Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
How Switzerland honors the Protestant work ethic and Catholic subsidiarity
How Switzerland honors the Protestant work ethic and Catholic subsidiarity
Dec 8, 2025 4:16 AM

In the U.S., Labor Day weekend celebrates the work ethic that made this nation the most prosperous in human history, and federalism is enshrined in our constitution. But Switzerland – so often overlooked by the West – may have much to teach us about how to honor and embrace the profound influence of the Protestant work ethic and Catholic subsidiarity.

At Acton’s Religion & Liberty Transatlantic website, political scientist Mark R. Royce discusses how aspects of Switzerland’s little-discussed political system can inspire those in the West seeking to create a free and virtuous society. After introducing the contours of the Swiss governmental system, his article focuses on one political party. The Swiss People’s Party (SVP) forthrightly acknowledges the importance of free enterprise and limited government. But he writes that what is most striking about the SVP is that it honors, not just Christian culture, but the Christian faith itself:

“The image of society and people shaped by the Christian faith is of major importance for Switzerland’s culture and political landscape,” the [party’s program] continues. “[T]he Protestant work ethic is the foundation for an entrepreneurial and also performance-driven society … [and] the Catholic principle of subsidiarity and the stressing of the value of the individual within Creation had and continues to have a substantial influence on Switzerland and Swiss federalism.”

You will enjoy your long weekend more if you read his full article here.

Straszewski. This photo has been cropped.CC BY-SA 2.0.)

Previous Article：Searching for Walker Percy in St. Francisville Next Article：How we participate in God’s own work
Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
Liberalism in all things except liberalism
Samuel Gregg, director of research at the Acton Institute, recently published a review of Maurice Cowling’s 1963 book Mill and Liberalism,in which Cowling warnsof the tendency towards“moral totalitarianism”inJohn Stuart Mill’s “religion of liberalism.”Gregg acknowledges fifty-four years after Cowling’s warning, “significant pressures are now brought to bear on those whose views don’t fit the contemporary liberal consensus.” The book’s analysis “provides insights not only into liberal intolerancein our time but also into how to address it.” Mill was not the “secular...
The solution to healthcare is solidarity, not socialism
“The answer to the healthcare conundrum is not be found in Congress or in the White House, or in any draconian centre of usurped power,” says Joseph Pearce, “it is to be found on our own doorstep, in our own homes and in the homes of our neighbors.” Put simply, the principle of subsidiarity rests on the assumption that the rights of munities—e.g., families, neighbourhoods, private associations, small businesses —should not be violated by the intervention of munities—e.g., the state...
Explainer: What is the Queen’s Speech and the opening of Parliament?
This morning, Queen Elizabeth II opened a new session of the UK Parliament by delivering her 64th “Queen’s Speech.” This event, which contains ceremonial elements dating back centuries, lays out the government’s vision for the ing legislative session. The 2017 Queen’s Speech focused primarily on Brexit and enhancing trade with the rest of the world, as well as terrorism, the Paris climate agreement, and NHS funding. This year’s speech differed from previous years in a number of ways, notably its...
Attacking Finsbury Park’s peaceful Muslims violates Western values
Just after midnight local time on Monday, June 19, a man deliberately ran an oversized van into a crowd of pedestrians in London, seeking to crush out as many lives as possible. The scene has e familiar, from Jerusalem to Berlin to London’s seat of power in Westminster. This time, though, it was a British driver targeting Muslims exiting a mosque after Ramadan prayers. An elderly man had collapsed outside the Muslim Welfare House, not far from the Finsbury Park...
Let’s bring back the stigma of being a ‘Deadbeat Dad’
“Deadbeat Dads”—absent fathers who don’t provide financial support for their children—are one of the most significant factors contributing to child poverty in America. So why do some single women have children outside of marriage when they know they will receive little to no support from the child’s father? A 2014 study from the University of Georgia and Boston College attempts to answer that question. The authors created an economic model to simulate a scenario in which every absent father was...
5 Facts about refugees in America
Today is World Refugee Day, an annual observance created by the United Nations to memorate the strength, courage and perseverance of millions of refugees.” Here are five facts you should know about refugees and refugee policy in the United States. 1. The U.S. government defines “refugee” as any person who is outside any country of such person’s nationality or, in the case of a person having no nationality, is outside any country in which such person last habitually resided, and...
What Christians should know about ‘the economy’
Note: This is the latest entry in the Acton blog series, “What Christians Should Know About Economics.” For other entries inthe series see this post. The Term: ‘The Economy’ (aka Gross National Product) What it Means: When people refer to “the economy” they are usually referring to a particular idea—Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—which is itself simply an economic metric. GDP is often used as a single number that “measures” the economy. Imagine you wanted to put a price tag on...
How the Department of Energy made your clothes less clean
Note: This is post #38 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. What happened to the cleanliness of your clothes after the U.S. Department of Energy issued new washing machine requirements? The requirements — which require washers to use 21% less energy — mean that washers actually clean clothes less than they used to, says economist Alex Tabarrok. In this video by Marginal Revolution University, Tabarrok considers whether mand and control” is an efficient way to achieve the desired...
‘Pro Rege, Vol. 2’: Kuyper on Christ’s kingship in everyday life
How are we to live in a fallen world under Christ the King? In partnership with the Acton Institute, Lexham Press has now released Pro Rege, Vol. 2: Living Under Christ the King, the second in a three-volume series on the lordship of Christ (find Volume 1 here). Originally written as a series of articles for readers ofDe Herault (The Herald), the work serves as plement to Kuyper’s three volumes on Common Grace, focusing on Christ’s claim that “All authority...
Exulting in the monotony of fatherhood
Fatherhood is a wild ride, yet in my own personal reflections on and around Father’s Day, I’m routinely reminded that amid and alongside all the adventure, the challenges of fatherhood mostly play out in the small and intimate moments of daily life. Those daily struggles and weekly rhythms are profound and important, but they can also feel excessively monotonous and mundane. Much like the challenges we face in in our daily work and economic action, finding flourishing in the family...
Related Classification
RELIGION & LIBERTY
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
About
Terms and Conditions Privacy policy Cookie Settings Contact Us
Services
Login register
mreligion RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE RELIGION & LIBERTY
Links
zpostcode Recruit weather mreligion Yellowpages sport constellation shopping name game directory literature Word tour furnish Lottery tftnews lyrics News digital car dir Edu Finance
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved