Clerical fascism
Encyclopedia
Clerical fascism is an ideological construct that combines the political and economic doctrines of fascism
with theology
or religious tradition. The term has been used to describe organizations and movements that combine religious elements with fascism, support by religious organizations for fascism, or fascist regimes in which clergy play a leading role. The classification of clerical fascism is rejected by some scholars. For Catholic
clerical fascism, the terms Catholic integralism
and Catholic corporatism
are sometimes used, although these may have points of disagreement with fascism.
For the broader relationship between neo-fascism
and religion
see: Neo-fascism and religion.
to refer specifically to the faction of the Catholic party PPI-Partito Popolare Italiano
(precursor of Christian Democracy in Italy), which chose to support Benito Mussolini
and his régime. It was allegedly coined by Don Luigi Sturzo
, an Italian priest and Christian Democrat leader who took the opposite option and was forced into exile in 1924. Historian Walter Laqueur
found the term 'clerical fascism' mentioned earlier, even before Mussolini's March on Rome
(October 1922), referring to "a group of Catholic believers in Northern Italy who advocated a synthesis of Catholicism and fascism".
Sturzo
himself made a distinction, within Italian Catholics leaning toward fascism, between the "filofascists", who left the Catholic party PPI very early, in 1921 and 1922, and the "clerical fascists", who stayed in the party after the March on Rome
until 1923, advocating collaboration with the fascist government. Eventually even the latter group converged gradually with Mussolini, abandoning the PPI in 1923 and creating the Centro Nazionale Italiano, before the PPI was disbanded by the Fascist régime in 1926.
The term has since been widely used by scholars, such as Hugh Trevor-Roper, who sought to refine a typology of fascism, contrasting authoritarian-conservative 'clerical fascism' with more radical variants.
s and political movements involving certain elements of clerical fascism include the Croatia
n Ustaše
movement, António Salazar in Portugal
, Engelbert Dollfuss
in Austria
, Jozef Tiso
in Slovakia, Getúlio Vargas
in Brazil
, the Iron Guard
movement in Romania
(which was led by the devoutly Orthodox Corneliu Zelea Codreanu
) and the Rexists
in Belgium
.
The government of General Franco in Spain
had Nacionalcatolicismo
as part of its ideology. It has been described by some as clerical fascist, especially after the decline in influence of the more secular Falange
beginning in the mid-1940s.
Scholars who accept the term clerical fascism nonetheless debate which examples in this list should be dubbed clerical fascist, with the Ustaše being the most widely included. In the above cited examples, the degree of official Catholic support and clerical influence over lawmaking and government varies. Moreover, several authors reject the concept of a clerical fascist régime, arguing that an entire fascist régime does not become ‘clerical’ if elements of the clergy support it, while others are not prepared to use the term ‘clerical fascism’ outside the context of what they call the fascist epoch, between the ends of the two world wars (1918–1945).
Some scholars consider certain contemporary movements to be forms of clerical fascism, including Christian Identity
and possibly Christian Reconstructionism
in the United States
; militant forms of politicized Islamic fundamentalism
and anti-democratic Islamism
; and militant Hindu nationalism
in India
.
warns against the "hyperinflation of clerical fascism". According to Griffin, the use of the term 'clerical fascism' should be limited to "the peculiar forms of politics that arise when religious clerics and professional theologians are drawn either into collusion with the secular ideology of fascism (an occurrence particularly common in interwar
Europe
); or, more rarely, manage to mix a theologically illicit cocktail of deeply held religious beliefs with a fascist commitment to saving the nation or race from decadence or collapse". Griffin adds that ‘clerical fascism’ "should never be used to characterize a political movement or a regime in its entirety, since it can at most be a faction within fascism", while he defines fascism as "a revolutionary, secular variant of ultranationalism bent on the total rebirth of society through human agency".
