Empire of Souls: Robert Bellarmine and the Christian Commonwealth (Oxford Studies in Historical Theology)

Empire of Souls: Robert Bellarmine and the Christian Commonwealth (Oxford Studies in Historical Theology)

Robert Bellarmine was one of the pillars of post-Reformation Catholicism: he was a celebrated theologian and a highly ranked member of the Congregations of the Inquisition and of the Index, the censor in charge of the Galileo affair. Bellarmine was also one of the most original political theorists of his time, and he participated directly in many of the political conflicts that agitated Europe between the end of the sixteenth and the beginning of the seventeenth century. Stefania Tutino offers the first full-length study of the impact of Bellarmine's theory of the potestas indirecta in early modern Europe. Following the reactions to Bellarmine's theory across national and confessional boundaries, this book explores some of the most crucial political and theological knots in the history of post-Reformation Europe, from the controversy over the Oath of Allegiance to the battle over the Interdetto in Venice. The book sets those political and religious controversies against the background of the theological and institutional developments of the post-Tridentine Catholic Church. By examining the violent and at times surprising controversies originated by Bellarmine's theory, this book challenges some of the traditional assumptions regarding the theological shape of post-Tridentine Catholicism; it offers a fresh perspective on the centrality of the links between confessional affiliation and political allegiance in the development of the modern nation-states; and it contributes to our understanding of the development of 'modern' notions of power and authority. "With exquisite scholarship, theoretical clarity and commanding historical perspective, Stefania Tutino presents a radical re-reading of Robert Bellarmine's political thought. Reading the Cardinal in a wide European context, Tutino sets aside the common view of his work as the essence of Counter-Reformation political theology. Inspired by Antonio Gramsci, she finds in Bellarmine a sophisticated theory of Catholicism as spiritual hegemony, rather than Carl Schmitt's exemplar of anti-modernity. A fine piece of work." --Knud Haakonssen, Professor of Intellectual History, University of Sussex "Robert Bellarmine, Saint and Cardinal, was one of the most important figures of the Catholic (or Counter-) Reformation. Well-known for his role in the investigation of Galileo, and in the condemnation of Copernicanism, he was famous in his own time especially for his writings on church-state relations and papal authority. This fine, scholarly, and lucidly expressed book is the fullest modern account of Bellarmine's theories on these matters. It is particularly valuable for the wide range of manuscript sources in Latin and Italian that it draws on, from archives in the Vatican and elsewhere." --Johann Sommerville, Professor of History, University of Wisconsin, Madison " Empire of Souls is an important contribution to and arguably necessary for studies of Bellarmine and of early modern Catholicism...important reading also for historians of doctrines and for historians and theologians of the papacy, of the post-Reformation period, of ecumenism, and of the separation of church and state. Consequently, this book is also recommended for scholars who work on the intersection of European religion and political theory."-- Journal of the American Academy of Religion "A first-rate book, ambitious in scope, impressive in delivery, tenacious in analysis,precise and comprehensive in documentation, a book destined for many a long year to come to constitute the requisite point of departure for other studies in the field."-- The Catholic Historical Review The first full-length study of the impact of Bellarmine's potestas indirecta in early modern Europe. Stefania Tutino completed her Ph. D. in early modern history at the Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, in 2003. She has been an Andrew W. Mellon postdoctoral fellow at UCLA, and she was previously at UCSB, where she held a joint appointment in the Departments of History and Religious Studies. She is now a Professor of Early Modern History at UCLA.