War and Faith: The Catholic Church in Slovenia, 1914-1918 (Balkan Studies Library)

Pavlina Bobic examines the Catholic Church's interpretation of the nature of the First World War, which furnished the great European conflagration with a moral dimension and bestowed upon it ideological legitimation. This volume scrutinizes contexts in which religious concepts were employed by the Slovenian clergy to advance the Habsburg dynastic authority as well as to deepen the patriotic sense of Slovenians. It shows the interaction of experiences at the front and at home, and explains the crucial reasons for the Church's political (re)orientation during the war. Drawing extensively on contemporary documents, letters and diaries of soldiers, civilians and prominent figures, this account provides fresh insight into the people's understanding of the conflict, which triggered tensions that were central to the dissolution of the Habsburg empire. Pavlina Bobič examines the Catholic Church's interpretation of the nature of the First World War, which furnished the great European conflagration with a moral dimension and bestowed upon it ideological legitimation. This volume scrutinizes contexts in which religious concepts were employed by the Slovenian clergy to advance the Habsburg dynastic authority as well as to deepen the patriotic sense of Slovenians. It shows the interaction of experiences at the front and at home, and explains the crucial reasons for the Church's political (re)orientation during the war. Drawing extensively on contemporary documents, letters and diaries of soldiers, civilians and prominent figures, this account provides fresh insight into the people's understanding of the conflict, which triggered tensions that were central to the dissolution of the Habsburg empire. Drawing on the themes of religious rhetoric, embedded in social and political contexts, this study offers new insights into the manners in which the Catholic Church helped mould the Slovenians' responses to WWI and reconsiders the reasons for the clergy's political actions amid tensions, which resulted in the Habsburg empire's collapse. The Catholic Church between the nation and state in July and August 1914 Italy "antepportas" From holy to bloody war Guardians of the true faith "Austria nova" or "the compass of Austria is pointed southwards" "Lift up your heads for your redemption is near!" : the dawn of Yugoslavia.