8 Transatlantic Catholicism and the making of the ‘Christian West’
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Giuliana Chamedes
Abstract
Giuliana Chamedes identifies two distinct visions that characterized the ideological construct of the ‘Atlantic order’ for the post-war world: a liberal-democratic American and British narrative that helped the United States strengthen its political and economic ties with Europe so as to protect a shared democratic worldview; and another vision, advanced by the Holy See, a handful of European Christian Democratic leaders, and certain key American Catholic opinion-makers, which did not have ‘democracy’ as its endgame. Rather, it proposed to build a peaceful transnational post-war order through the reconstitution of the ‘Christian West’, an early-modern concept of the ‘Old and the New World’ which was defined as an imagined community built on a shared commitment to Christian principles. This move enabled them to embrace the ‘Atlantic Community’, all the while remaining wedded to a conservative, anti-liberal, and anti-communist worldview.
Abstract
Giuliana Chamedes identifies two distinct visions that characterized the ideological construct of the ‘Atlantic order’ for the post-war world: a liberal-democratic American and British narrative that helped the United States strengthen its political and economic ties with Europe so as to protect a shared democratic worldview; and another vision, advanced by the Holy See, a handful of European Christian Democratic leaders, and certain key American Catholic opinion-makers, which did not have ‘democracy’ as its endgame. Rather, it proposed to build a peaceful transnational post-war order through the reconstitution of the ‘Christian West’, an early-modern concept of the ‘Old and the New World’ which was defined as an imagined community built on a shared commitment to Christian principles. This move enabled them to embrace the ‘Atlantic Community’, all the while remaining wedded to a conservative, anti-liberal, and anti-communist worldview.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- Notes on contributors vi
- Introduction 1
- 1 An interview with Bernard Bailyn 13
- 2 ‘Once more the storm is howling’ 18
- 3 Atlantic History 34
- 4 Atlantic Studies today 52
- 5 The Transnational Transatlantic 76
- 6 Contemporary history as critical perspective 98
- 7 Towards a new diplomatic history of transatlantic relations 120
- 8 Transatlantic Catholicism and the making of the ‘Christian West’ 139
- 9 From denationalizing history to decanonizing teaching history 156
- Index 178
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- Notes on contributors vi
- Introduction 1
- 1 An interview with Bernard Bailyn 13
- 2 ‘Once more the storm is howling’ 18
- 3 Atlantic History 34
- 4 Atlantic Studies today 52
- 5 The Transnational Transatlantic 76
- 6 Contemporary history as critical perspective 98
- 7 Towards a new diplomatic history of transatlantic relations 120
- 8 Transatlantic Catholicism and the making of the ‘Christian West’ 139
- 9 From denationalizing history to decanonizing teaching history 156
- Index 178
