Social and political movement originating in mid-19th-century Europe.
Christian socialists attempted to combine the fundamental aims of socialism with the religious and ethical convictions of Christianity, promoting cooperation over competition as a means of helping the poor. The term was coined in Britain in 1848 after the failure of the reform movement known as Chartism . Christian socialism found followers in France and Germany, though the German group, led by Adolf Stoecker, combined its activities with violent anti-Semitism . Although the movement died out in the U.S. in the early 20th century, it retains an important following in Europe.