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
with theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
or religious tradition. The term has been used to describe organizations and movements that combine religious elements with fascism, support by religious organizations for fascism, or fascist regimes in which clergy play a leading role. The classification of clerical fascism is rejected by some scholars. For Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
clerical fascism, the terms Catholic integralism
Integralism
Integralism, or Integral nationalism, is an ideology according to which a nation is an organic unity. Integralism defends social differentiation and hierarchy with co-operation between social classes, transcending conflict between social and economic groups...
and Catholic corporatism
Corporatism
Corporatism, also known as corporativism, is a system of economic, political, or social organization that involves association of the people of society into corporate groups, such as agricultural, business, ethnic, labor, military, patronage, or scientific affiliations, on the basis of common...
are sometimes used, although these may have points of disagreement with fascism.
For the broader relationship between neo-fascism
Neo-Fascism
Neo-fascism is a post–World War II ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. The term neo-fascist may apply to groups that express a specific admiration for Benito Mussolini and Italian Fascism or any other fascist leader/state...
and religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
see: Neo-fascism and religion.
History
The term clerical fascism (clerico-fascismo) seems to have emerged in the early 1920s in ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
to refer specifically to the faction of the Catholic party PPI-Partito Popolare Italiano
Italian People's Party (1919–1926)
The Italian People's Party was a Christian-democratic political party in Italy.It was founded in 1919 by Luigi Sturzo, a Catholic priest. The PPI was backed by Pope Benedict XV to oppose the Italian Socialist Party...
(precursor of Christian Democracy in Italy), which chose to support Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
and his régime. It was allegedly coined by Don Luigi Sturzo
Luigi Sturzo
Don Luigi Sturzo was an Italian Catholic priest and politician. Known in his lifetime as a "clerical socialist," Sturzo is considered one of the fathers of Christian democracy. Sturzo was one of the founders of the Partito Popolare Italiano in 1919, but was forced into exile in 1924 with the rise...
, an Italian priest and Christian Democrat leader who took the opposite option and was forced into exile in 1924. Historian Walter Laqueur
Walter Laqueur
Walter Zeev Laqueur is an American historian and political commentator. He was born in Breslau, Germany , to a Jewish family. In 1938, Laqueur left Germany for the British Mandate of Palestine. His parents, who were unable to leave, became victims of the Holocaust...
found the term 'clerical fascism' mentioned earlier, even before Mussolini's March on Rome
March on Rome
The March on Rome was a march by which Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party came to power in the Kingdom of Italy...
(October 1922), referring to "a group of Catholic believers in Northern Italy who advocated a synthesis of Catholicism and fascism".
Sturzo
Luigi Sturzo
Don Luigi Sturzo was an Italian Catholic priest and politician. Known in his lifetime as a "clerical socialist," Sturzo is considered one of the fathers of Christian democracy. Sturzo was one of the founders of the Partito Popolare Italiano in 1919, but was forced into exile in 1924 with the rise...
himself made a distinction, within Italian Catholics leaning toward fascism, between the "filofascists", who left the Catholic party PPI very early, in 1921 and 1922, and the "clerical fascists", who stayed in the party after the March on Rome
March on Rome
The March on Rome was a march by which Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party came to power in the Kingdom of Italy...
until 1923, advocating collaboration with the fascist government. Eventually even the latter group converged gradually with Mussolini, abandoning the PPI in 1923 and creating the Centro Nazionale Italiano, before the PPI was disbanded by the Fascist régime in 1926.
The term has since been widely used by scholars, such as Hugh Trevor-Roper, who sought to refine a typology of fascism, contrasting authoritarian-conservative 'clerical fascism' with more radical variants.
