As If God Existed: Religion and Liberty in the History of Italy

375 Pages·2012·1.5 MB·English

by  Maurizio Viroli

As If God ExIstEd
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As If God ExIstEd
RElIGIon And lIbERty
In thE hIstoRy of ItAly
Maurizio Viroli
translated by Alberto nones
Princeton University Press
Princeton and Oxford
Copyright © 2012 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William street,
Princeton, new Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, 6 oxford street,
Woodstock, oxfordshire ox20 1tW
press.princeton.edu
Jacket Art: Allegory of Good Government, 1338–40 (fresco),
Ambrogio lorenzetti (1285–c. 1348). location: Palazzo Pubblico,
siena, Italy. Courtesy of bridgeman Art library.
All Rights Reserved
library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data
Viroli, Maurizio.
[Come se dio ci fosse. English]
As if God existed : religion and liberty in the history of Italy / Maurizio Viroli;
translated by Alberto nones.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
Isbn 978-0-691-14235-7 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. liberty—history. 2. Religion and politics—Italy—history. 3. Religion
and state—Italy—history. I. title.
JC599.I8V5713 2012
320.94501’1—dc23
2012015124
british library Cataloging- in- Publication data is available
this book has been composed in sabon lt std.
Printed on acid- free paper. ∞
Printed in the United states of America
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
to Gabriella, Giulia, simona, and tino
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After all, the man who does not believe in God also feels,
in the end, that his morality is like a religion, although he
does not like to abuse this term. he feels it is some sort of
religion, for it is something he is ready to discuss, but with
the certainty that no one will convert him. he has grown
old with that faith; he has spoken with many people; he has
put his ideas to all tests and comparisons. he knows well
that his force of persuasion is meager, that his arguments
should always be renewed, and that he has something to
learn from each and every interlocutor. but all this no longer
affects the firmness of his faith. In this sense, he belongs to a
church, which admits of no betrayal on the part of its clerics.
to work for this church, to promote the increment of its
believers— this is the most proper job for a man. In this job
lay the worth and value of his whole existence.
— Guido Calogero, La scuola dell’uomo, 1939
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ContEnts
Preface to the English Edition xi
Introduction 1
PARt I A REPUblICAn ChRIstIAnIty
1 Republics Protected by God 15
2 Images of the Civil Religion 21
3 Republican and Monarchical Religion 29
4 A Religion That Instills Virtue 33
5 Sacred Laws and Sacred Republics 37
6 Republican Religion and Religious Reform 45
7 A Religion to Live Free 52
8 Within the Soul 62
9 The Twilight of Republican Religion 72
PARt II RElIGIoUs REbIRth And nAtIonAl
EMAnCIPAtIon
10 Without God 89
11 After the Revolution 103
12 The New Alliance 115
13 Literature and Hymns of the Religion of Liberty 126
14 Apostles and Martyrs 140