In politics, integralism, integrationism or integrism () is an interpretation of Catholic social teaching that argues the principle that the Catholic faith should be the basis of public law and public policy within civil society, wherever the preponderance of Catholics within that society makes this possible. Integralism is anti-pluralist,[ seeking the Catholic faith to be dominant in civil and religious matters. Integralists uphold the 1864 definition of Pope Pius IX in Quanta cura that the religious neutrality of the civil power cannot be embraced as an ideal situation and the doctrine of Leo XIII in Immortale Dei on the religious obligations of states.]
The term is sometimes used more loosely and in non-Catholic contexts to refer to a set of social theories and practical policies that advocate a fully integrated social and political order based on a comprehensive doctrine of human nature. In this generic sense some forms of integralism are focused purely on achieving political and social integration, others national or ethnic unity, while others were more focused on achieving religious and cultural uniformity. Integralism has, thus, also been used
As a distinct intellectual and political movement, integralism emerged during the 19th and early 20th century polemics within the Catholic Church, especially in France. The term was used as an epithet to describe those who opposed the modernists, who had sought to create a synthesis between Christian theology and the Liberalism of secular modernity. Proponents of Catholic political integralism taught that all social and political action ought to be based on the Catholic Faith. They rejected the separation of church and state, arguing that Catholicism should be the proclaimed religion of the state.
Catholic integralism
History
The first polity that formally embraced Christianity was Armenia under Tiridates III. However, the establishment of the civil order upheld by integralists is generally thought of as beginning with the conversion of Roman Emperor Constantine I in 312. While Constantine personally embraced Christianity, it was only in 380 that Theodosius I formally adopted Nicene Christianity as the religion of the empire by the Edict of Thessalonica. What R. W. Southern called the identification of the Church with the whole of organised society["Savonarola si rivela una forte coscienza di asceta e di apostolo che ha vivo il senso del divino e dell'eterno, che si rivolta contro il paganesimo dilagante, che resta fedele all'ideale evangelico e paolino di un Cristianesimo integrale, attuato anche nella vita pubblica e animante tutte le istituzioni. Perciò diede inizio alle sue predicazioni, spintovi da una Voce interiore e ispirato da Dio" L'Osservatore Romano 5 November 1969.]
Teachings
Catholic integralism is an interpretation of Catholic social teaching that argues for an Authoritarianism[ wherever the preponderance of Catholics within that society makes this possible; it was born in 19th-century Portugal, Spain, France, and Italy. It was a movement that sought to assert a Catholic underpinning to all social and political action and to minimize or eliminate any competing ideological actors, such as secular humanism and liberalism.][ Integralism arose in opposition to liberalism, which some Catholics saw as a "relentless and destructive ideology".][
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Catholic integralism appeals to the teaching on the necessity of the subordination of the state and on the subordination of temporal to spiritual power of medieval popes such as Pope Gregory VII and Pope Boniface VIII. However, Catholic integralism as a more consciously articulated doctrine came about as a reaction against the political and cultural changes that followed the Enlightenment and the French Revolution.[ The 19th-century papacy challenged the growth of liberalism (with its doctrine of popular sovereignty) as well as new scientific and historical methods and theories (which were thought to threaten the special status of the Christian revelation). Pope Pius IX condemned a list of liberal and Enlightenment ideas in his Syllabus of Errors. The term integralism was applied to a Spanish political party founded about 1890, which based its programme on the Syllabus. Catholic integralism reached its "classical" form in the reaction against modernism. The term did not, however, become popular till the time of Pope Pius X, whose papacy lasted from 1903 to 1914. After the papal condemnation of modernism in 1907, those most active in promoting the papal teachings were sometimes referred to as "integral Catholics" (), from which the words intégrisme (integrism) and intégralisme (integralism) were derived.][ Encouraged by Pope Pius X, they sought out and exposed any co-religionist whom they suspected of modernism or liberalism. An important integralist organization was the Sodalitium Pianum, known in France as La Sapinière (fir plantation), which was founded in 1909 by Umberto Benigni.][
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Another component of the anti-modernist programme of Pius X was its insistence on the importance of Thomas Aquinas, both in theology and philosophy. In his decree Postquam Sanctissimus of 1914, the pope published a list of 24 philosophical theses to summarise 'the principles and more important thoughts' of St Thomas.[Postquam sanctissimus Archived 10 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Latin with English translation
See also P. Lumbreras's commentary on the 24 Thomistic Theses Archived 5 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine.] Thus, integralism is also understood to include a commitment to the teachings of the Angelic Doctor, especially as a bulwark against the subjectivist and skeptical philosophies emanating from Descartes and his successors.
