Soldiers of God in a Secular World: Catholic Theology and Twentieth-Century French Politics

by Sarah Shortall

Winner of a Catholic Media Association Book Award

A revelatory account of the nouvelle théologie , a clerical movement that revitalized the Catholic Church’s role in twentieth-century French political life.

Secularism has been a cornerstone of French political culture since 1905, when the republic formalized the separation of church and state. At times the barrier of secularism has seemed impenetrable, stifling religious actors wishing to take part in political life. Yet in other instances, secularism has actually nurtured movements of the faithful. Soldiers of God in a Secular World explores one such case, that of the nouvelle théologie , or new theology. Developed in the interwar years by Jesuits and Dominicans, the nouvelle théologie reimagined the Church’s relationship to public life, encouraging political activism, engaging with secular philosophy, and inspiring doctrinal changes adopted by the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s.

Nouveaux théologiens charted a path between the old alliance of throne and altar and secularism’s demand for the privatization of religion. Envisioning a Church in but not of the public sphere, Catholic thinkers drew on theological principles to intervene in political questions while claiming to remain at arm’s length from politics proper. Sarah Shortall argues that this “counter-politics” was central to the mission of the nouveaux théologiens : by recoding political statements in the ostensibly apolitical language of doctrine, priests were able to enter into debates over fascism and communism, democracy and human rights, colonialism and nuclear war. This approach found its highest expression during the Second World War, when the nouveaux théologiens led the spiritual resistance against Nazism. Claiming a powerful public voice, they collectively forged a new role for the Church amid the momentous political shifts of the twentieth century.

Genres: Theology

352 pages, Hardcover

Published November 23, 2021

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shortall depicts the emergence of the Ressourcement Theology up to and during the second world war, the occupation of France and the lead up to Vatican II. The political pressures inside the RC church, alignments and realignments to the right and the left in France, the philosophical challenges form existentialism and revived hegelianism, all shaped the RC Church's stance on RT, its rejection and suppression, and then resuscitation into Vatican II.

[Artur Rosman · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no better book that not only helps you tie Nouvelle Theologie to developments within the Church, but also to wider philosophical developments like the reception of Hegel or the emergence of phenomenology in French thought. This is a must-read book for all theologians, and not only.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterpiece!