Catholic Fundamentalism in America

Author: Mark S. Massa, S.J.

Hardcover

Catholic Fundamentalism in America gives an account of a militantly anti-modern movement within the American Catholic community through portraits of seven individuals and movements that have shaped it.

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The term "fundamentalism" has its roots in specific forms of American Protestantism that arose around the turn of the twentieth century in reaction to liberalizing and modernizing trends within the church. In this book, Mark Massa argues that an analogously reactive, militant, and sectarian "fundamentalist" movement emerged within American Catholicism in the decades after World War II, for a similarly complex mix of theological and cultural reasons. In CatholicFundamentalism in America Massa gives the first account of the Catholic form of the anti-modernist impulse. Massa recounts how Catholic fundamentalism has reacted both to theteachings of the Second Vatican Council and to the tensions of America's pluralist, secular culture. Like their Protestant cousins, Catholic fundamentalists combine a sectarian understanding of religion with an aggressive anti-progressive stance. Their main enemies were not Protestants or secular Americans, but other Catholics who didn't share their extreme views. Also like the Protestant fundamentalists, Catholic devotees of the fundamentalist impulse have sought (and found) politicalconservatives with whom to make common cause on a range of issues, such as the place of women in American culture, the value of pluralism within the Church and the larger culture, and the importance ofcooperation with non-Catholics. Contemporary Catholic conservatives merge theological and political impulses into movements that "punch above their weight" within the community through their clever use of social media. Through seven portraits of individuals and movements that embody the Catholic fundamentalist impulse, Massa demonstrates how the Catholic Right, like its evangelical Protestant counterpart, has reacted to--and fought against--modern American culture.

Critic Reviews

With deep insight and deft analysis, Mark Massa shines a light into the dark corners of American Catholicism. This important book exposes both the motivations and the tactics of Catholic fundamentalists who have propagated an alternative universe of Latin masses and scorching rhetoric aimed at the overthrow of a 'liberal' Catholic hierarchy. Randall Balmer, author of Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America
This must-read book guides us into a specific form of religious fundamentalism in the United States - the Catholic variety. Massa shows us the very American and, at the same time, profoundly sectarian roots of this phenomenon, and its relevance to understanding the long transition from the pre-Vatican II Church to twenty-first-century American Catholicism with its global outreach. Massimo Faggioli, Professor of Historical Theology, Villanova University

About the Author

Mark S. Massa is Professor of Theology and Director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College. He is the author of The Structure of Theological Revolutions: How the Fight Over Birth Control Transformed American Catholicism and The American Catholic Revolution: How the Sixties Changed the Church Forever.