French Catholic Intellectuals and the Nation in Post-War France

Abstract

What did the nation represent for Catholic intellectuals in postwar France? This simple question masks series of issues which are difficult to resolve. The first issue is matter of chronology: we need to determine to what extent the post-war period was relevant moment in the development of original representations of the nation for Catholic intellectuals. In that respect, we will need to ascertain whether the political chronology-the conventional conception of the Second World War as break in French history-was parallelled by similar break in the religious field. The second issue is related to the centrality of the nation in Catholic thought; the universal claim of Catholicism, the defense of Christian West or the construction of Christian-democrat Europe could constitute powerful, alternative, ideal communities to the nation for Catholics. As such, we should try to understand how Catholics articulated their national ideals with wider allegiances. Finally, the notion of Catholic intellectuals also needs to be clarified, because it appears as contradiction in terms.' Usually, in the French context, the term intellectuel, a man of culture, acting in the political sphere, producer and consumer of ideologies,2' is strongly associated with the secular tradition and implies direct and critical engagement in politics. Conversely, Catholics tend to value deference towards authority, be it political or religious, and could be tempted to reject politics in the name of higher spiritual motivations. Although it is relatively easy to single out individual Catholic intellectuals (Frangois Mauriac or PierreHenri Simon for instance) it is difficult to grasp what they as group consisted of and to understand whether it is their faith or other factors that explains their political orientation and the form they give to it.