Croatian and Slovak Political Catholicism and Clericalism in the Period Between the First and the Second World War

Abstract

In this article, the presence and influence of clericalism on Croatian and Slovak political Catholicism between the two world wars is examined through a comparative analysis, based on some Croatian interwar Catholic periodicals, recent Croatian and Slovak historiographical studies, as well as studies by some foreign historians. Also, the focus of the research attention was on re-examining the causes of the findings. At the very beginning, the terms clericalism and political Catholicism are defined as key terminological determinants used later in the article. That is followed by a brief review of some peculiarities of the modern Croatian and Slovak nation genesis, as one of the variables that had great influence on the peculiarities of Croatian and Slovak society and political culture as a whole. The central part of the article analyses the development and activities of Croatian and Slovak interwar political Catholicism, primarily through political activities of the Croatian People's Party and the Slovak People's Party/Hlinka's Slovak People's Party. Finally, a comparison of similarities and differences between the Croatian and Slovak political Catholicism follows, with explanations of possible causes for such a situation, and a quantitative analysis of the presence and impact of clericalism on Croatian and Slovak interwar political Catholicism.