Political authority
The idea that temporal political authority should be subordinated to man's ultimate, spiritual end is a common theme – if not the main theme – of contemporary Catholic integralism.
Revival
Contemporary discussions of integralism were renewed in 2014, focusing on criticism of liberalism and capitalism.["On the one A Catholic Showdown Worth Watching Deneen, Patrick. "A Catholic Showdown Worth Watching," The American Conservative, 6 Feb 2014.]["Mena said that some of these young traditionalists are actually more at home under Francis than John Paul II and Benedict XVI, precisely because his critique of capitalism and the whole liberal order strikes them as more sweeping than the previous two pontiffs." Weird Catholic Twitter Offers a Reminder of Catholic Complexity Allen, John, Jr. Crux, 27 Apr 2018.]
In recent years, however, a "revived Catholic integralism" has been noted among the younger generation of Catholics writing for websites such as The Josias.[Douthat, Ross (8 October 2016). Among the Post-Liberals. The New York Times. Retrieved 16 July 2017] Integralism could be said to merely be the modern continuation of the traditional Catholic conception of Church–State relations elucidated by Pope Gelasius I and expounded upon throughout the centuries up to the Syllabus of Errors, which condemned the idea that the separation of Church and State is a moral good.
Scholars have drawn parallels between Catholic integralism and a view held by a minority in the Reformed churches, Christian reconstructionism.
Integralism has been identified as a basis for modern legal conceptions that emphasize natural law, including common good constitutionalism. Proposed and popularized by Adrian Vermeule, common good constitutionalism was developed like integralism to "combat the legitimate societal threat of modern liberal individualism".
Variants of integralism
There are a number of variants and localized permutations of integralist political theory, often named by their country of origin.
French integralism
The term "intégrisme" is largely used generically and pejoratively in French philosophical and sociopolitical parlance, particularly to label any religious extremism. Integralism in the narrow sense is often but controversially applied to the integral nationalism and Action Française movement founded by Charles Maurras although Maurras was an atheist and his movement was condemned by Rome as 'political modernism' in 1926.[Maritain, Jacques. Integral Humanism. 1938, page 63-64).] although it is generally viewed as its antithesis.[Fraser, Hamish. The Kingship of Christ 1925-1975. (Approaches 47 & 78 and Approaches Supplement 71).]
Portuguese integralism
Integralismo Lusitano (Lusitanian Integralism) was the integralist movement of Portugal, founded in 1914. Portuguese integralism was traditionalist, but not conservative. It was against parliamentarism and, instead, it favored decentralization, Catholicism and the monarchy.[Kallis, Aristotle A. Fascism Reader, p. 313-317 2003 Routledge]
Brazilian integralism
The Brazilian integralist movement led by Plínio Salgado Ação Integralista Brasileira was founded in Brazil in 7 October 1932; it lasted less than six years as a legally recognized organization.[
] The Brazilian integralist movement was the most successful fascist movement in Latin America.
Spanish integralism
The political implications of Catholic integralism are apparent in the Basque-Navarrese context of Spain, where that Integrism or Traditionalist Catholicism refers to a 19th- and 20th-century anti-Liberal movement advocating for the re-establishment of not only clerical but also native institutions lost in the context of the First Carlist War (1833, 1840). One of its branches evolved by the turn of the 20th century into Basque nationalism.
The term may also refer to the Spanish formation (1888–1932) led by Ramón Nocedal and Juan Olazábal.
Criticism
The Southern Poverty Law Center uses the term "integrism" to refer to "radical traditional Catholics" who reject the Second Vatican Council. SPLC describes them as antisemitic and "extremely conservative" regarding women, and also notes that some claim sedevacantist.
Critics and opponents of integralism, such as George Weigel, argue that the movement can be associated with fascism.
See also
Sources
