Emilio Gentile, an internationally renowned authority on fascism and
totalitarianism, argues that politics over the past two centuries has
often taken on the features of religion, claiming as its own the
prerogative of defining the fundamental purpose and meaning of human
life. Secular political entities such as the nation, the state, race,
class, and the party became the focus of myths, rituals, and
commandments and gradually became objects of faith, loyalty, and
reverence.
Gentile examines this "sacralization of politics," as he defines it,
both historically and theoretically, seeking to identify the different
ways in which political regimes as diverse as fascism, communism, and
liberal democracy have ultimately depended, like religions, on faith,
myths, rites, and symbols.
Gentile maintains that the sacralization of politics as a modern
phenomenon is distinct from the politicization of religion that has
arisen from militant religious fundamentalism. Sacralized politics may
be democratic, in the form of a civil religion, or it may be
totalitarian, in the form of a political religion. Using this conceptual
distinction, and moving from America to Europe, and from Africa to Asia,
Gentile presents a unique comparative history of civil and political
religions from the American and French Revolutions, through nationalism
and socialism, democracy and totalitarianism, fascism and communism, up
to the present day. It is also a fascinating book for understanding the
sacralization of politics after 9/11.
