Przemysław Pazik
Prace Historyczne, Numer 144 (1), 2017, s. 199 - 214
https://doi.org/10.4467/20844069PH.17.011.5871Christianity and democracy: the ideas of the reconstruction of Italy after 1945
This essay attempts to analyse the ideological pillars of the reconstruction of the Italian state after the Second World War carried out by Democrazia Cristiana, in light of the changes in the Catholic social teaching and the rise of personalist philosophy after 1945. The first part of the text focuses on the way in which the Catholic Church interpreted the concept of democracy and on ways the problem of democracy had been approached since the Rerum novarum encyclical until the end of the Second World War. The second part of the essay consists of an analysis of the manifestos of Democrazia Cristiana and selected speeches of the leader of the party, Alcide De Gasperi. This analysis leads to a conclusion that Alcide De Gasperi in particular and his party in general aimed at constructing a new state and society after the Second World War based on three pillars: the liberal theory of freedom, the republican conception of society and the constitutional settlement as the best political form. Therefore, the Italian constitution envisaged by the party not only was in line with the Church’s teaching, but also drew influence from liberal and republican ideas.