Genealogy of Charles Maurras' Religious Nationalism

Abstract

The central figure of the Action Frarnçaise, Charles Maurras presented his “religious nationalism” amidst a tense conflict between republicans and Catholics, which culminated with the separation of the Churches and the State in 1905. The Catholic blocs supported him, because he reclaimed the Catholic monarchy from the French Republic by criticizing individualism and representative democracy. This article tries to contextualize his political thought at the dawn of the twentieth century and to analyze it from the viewpoint of political theology.
  It primarily focuses on Maurras' so-called “Catholic positivism” which was largely influenced by Auguste Comte. However, Maurras deviates from the founder positivist in that he emphasizes the French “nation” instead of the “humanity”; he didn't acknowledge the idea of separation between temporal and spiritual powers. His monarchical nationalism stands on the positivistic horizon, and the autonomous nation rendered absolute doesn't require a heteronomous religious justification. This scheme of political theology, which appeared through his polemic with Marc Sangnier, bore some resemblance to neo-Thomism, despite its pagan character.