Religione civile o usi politici di un culto? A proposito di un libro recente su S. Caterina da Siena

Starting from a historical research on the interrelations between the cult of S. Catherine of Siena and the cult of Italian Nation between the two World Wars, this essay also aims to test the validity of the notion of “civil religion” as applied to an analysis of religious phenomena. Can we better understand devotion, if we replace it with another absolute notion (such as “identity”)? Or, in the sublunar world of historical research, is it more rewarding to examine how various political options have tried to intercept a cult and adapt it to their various aims (Lateran Agreements, war mobilization, racism)? Is an ideological notion, like “civil religion”, useful for loosening the knot of the relationships between politics and religion, or is it preferable to insist more on the political, social, geographical rifts among the promoters of a cult, rather than on homogeneity and condivision? And are these two approaches really incompatible? These are questions this work would like to focus on, without forgetting that its fi rst purpose is to clarify a specific historical problem.