities of the Nazis. In the first election after World War II, the Party won 8 seats in the parliament.

The Party became a member of a short-lived non-socialistic government along with 3 other parties (two conservative and one liberal). These parties held a majority of seats in the parliament from 1965-1971. In the years between 1970-1990, the Party maintained a small percentage of seats in the parliament, receiving roughly 10% of the popular vote in most elections.

Political Issues[edit]

The KrF is notably environmentalist. Its doctrine states "Stewardship implies that the resources of the Earth should be taken care of for the best of present and future generations."^[1] The doctrine also takes aspects of liberalism and socialism, stating that "Christian Democracy sees man as both an individual human being, and as part of a community."^[1]

The KrF also respects the separation of church and state. Their webpage states, "The Christian Democrats are inspired by the Bible and by Christian tradition, yet it is important to maintain that religion and politics exist on two different levels. Salvation is the goal of Christianity, whereas the goal of politics is to create a good society for all, regardless of religious conviction. The aim of the Christian Democratic ideology is democracy in which diversity and the respect for individuals and their different choices are among the most important values."^[1]

The KrF is pro-life and has pushed for restrictions on abortion.^[2] While the party officially supports defining marriage as between a man and a woman, some members of party leadership have more left-wing views on the issue.^[3]

The KrF opposes conservative immigration positions which seek to reduce immigration and prevent open borders and mass migration, and it has opposed the more conservative Progress Party on the issue.^[4][5][6]

References[edit]

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} The Norwegian Christian Democratic Party Official Website
2. ↑ Multiple references:
   • Turley, K.V. (November 22, 2018). Abortion debate in Norway unexpectedly opens up. LifeSiteNews. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
   • Fouche, Gwladys; Karagiannopoulos, Lefteris (November 27, 2018). Thousands protest in Norway against restricting abortion. Reuters. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
3. ↑ https://www.newsinenglish.no/2018/08/23/no-salvation-for-christian-democrats/
4. ↑ https://www.ft.com/content/1fc5ed2e-2b94-11e8-9b4b-bc4b9f08f381
5. ↑ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-28/norway-christian-democrats-threaten-future-of-solberg-government
6. ↑ https://www.foxnews.com/world/norway-wrestles-with-national-values-immigration-eu-ties-in-election