Integralism

Integralism, often called Catholic integralism, is a political theory holding that political authority should serve not only earthly goods such as peace and prosperity but also humanity's spiritual end, salvation. Because the Church is responsible for that higher end, integralists argue that the state should recognize the Catholic faith and, in matters touching salvation, defer to the Church's guidance. It rejects liberalism's view that the state should be neutral among religions and ways of life. The term should not be confused with Portuguese Integralism or Brazilian Integralism, twentieth century nationalist movements that used the same name.

Integralists draw on the medieval tradition of "two powers," spiritual and temporal, described by Pope Gelasius I in 494, and on later claims of papal supremacy such as Boniface VIII's bull Unam Sanctam (1302). In the nineteenth century, popes including Pius IX and Leo XIII rejected the separation of church and state, and Leo XIII's encyclical Immortale Dei (1885) described the proper relationship between the two. In Spain and France the word "integrism" described Catholics who refused any compromise with liberalism. In the twentieth century, Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani defended the confessional Catholic state. The Second Vatican Council's declaration Dignitatis Humanae (1965) affirmed a civil right to religious freedom, which most Catholics took as moving away from the confessional state. Integralism revived in the 2010s among Catholic writers and academics, including the Josias website and the philosopher Thomas Pink, and through Integralism: A Manual of Political Philosophy (2020) by Thomas Crean and Alan Fimister. The legal scholar Adrian Vermeule's related "common good constitutionalism" drew wide attention.

Classical integralists defend a confessional Catholic state with formal ties to the Church. Some contemporary writers present integralism as a long-term ideal and support more modest "postliberal" policies in the meantime. Others use the term loosely for any politics that places the common good above individual choice. Writers disagree about whether Dignitatis Humanae can be reconciled with integralism.

Many Catholic theologians argue that integralism contradicts the teaching of Dignitatis Humanae on religious freedom. Liberals and secular critics argue that it would treat non-Catholics as second-class citizens and restore religious coercion. The philosopher Kevin Vallier has argued that it cannot be achieved without serious injustice. Some conservative Catholics argue that it is unrealistic in pluralist societies and harms the Church's credibility. Supporters respond that liberalism also imposes a view of the good and that integralism simply restates traditional Catholic teaching.

Confessional Catholic states existed in Europe for centuries, and twentieth century examples such as Franco's Spain gave the Church a privileged legal role. Contemporary integralism is mainly an intellectual movement rather than a party program. Its ideas have influenced debates among American and European Catholic conservatives about postliberalism, the role of courts and religious liberty.