When fascism and religion embrace each other

When religion becomes the perfume of power

Religion, my friend, has always been the gilded crutch of power, and fascism understood that perfectly. It is not that Mussolini believed in God; he believed in the effect of hanging crucifixes in schools and putting priests on podiums. He was a convinced atheist, but he kissed the Pope’s hand whenever he needed the votes of little old ladies in black veils. Hitler did not pray the rosary either, but he spoke of Providence the way one reads a medicine leaflet: to soothe the people and pretend that barbarism came with a divine seal of approval.

The trick is simple: use religion as perfume. The fascist anoints himself with sacred symbols to mask the stench of blood. He strikes deals with the Church, hands out positions, promises morality and in return, he earns complicit silence in the face of violence. While priests preach about order and family, militiamen are out there breaking teeth in the streets. The altar legitimizes the bayonet.

And notice: religion under fascism is not spirituality, it is spectacle. Mass broadcast on state radio, crucifix draped over the flag, biblical slogans pasted on posters. It is not faith, it is choreography. Religion becomes propaganda, anesthetic, varnish. And the people, already terrified by crisis, cling to this theater like shipwrecked souls clutching a rotten plank.

Want proof? In 1929, Mussolini signed the Lateran Treaty, granting the Vatican the status of a sovereign state. The Pope called him “the man of Providence.” Providence, nothing it was convenience. Hitler, in turn, never truly broke with the Lutheran Church. Some pastors even blessed his troops. Christ was turned into a campaign manager, and God into a supervisor of war.

In the end, the religion used by fascism is not meant to save souls, it is meant to chain them. It works like a sacred megaphone, repeating the same old refrain: obey, be silent, march. And the worst part is that so many march believing they are serving heaven, when in truth, they are serving hell on Earth.

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