Examples of clerical fascism
Examples of dictatorshipDictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
s and political movements involving certain elements of clerical fascism include the Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n Ustaše
Ustaše
The Ustaša - Croatian Revolutionary Movement was a Croatian fascist anti-Yugoslav separatist movement. The ideology of the movement was a blend of fascism, Nazism, and Croatian nationalism. The Ustaše supported the creation of a Greater Croatia that would span to the River Drina and to the border...
movement, António Salazar in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Engelbert Dollfuss
Engelbert Dollfuss
Engelbert Dollfuss was an Austrian Christian Social and Patriotic Front statesman. Serving previously as Minister for Forest and Agriculture, he ascended to Federal Chancellor in 1932 in the midst of a crisis for the conservative government...
in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Jozef Tiso
Jozef Tiso
Jozef Tiso was a Slovak Roman Catholic priest, politician of the Slovak People's Party, and Nazi collaborator. Between 1939 and 1945, Tiso was the head of the Slovak State, a satellite state of Nazi Germany...
in Slovakia, Getúlio Vargas
Getúlio Vargas
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas served as President of Brazil, first as dictator, from 1930 to 1945, and in a democratically elected term from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Vargas led Brazil for 18 years, the most for any President, and second in Brazilian history to Emperor Pedro II...
in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, the Iron Guard
Iron Guard
The Iron Guard is the name most commonly given to a far-right movement and political party in Romania in the period from 1927 into the early part of World War II. The Iron Guard was ultra-nationalist, fascist, anti-communist, and promoted the Orthodox Christian faith...
movement in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
(which was led by the devoutly Orthodox Corneliu Zelea Codreanu
Corneliu Zelea Codreanu
Corneliu Zelea Codreanu was a Romanian politician of the far right, the founder and charismatic leader of the Iron Guard or The Legion of the Archangel Michael , an ultra-nationalist and violently antisemitic organization active throughout most of the interwar period...
) and the Rexists
Rexism
Rexism was a fascist political movement in the first half of the 20th century in Belgium.It was the ideology of the Rexist Party , officially called Rex, founded in 1930 by Léon Degrelle, a Walloon...
in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
The government of General Franco in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
had Nacionalcatolicismo
National Catholicism
National Catholicism was part of the ideological identity of Francoism, the dictatorial regime with which Francisco Franco governed Spain between 1936 and 1975...
as part of its ideology. It has been described by some as clerical fascist, especially after the decline in influence of the more secular Falange
Falange
The Spanish Phalanx of the Assemblies of the National Syndicalist Offensive , known simply as the Falange, is the name assigned to several political movements and parties dating from the 1930s, most particularly the original fascist movement in Spain. The word means phalanx formation in Spanish....
beginning in the mid-1940s.
Scholars who accept the term clerical fascism nonetheless debate which examples in this list should be dubbed clerical fascist, with the Ustaše being the most widely included. In the above cited examples, the degree of official Catholic support and clerical influence over lawmaking and government varies. Moreover, several authors reject the concept of a clerical fascist régime, arguing that an entire fascist régime does not become ‘clerical’ if elements of the clergy support it, while others are not prepared to use the term ‘clerical fascism’ outside the context of what they call the fascist epoch, between the ends of the two world wars (1918–1945).
Some scholars consider certain contemporary movements to be forms of clerical fascism, including Christian Identity
Christian Identity
Christian Identity is a label applied to a wide variety of loosely affiliated believers and churches with a racialized theology. Many promote a Eurocentric interpretation of Christianity.According to Chester L...
and possibly Christian Reconstructionism
Christian Reconstructionism
Christian Reconstructionism is a religious and theological movement within Evangelical Christianity that calls for Christians to put their faith into action in all areas of life, within the private sphere of life and the public and political sphere as well...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
; militant forms of politicized Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the "fundamentals" of Islam: the Quran and the Sunnah. Definitions of the term vary. According to Christine L...
and anti-democratic Islamism
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
; and militant Hindu nationalism
Hindu nationalism
Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expressions of social and political thought, based on the native spiritual and cultural traditions of historical India...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Overuse of the term
Political theorist Roger GriffinRoger Griffin
Roger D. Griffin is a British academic political theorist at Oxford Brookes University, England. His recent efforts have focused on a definition and examination of fascism...
warns against the "hyperinflation of clerical fascism". According to Griffin, the use of the term 'clerical fascism' should be limited to "the peculiar forms of politics that arise when religious clerics and professional theologians are drawn either into collusion with the secular ideology of fascism (an occurrence particularly common in interwar
Interwar period
Interwar period can refer to any period between two wars. The Interbellum is understood to be the period between the end of the Great War or First World War and the beginning of the Second World War in Europe....
Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
); or, more rarely, manage to mix a theologically illicit cocktail of deeply held religious beliefs with a fascist commitment to saving the nation or race from decadence or collapse". Griffin adds that ‘clerical fascism’ "should never be used to characterize a political movement or a regime in its entirety, since it can at most be a faction within fascism", while he defines fascism as "a revolutionary, secular variant of ultranationalism bent on the total rebirth of society through human agency".
See also
- Alois HudalAlois HudalAlois Hudal was a Rome-based bishop of Austrian descent. He was for thirty years head of the small Austrian-German congregation of Santa Maria dell'Anima in Rome and until 1937, an influential representative of the Austrian Church...
- ChristofascismChristofascismChristofascism is a concept in Christian theology first mentioned by Dorothee Sölle, a Christian theologian and writer, in her book Beyond Mere Obedience: Reflections on a Christian Ethic for the Future in 1970. To Sölle, Christofascism was caused by the embracing of authoritarian theology by the...
- ClericalismClericalismClericalism is the application of the formal, church-based, leadership or opinion of ordained clergy in matters of either the church or broader political and sociocultural import...
- CorporatismCorporatismCorporatism, also known as corporativism, is a system of economic, political, or social organization that involves association of the people of society into corporate groups, such as agricultural, business, ethnic, labor, military, patronage, or scientific affiliations, on the basis of common...
- IslamofascismIslamofascismThe term Islamofascism is a neologism which draws an analogy between the ideological characteristics of specific Islamist movements from the turn of the 21st century on, and a broad range of European fascist movements of the early 20th century, neofascist movements, or totalitarianism.-Origins of...
- Latin ConservatismLatin ConservatismLatin Conservatism is a political ideology in southern Europe expressed by noted Savoyard thinker Joseph de Maistre and which reached its peak in Spain under Francisco Franco, though many elements of Latin Conservatism were already advocated in the 17th century by Padre Antonio Vieira and some...
- Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi
- Neofascism and religionNeofascism and religionNeo-fascism and religion refers to debates about the relationships between neo-fascism and various religions.Some scholars, using the term neo-fascism in its narrow sense, consider certain contemporary religious movements and groups to represent forms of clerical or theocratic neofascism, including...
- Positive ChristianityPositive ChristianityPositive Christianity was a slogan of Nazi propaganda adopted at the NSDAP congress 1920 to express a worldview which is Christian, non-confessional, vigorously opposed to the spirit of "Jewish Materialism", and oriented to the principle of voluntary association of those with a common...
- RexismRexismRexism was a fascist political movement in the first half of the 20th century in Belgium.It was the ideology of the Rexist Party , officially called Rex, founded in 1930 by Léon Degrelle, a Walloon...
- Unione NazionaleUnione NazionaleUnione Nazionale was a pro-fascist Italian Catholic political party during the 1920s, the first of several "Clerico-Fascist" political organizations established within the decade...
Further reading
- Various authors, ‘Clerical Fascism’ in Interwar Europe, special issue of Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions, Volume 8, Issue 2, 2007.
- Walter K. AndersenWalter K. AndersenWalter K. Andersen has taught comparative politics at the College of Wooster, before joining the United States State Department as a political analyst for South Asia specializing in India and Indian Ocean affairs...
. "Bharatiya Janata Party: Searching for the Hindu Nationalist Face", In The New Politics of the Right: Neo–Populist Parties and Movements in Established Democracies, ed. Hans–Georg Betz and Stefan Immerfall (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998), pp. 219–232. ISBN 0-312-21134-1 or ISBN 0-312-21338-7 - Stefan Arvidsson, Aryan Idols. The Indo-European Mythology as Ideology and Science. (University of Chicago PressUniversity of Chicago PressThe University of Chicago Press is the largest university press in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including The Chicago Manual of Style, dozens of academic journals, including Critical Inquiry, and a wide array of...
