Internationalized Crusade

The Internationalized Crusade: Examining the International Catholic support of the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War. The cases of Ireland and the USA. (2023). The Internationalized Crusade: Examining the International Catholic support of the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War. The cases of Ireland and the USA.

Description

The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in July 1936 divided national public opinions throughout the West. One of the factors behind such split was religious beliefs. This was the case for the United States and Ireland where Francisco Franco’s rebels got significant public support. This work argues that both the Irish and American Catholic Church hierarchies and laity Catholics’ support of the Nationalists had dramatic effects domestically. This thesis expands previous scholarship on the Spanish Civil War by utilizing primary sources from both American and Irish archives to understand the intention, forms, and controversy of Irish and American Catholics’ support of the Nationalists.
Author Keywords: Anti-clericalism, Catholicism, Clergy, De Valera, FDR, Spanish Civil War

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