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.
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