The antisemitism of the Italian Catholics and nationalism: ‘the Jew’ and ‘the honest Italy’ in the rhetoric of La Civiltà Cattolica during the Risorgimento

TY - JOUR

T1 - The antisemitism of the Italian Catholics and nationalism

T2 - ‘the Jew’ and ‘the honest Italy’ in the rhetoric of La Civiltà Cattolica during the Risorgimento

AU - Dahl, David Lebovitch

PY - 2012/2

Y1 - 2012/2

N2 - This article addresses the problem of the Catholics' diffusion of anti-Jewish propaganda in the second half of the nineteenth century, and the question of the role of the Roman Catholic Church in the formation of Italian national identity in the same period. The paper uncovers two layers in the discourse of the Jesuit journal La Civiltà Cattolica regarding Italian unification. On one level, typical of the journal's editorials, nationalism is rejected, while on a less conspicuous level the journal forcefully defines the Italian nation in Catholic terms, partly through the alienation of Jews. The investigation indicates that the approach towards Italian nation-building should be taken into account when studying the Catholics' rhetoric concerning Jews, and it supports the thesis that the contribution of the Church towards shaping Italian national identity should be taken seriously in studies of the Risorgimento.

AB - This article addresses the problem of the Catholics' diffusion of anti-Jewish propaganda in the second half of the nineteenth century, and the question of the role of the Roman Catholic Church in the formation of Italian national identity in the same period. The paper uncovers two layers in the discourse of the Jesuit journal La Civiltà Cattolica regarding Italian unification. On one level, typical of the journal's editorials, nationalism is rejected, while on a less conspicuous level the journal forcefully defines the Italian nation in Catholic terms, partly through the alienation of Jews. The investigation indicates that the approach towards Italian nation-building should be taken into account when studying the Catholics' rhetoric concerning Jews, and it supports the thesis that the contribution of the Church towards shaping Italian national identity should be taken seriously in studies of the Risorgimento.

KW - Faculty of Humanities

KW - History

KW - Antisemitisme

KW - italienske katolikker

KW - nationalisme

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1353-2944

VL - 17

SP - 1

EP - 14

JO - Modern Italy

JF - Modern Italy

IS - 1

ER -