The regulation of public morality and eugenics

A productive alliance between the Catholic Church and Italian Fascism

Datos Bibliográficos

ID18944196
AutoresL Pozzi (0000-0003-3007-9955, The University of Queensland, autor de correspondencia)
Año2020
Volumen25
Número3
Páginas317-331
Fecha de publicación2020-07-23
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaModern Italy (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1353-2944 • E-ISSN: 1469-9877
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/mit.2020.37
OpenAlexW3045229391
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas2
Referencias citadas15

Historical research acknowledges only cursorily the Catholic contribution to eugenics. Yet there is a substantial link between Catholic discourses on morality and the emergence of Italian eugenics. In this essay I argue that sexual normalisation was a key source of consensus. Masculine and patriarchal values strengthened the strategic collaboration between Fascist demographic policies, the Italian interpretation of eugenics, and Catholic doctrine. I draw on archival and printed material to show that the control of public morality and the support for reproduction met both Catholic and Fascist interests. In particular, I focus on the alliance between the State and the Catholic Church working against ‘the contraceptive mentality’. Mussolini wanted to stimulate religious sentiment as a basis for the fight against depopulation. The Catholic Church desired a set of laws against immorality, birth control and abortion. In this way, Fascism and the Catholic Church found a solid cultural agreement around restoring traditional mores, patriarchal values, and gender hierarchy

Alliance · Environmental ethics · Eugenics · Immorality · Morality · Political science · Politics · Public morality · Sociology · European history and politics · French Historical and Cultural Studies · Gender Studies · Italian Fascism and Post-war Society · Law · Philosophy

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