Page 173 - Fascism: The Bloody Ideology Of Darwinsim

Fascism's Hatred Of Religion 173

slowly eliminated, and in their place a form of paganism that revered
Mussolini as a divine being was put in place. Mussolini's only true religion was
his egotism, which he tried little by little to make the Italians accept.
The slogan mentioned below, during this period, is a testament of the
"cult dedicated to Mussolini": "Do not delay for an instant in loving God. But
remember that the god of Italy is the Duce." 129
Mussolini belittled religious notions and re-interpreted them according
to his own pagan belief system. The fact that he called the decrees and
pronouncements he issued the "Fascist Decalogue," reveals the scale of his
arrogance and hypocrisy.
However, Mussolini's arrogance did not endure long. Italy entered the
Second World War on the side of Germany, but was defeated, collapsing much
earlier than Germany. In 1943, Mussolini was arrested by his own countrymen
and imprisoned. He was rescued with Hitler's support, and held out against
the opposition in the North for some time longer. Towards the end of the war,
he was once again arrested as he tried to cross the border in a German uniform,
and was shot with his mistress at his side. His corpse was suspended by one
foot in a square in Milan. Such was the dreadful end of a psychopath who
claimed he was a "divine being."

How Spanish Fascism Used Religion

As we have seen, fascism is an ideology fanatically opposed to religion,
but which may sometimes conceal its hatred for political reasons, and even
present itself as actually committed to religion. The aim behind fascists' wish
to appear God-fearing is to pervert religious concepts from their true meaning,
and employ them as tools for their political goals.
The degree of fascism's commitment to religion fluctuates according to
the nature of the society it finds itself in. Nazism felt little need to put up such
a front, because it had developed itself within German society, which had
already been distanced far from religion. But, in Italy, Mussolini attempted to
control a far more religious society, and thus felt a greater need to play such a
hypocritical role. When we consider the example of Spain, we once again see a
religious society and a fascism with a religious face. The leader of this brand of
fascism was Francisco Franco.
Franco's ideology is known as "Falangism." The term comes from the
word "Falange," (or the Falange Espanola Tradicionalista Y De Las Juntas De
Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista, to give it its full name) which was founded in