Before the Altar of the Fatherland: Catholicism, the Politics of Modernization, and Nationalization during the Spanish Civil War

Abstract

Catholicism has occupied a central place in debates concerning the nature of Francoism. Conventionally, scholars have suggested that the traditional, archaic elements of the Franco Dictatorship made it markedly different from other fascist regimes. This article explores the crucial role that Catholicism played in the popular mobilization, unification, and nationalization of rebel supporters during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). Instead of focusing on an analysis of the discourse of the Catholic Church and its interactions with the politics and institutions of the ‘New State’, this study concentrates on Catholicism's role in generating social support for the regime. First, it examines the religious services and practices that occurred on the battlefronts. It then deals with events on the rebel home front. It argues that during the Spanish Civil War, Catholicism became a force that united, mobilized, and forged both individual and national Francoist identities.

Nationalisation, banal nationalism and everyday nationhood in a dictatorship: The Franco regime in Spain

“…Wars open up extraordinary contexts for the exaltation of the national through rites, ceremonies, propaganda and other instruments linked to military mobilisation. At the same time, they make possible the redefinition of the national community and of the models of masculinity and femininity tied to the war effort (Aresti, 2017;Del Arco Blanco, 2018;Núñez Seixas, 2005). Yet, even within contexts propitious to manifestations of hot nationalism, this adopts banal and everyday forms.…”

“…In many localities, it was the ordinary citizens who substituted Republican street names with those dedicated to the new national heroes and achievements. In the same way, the construction of monuments in honour of the caídos y mártires ('the fallen and the martyrs') was also produced by private businesses, organisations and even neighbourhood groups (Del Arco Blanco, 2018).…”

La forja de la “nación de Franco”: nacionalismo, catolicismo y violencia en la zona rebelde durante la Guerra Civil española (1936-1939)

“…También eran los responsable de levantar los ánimos de los combatientes y de organizar las misas de campaña en las que religión y nación se entremezclaban 74 . Su celebración era concebida como un símbolo de comunión entre los combatientes y la población civil, al mismo tiempo que como el primer jalón del proyecto de recatolización, de ahí que fueran los primeros actos en organizarse tras la conquista de cualquier localidad 75 . Tras la toma de Aracena (Huelva), se celebró, "en medio de la conmoción del pueblo y de las lágrimas de todos", una imponente misa de campaña en la plaza, donde la figura de Cristo había sido destruida.…”