Clerical Fascism in Interwar Europe

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Clerical Fascism in Interwar Europe Clerical-A-prelimsart001HALF TITLE SYSTEM ".\FTMP-A-CRST_images\FTMP-A-prelimsart001.GIF" Fascism NDATA GIF> ]> in Interwar Europe This edited volume arose from an international workshop convened in 2006 by Matthew Feldman and Marius Turda with Tudor Georgescu, supported by Routledge, and the universities of Oxford Brookes, Northampton and CEU (Budapest). As the field of fascist studies continues to integrate more fully into pan-European studies of the twentieth century, and given the increasing impor- tance of secular ‘political religion’ as a taxonomic tool for understanding such revolutionary movements, this collection of essays considers the intersection between institutional Christian faiths, theology and congregations on the one hand, and fascist ideology on the other. In light of recent debates concerning the intersecting secularisation of religion and (usually Christian-based) the sacralisation of politics, Clerical Fascism in Interwar Europe approaches such conundrums from an alternative perspective: how, in Europe between the wars, did Christian clergy, laity and institutions respond to the rise of national fascist movements? In doing so, this volume provides case studies from fifteen European countries with analyses that are both original in content and comprehensive in scope. In dealing with the relationship of various interwar fascist movements and their respective national religious institutions, this edited collection promises to significantly contribute to relevant academic studies into the interaction of interwar Christian confessions and radical right politics. This book was previously published as a special issue of Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions. Matthew Feldman is a Lecturer in Twentieth Century History at the University of Northampton and editor of the journal Totalitarian Movements and Political Reli- gions. Marius Turda is RCUK Academic Fellow in Twentieth Century Central and East- ern European Bio-Medicine at Oxford Brookes University and consultant editor of Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions. Tudor Georgescu is a PhD candidate at Oxford Brookes University and senior reviews editor of Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions. Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions Series Editors: (Michael Burleigh, Washington and Lee University, Virginia) and Robert Mallett, University of Birmingham. Building upon past successes, Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions continues to provide a forum bringing together leading academics and younger researchers engaged in exploring the relationship between religion and politics in the widest sense. Topics range from case-studies exploring the interaction between contemporary politi- cised religions and democratic politics, the sacralisation of time, and especially considerations of secular and ‘totalis- ing’ movements, such as communist, fascist, miltant Islamic, and Ba’athist movements. This especially relates to scholarship demonstrating a sophisticated awareness of the methodological issues raised by such topics. This includes mapping fruitful areas of synergy between different subject areas and specialisms, revising conventional definitions of key terms such as ‘totalitarian movement’ and ‘political religion’ and applying non-Eurocentric perspectives to key political and historical events. International Fascism, 1919–45 Edited by Gert Sorensen, University of Copenhagen and Robert Mallett, University of Birmingham Totalitarian Democracy and After International Colloquium in Memory of Jacob Talmon Edited by Yehoshua Arieli and Nathan Rotenstreich Religion, Politics and Ideology in the Third Reich Selected Essays Uriel Tal, with In Memoriam by Saul Friedländer The Seizure of Power Fascism in Italy 1919–1929 Adrian Lyttelton The French and Italian Communist Parties Comrades and Culture Cyrille Guiat, Herriott-Watt University, Edinburgh Foreword by David Bell The Lesser Evil Moral Approaches to Genocide Practices Edited by Helmut Dubiel and Gabriel Motzkin Fascism as a Totalitarian Movement Edited by Roger Griffin The Italian Road to Totalitarianism Emilio Gentile Translated by Robert Mallett Religion, Politics and Ideology in the Third Reich Selected Essays Uriel Tal, with in memoriam by Saul Friedländer Totalitarianism and Political Religions, Volume I Concepts for the Comparison of Dictatorships Edited by Hans Maier Stalinism at the Turn of the Milennium: Russian and Western Views John Keep and Alter Litvin Totalitarianism and Political Religions, Volume II Concepts for the Comparison of Dictatorships Edited by Hans Maier / Michael Schäfer Translated by Jodi Bruhn Totalitarianism and Political Religions, Volume III Concepts for the Comparison of Dictatorships – Theory and History of Interpretation Edited by Hans Maier Translated by Jodi Bruhn Clerical Fascism in Interwar Europe Edited by Matthew Feldman and Marius Turda with Tudor Georgescu The Independent State of Croatia, 1941–1945 Edited by Sabrina P. Pamet ClericalFULL TITLE Fascism in Interwar Europe Edited by Matthew Feldman and Marius Turda with Tudor Georgescu FirstIMPRINT PAGE published 2008 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2008 Edited by Matthew Feldman and Marius Turda with Tudor Georgescu Typeset in Palatino by Genesis Typesetting Ltd, Rochester, Kent Printed and bound in Great Britain by MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin, Cornwall All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopy- ing and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN10: 0-415-44824-7 (hbk) ISBN13: 978-0-415-44824-6 (hbk) ForTaylorFTMP_A_DED.sgm10.1080/Totalitarian1469-0764Original2008820000002008 and& Article Francis (print)/1743-9647Francis Movements Ltd and Political (online)Claire, Religions Aliki and Sabine, with love This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS Preface and Acknowledgements ix ‘Clerical Fascism’ in Interwar Europe: an Introduction Matthew Feldman and Marius Turda xi 1 The ‘Holy Storm’: ‘Clerical Fascism’ through the Lens of Modernism Roger Griffin 1 Orthodox/Greek-Orthodox Christianity and Fascism 2 Fascism and Religion: The Metaxas Regime in Greece and the ‘Third Hellenic Civilisation’. Some Theoretical Observations on ‘Fascism’, ‘Political Religion’ and ‘Clerical Fascism’ Aristotle A. Kallis 17 3 Between ‘Clerical Fascism’ and Political Orthodoxy: Orthodox Christianity and Nationalism in Interwar Serbia Maria Falina 35 4 Sacralised Politics in Action: the February 1937 Burial of the Romanian Legionary Leaders Ion Mot¸caet]d[li and Vasile Marin Valentin Sa˘ ab[ervndulescue] 47 5 By Cross and Sword: ‘Clerical Fascism’ in Interwar Western Ukraine Anton Shekhovtsov 59 Protestant Christianity and Fascism 6 ‘On The Side of Christ’: Fascist Clerics in 1930s Britain Thomas Linehan 75 7 Completing the Lutheran Reformation: Ultra-nationalism, Christianity and the Possibility of ‘Clerical Fascism’ in Interwar Sweden Lena Berggren 91 8 The Nazis’ ‘Positive Christianity’: a Variety of ‘Clerical Fascism’? Richard Steigmann-Gall 103 Catholic Christianity and Fascism 9 Catholic Modernities in Fascist Italy: the Intellectuals of Azione Cattolica Jorge Dagnino 117 10 Catholicism and Fascism in Belgium Bruno De Wever 131 11 Political Catholicism, Crisis of Democracy and Salazar’s New State in Portugal António Costa Pinto and Maria Inácia Rezola 141 12 Enacting Encyclicals? Cultural Politics and ‘Clerical Fascism’ in Austria, 1933–1938 Robert Pyrah 157 13 Radical Catholicism and Fascism in Croatia, 1918–1945 Mark Biondich 171 14 Catholicising Fascism, Fascistising Catholicism? The Blueshirts and the Jesuits in 1930s Ireland Mike Cronin 189 15 ‘Do not Lead us into (Fascist) Temptation’: The Catholic Church in Interwar Hungary Béla Bodó 201 Conclusion ‘Clerical Fascism’: Context, Overview and Conclusion John Pollard 221 About the Contributors 235 Index 239 Preface and Acknowledgements AsTaylorFTMP_A_232008.sgm10.1080/14690760701321122Totalitarian1469-0764Original2007820000002007MatthewFeldmanmatthew.feldman@northampton.ac.uk and& Article Francis (print)/1743-9647Francis Movements Ltd isLtd and Political (online)so Religions typical of collaborative projects like this one, achievement rests upon a number of different factors – the failure of any one of which can spell disaster. In the first place, the international conference incubating this edited volume, “’Clerical Fascism’ in Interwar Europe”, held in Oxford between 7 and 9 April 2006, was graciously funded by the Department of History, University of Northampton; the Institute of Cultural and Historical Studies, Oxford Brookes University; the Central European University, Budapest, Hungary; the History Faculty and Modern European History Research Centre, University of Oxford; and by Routledge Journals. We gratefully acknowledge their individual and collective support in making this event both a reality and a success. Yet the conversion of a successful weekend into a substantial publication was due to assiduous labour and remarkable dedication by Tudor Georgescu. Alongside the impressive reliability of our
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