«Democrats or Conservatives?». Objectives, Strategies, and Political Practices of the Catholic Opposition to Divorce in Italy (1901-1904)
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Abstract
This essay examines how the Church and Catholic organizations mobilised people against the divorce bills being discussed (and finally rejected) in the Italian Parliament between 1901 and 1904. The author aims to demonstrate how this struggle against Liberal radicalism accelerated the formation of different political views among Italian Catholics, focusing on the role of the Christian Democrat movement, which demanded a more intense participation in the public life of Church and country by the popular masses and women, in opposition to the so-called clerical-moderates, who aspired to create a strong political link with the Liberal conservatives.
Keywords
- Divorce
- Catholic Movement
- Clerical Moderatism
- Christian Democracy
- Non Expedit
