Integralism

In politics, integralism, integrationism or integrism (French: intégrisme) 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,^[1]^[2] 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.^[3] In December 1965, the Second Vatican Council approved and Pope Paul VI promulgated the document Dignitatis humanae–the Council's "Declaration on Religious Freedom"–which states that it "leaves untouched traditional Catholic doctrine on the moral duty of men and societies toward the true religion and toward the one Church of Christ". However, they have simultaneously declared "that the human person has a right to religious freedom," a move that some traditionalist Catholics such as Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the founder of the Society of St. Pius X, have argued is at odds with previous doctrinal pronouncements.^[4]^[5]

The term is sometimes used more loosely and in non-Catholic contexts to refer to a set of theoretical concepts 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^[6] to describe non-Catholic religious movements, such as Protestant fundamentalism or Islamism. In the political and social history of the 19th and 20th centuries, the term integralism was often applied to traditionalist conservatism and similar political movements on the right wing of a political spectrum, but it was also adopted by various centrist movements as a tool of political, national and cultural integration.^[7]

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 liberal philosophy 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.^[2]

Contemporary discussions of integralism were renewed in 2014, focusing on criticism of liberalism and capitalism.^[8]^[9]

^ Cite error: The named reference Kertzer1980 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b van der Krogt, Christopher (1992). "Catholic Fundamentalism or Catholic Integralism?". In Brown, Colin (ed.). To Strive and Not to Yield: Essays in Honour of Colin Brown. Department of World Religions, Victoria University of Wellington. pp. 123–125. ISBN 978-0-475-11013-8.
^ John Henry Newman. "A Letter Addressed to the Duke of Norfolk on Occasion of Mr. Gladstone's Recent Expostulation". Newmanreader.org. The National Institute for Newman Studies. p. 317. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021.
^ Second Vatical Council (7 December 1965). "Dignitatis humanae". Retrieved 8 November 2020.
^ Egan, Philip A. (2009). Philosophy and Catholic Theology: A Primer. Liturgical Press. p. 56. ISBN 9780814656617.
^ Shepard, William (October 1987). "'Fundamentalism' Christian and Islamic". Religion. 17 (4): 355–378. doi:10.1016/0048-721X(87)90059-5. Patrick J. Ryan has suggested the term 'integralism' for the Iranian phenomena, by analogy with the Roman Catholic movement by that name and largely because of the role of the 'ulamã' ('Islamic Fundamentalism: a Questionable Category', America, December 29, 1984, pp . 437-440), and this suggestion has some merit.
^ Jensen, Mark (2005). "The Integralist Objection to Political Liberalism". Social Theory and Practice. 31 (2): 157–171. doi:10.5840/soctheorpract200531212.
^ "On the one [fusionist] side one finds an older American tradition of orthodox Catholicism as it has developed in the nation since the mid-twentieth century... On the other [integralist] side is arrayed what might be characterized as a more radical Catholicism."A Catholic Showdown Worth Watching Archived 22 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine 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 Archived 16 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine Allen, John, Jr. Crux, 27 Apr 2018.

[Kertzer1980-1] Cite error: The named reference Kertzer1980 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Krogt-2] van der Krogt, Christopher (1992). "Catholic Fundamentalism or Catholic Integralism?". In Brown, Colin (ed.). To Strive and Not to Yield: Essays in Honour of Colin Brown. Department of World Religions, Victoria University of Wellington. pp. 123–125. ISBN 978-0-475-11013-8.

[Newman-3] John Henry Newman. "A Letter Addressed to the Duke of Norfolk on Occasion of Mr. Gladstone's Recent Expostulation". Newmanreader.org. The National Institute for Newman Studies. p. 317. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021.

[DH-4] Second Vatical Council (7 December 1965). "Dignitatis humanae". Retrieved 8 November 2020.

[5] Egan, Philip A. (2009). Philosophy and Catholic Theology: A Primer. Liturgical Press. p. 56. ISBN 9780814656617.

[6] Shepard, William (October 1987). "'Fundamentalism' Christian and Islamic". Religion. 17 (4): 355–378. doi:10.1016/0048-721X(87)90059-5. Patrick J. Ryan has suggested the term 'integralism' for the Iranian phenomena, by analogy with the Roman Catholic movement by that name and largely because of the role of the 'ulamã' ('Islamic Fundamentalism: a Questionable Category', America, December 29, 1984, pp . 437-440), and this suggestion has some merit.

[7] Jensen, Mark (2005). "The Integralist Objection to Political Liberalism". Social Theory and Practice. 31 (2): 157–171. doi:10.5840/soctheorpract200531212.

[8] "On the one [fusionist] side one finds an older American tradition of orthodox Catholicism as it has developed in the nation since the mid-twentieth century... On the other [integralist] side is arrayed what might be characterized as a more radical Catholicism."A Catholic Showdown Worth Watching Archived 22 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine Deneen, Patrick. "A Catholic Showdown Worth Watching," The American Conservative, 6 Feb 2014.

[9] "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 Archived 16 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine Allen, John, Jr. Crux, 27 Apr 2018.

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