, 2006) ISBN 0-226-02860-7 - Partha Banerjee, In the Belly of the Beast: The Hindu Supremacist RSS and BJP of India (Delhi: Ajanta, 1998). ISBN 81-202-0504-2
- Charles Bloomberg and Saul Dubow, eds., Christian–Nationalism and the Rise of the Afrikaner Broederbond in South Africa, 1918–48 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1989). ISBN 0-253-31235-3
- Randolph L. BrahamRandolph L. BrahamRandolph L. Braham is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. A specialist in comparative politics and the Holocaust, he also is Director of The Graduate Center's Rosenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies...
and Scott Miller, The Nazis Last Victims: The Holocaust in Hungary (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, [1998] 2002). ISBN 0-8143-2737-0 - Ainslie T. Embree, "The Function of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh: To Define the Hindu Nation", in Accounting for Fundamentalisms, The Fundamentalism Project 4, ed. Martin E. Marty and R. Scott Appleby (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1994), pp. 617–652. ISBN 0-226-50885-4
- Mark JuergensmeyerMark Juergensmeyerthumb | right | 150px | Mark Juergensmeyer Mark Juergensmeyer is an American scholar and writer best known for his studies of religious violence and...
. The New Cold War?: Religious Nationalism Confronts the Secular State. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993). (ISBN 0-520-08651-1) - Laqueur, WalterWalter LaqueurWalter Zeev Laqueur is an American historian and political commentator. He was born in Breslau, Germany , to a Jewish family. In 1938, Laqueur left Germany for the British Mandate of Palestine. His parents, who were unable to leave, became victims of the Holocaust...
. 1966. Fascism: Past, Present, Future, New York: Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. ISBN 0-19-511793-X - Nicholas M. Nagy–Talavera, The Green Shirts and the Others: A History of Fascism in Hungary and Romania (Iaşi and Oxford: The Center for Romanian Studies, 2001). ISBN 973-9432-11-5
- Walid PharesWalid PharesWalid Phares an American scholar of Lebanese origins, he is a professor and commentator on global terrorism and Middle Eastern affairs.Phares has testified before committees of the U.S. State, Justice, Defense and Homeland Security Departments, the United States Congress, the European Parliament,...
, Lebanese Christian Nationalism: The Rise and Fall of an Ethnic Resistance (Boulder, Colo.: L. Rienner, 1995). ISBN 1-55587-535-1 - Leon Volovici, Nationalist Ideology and Antisemitism: The Case of Romanian Intellectuals in the 1930s (Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1991). ISBN 0-08-041024-3
Vatican policy
- Anthony RhodesAnthony RhodesAnthony Rhodes was a British writer of memoirs, novels, travelogues, reviews and histories.Rhodes was born in Plymouth, England and was the eldest of three sons of Dorothy and Colonel George Rhodes CBE. His early years were later spent at Lucknow and Delhi in India where his father served in the...
, The Vatican in the Age of Dictators 1922-1945 (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1973). ISBN 0-03-007736-2 - Michael PhayerMichael PhayerMichael Phayer, born 1935, is a historian and professor emeritus at Marquette University in Milwaukee and has written on 19th and 20th century European history and the Holocaust....
, The Catholic Church and the Holocaust, 1930–1965 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2000) ISBN 0-253-33725-9 - Livia Rothkirchen, "Vatican Policy and the ‘Jewish Problem’ in Independent Slovakia (1939-1945)" in Michael R. Marrus (ed.),The Nazi Holocaust 3, (Wesport: Meckler, 1989), pp. 1306-1332. ISBN 0-88736-255-9 or ISBN 0-88736-256-7
- Ronald J. RychlakRonald J. RychlakRonald J. Rychlak is an American lawyer, jurist, author and political commentator. He is the Associate Dean For Academic Affairs and the Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association Professor of Law at the University of Mississippi School of Law, and is known for his published works, career as an...
, Hitler, the War, and the Pope, revised and enlarged edition, South Bend: Our Sunday Visitor, 2010.