Soldiers of God in a Secular World: Catholic Theology and Twentieth-Century French Politics

Secularism can be stifling for religious actors seeking a voice in public life. But it can also be empowering. Sarah Shortall tells the story of France’s nouveaux théologiens, who recast arguments over fascism, communism, democracy, and human rights in theological terms, thereby securing a voice for their faith in twentieth-century politics.

Table of Contents:
Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Contents Introduction Part I: Separation (1880–1939) 1. Exile Catholicism 2. From Royalism to the Mystical Body of Christ Part II: Resistance (1940–1944) 3. Fighting Nazism with the “Weapons of the Spirit” 4. The Theoretical Foundations of the Spiritual Resistance Part III: Renewal (1945–1965) 5. The Postwar Catholic Engagement with the Left 6. The Drama of Atheist Humanism and the Politics of History 7. The Death and Resurrection of the Nouvelle Théologie Epilogue Abbreviations Notes Acknowledgments Index

Review :
Superbly expands our knowledge of the nouvelle théologie...The book describes a movement begun in exile and youthful rebellion, tested in clandestine anti-Nazi resistance, and shaken by political turmoil and ecclesiastical opprobrium before eventually remaking the face of the Catholic Church...[A] groundbreaking book.
-- Peter Steinfels Commonweal
Soldiers of God is rich in political and intellectual historical insights, and it paves the way for a new agenda in the literature on secularism, religion, and politics, not least for understanding the role of Christianity in European politics today.
-- Anders Berg-Sørensen Contemporary Political Theory
Shortall's long-awaited book exceeds expectations. On both the micro- and macro-levels--archival research and overarching narrative--the work marks an inflection point in the study of these twentieth-century Jesuit intellectuals (and their Dominican counterparts)...Will remain a touchstone for years to come.
-- Stephen Schloesser Journal of Jesuit Studies
Demonstrates that the separation of church and state ushered in a period of creativity in French religious thought...deserves to find a wide readership among intellectual historians.
-- Carol E. Harrison Journal of Modern History
A brilliant contribution to historical theology...demonstrates not only how theology is part of European intellectual history, but also points to how theology might contribute to its future. Graduate students seeking to figure out what historical theology is will find in Shortall a sure guide. By reconstructing the world in which they mattered, she brings the ideas of twentieth-century theological giants to life in ways that elude most systematic theologians.
-- William L. Porter Horizons
A profound and important book. Tracing the history of the nouvelle théologie, Shortall shows how religious thinking can scramble our political categories and open up new ways to imagine the future.
-- Edward Baring, author of Converts to the Real: Catholicism and the Making of Continental Philosophy
Across a tumultuous century, as Sarah Shortall reveals, French Catholic thinkers were able to make momentous contributions to politics precisely because they insisted on the irreducibility of religion. Restoring theology to intellectual history, this book is a remarkable debut.
-- Samuel Moyn, author of Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal World
A pathbreaking account of how the nouveaux théologiens reshaped both Catholic theology and secular philosophy in the twentieth century. Shortall thoughtfully retells modern European intellectual history, upending conventional definitions of politics and ultimately transcending the secular-religious divide.
-- Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, author of Beyond Religious Freedom: The New Global Politics of Religion
What happens when theology and politics mix? Sarah Shortall's compelling study proposes an answer that is incisive and illuminating from the first page to the last.
-- Philip G. Nord, author of After the Deportation: Memory Battles in Postwar France