The Cross and the Fist: Implications of the Church on Trade Unions

Abstract

This paper aims to assess the impact of Christianity on trade union movement. Using an historical framework, we study, initially, the roman-catholic teaching on labour. Then, we approach the various versions of Christian socialism and Christian democracy within trade unions and study their implications on employee relations in the Western countries. In conclusion, we discuss the perspectives of Christian unionism in current socio-economic environments.