Katolícky modernizmus ako analytický nástroj pre skúmanie radikalizácie slovenských katolíckych intelektuálov
Catholic Modernism as an Analytical Tool in the Study of the Radicalization of Slovak Catholic Intellectuals

Summary/Abstract: This study investigates the radicalization of Catholic intellectuals in Slovakia during the first half of the 20th century. It critiques the limitations of existing "fascist studies" approaches, which often overlook the religious identities of historical actors and the influence of fascism on Catholicism itself. The study proposes a new analytical category, "crusaders of paternalistic modernism," building on the concept of Catholic modernism and integrating approaches from the history of political ideologies, conceptual history, and contextual analysis. This category is situated within the typology of Slovak clerical fascists developed by historian Miloslav Szabó and is illustrated through the case of Štefan Polakovič, a Catholic priest and ideologue of the wartime Slovak state. The study examines Polakovič's appropriation of fascist elements in relation to the modernization of Catholicism and the interplay between religious and secular ideologies. The concept of Catholic modernism is used to situate the radicalization of Slovak Catholics within a broader European context and to understand their post-war transformation into Christian democrats.

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