What is Catholic Integralism?
The basic position of Catholic Integralism is that there are two areas of human life: the spiritual and the temporal, or worldly. Catholic Integralists argue that the spiritual and temporal should be integrated ? with the spiritual being the dominant partner. This means that religious values, specifically Christian ones, should guide government policies.
I never actually heard the word "Integralism" before, but the concept is definitely part of Catholic understanding. It goes right back to Constantine and church "fathers" like Augustine.
One baptist author used the word "sacral society". The idea of a "sacral society" is that a society cannot function when there is a wide diversity of beliefs and values. It needs to be a sacral society in which it's citizens are bound together by a common religious loyalty which is maintained with civil authority .
That was part of Constantine's motive in uniting Rome with Christianity. To have a united society bound together by a common religious loyalty.
When Constantine came into the Church, he did not lay aside his weapons or legions at the door. He entered the church with the understanding that he would be the final arbitrator and defender of this "unifying" sacral society. This put a new weapon in the hand of the Church. History celebrates Constantine's "conversion" as the end of persecution. No, it was NOT the end of persecution, it simply brought the steel sword into the Church for it's use.
The church father's made a doctrine to support the use of this "sword", they took the Bible text in Luke 22:34, "Lord, here are two swords," and reinterpreted that to create a teaching saying Jesus intended His Church to have two swords, one the "sword of the Spirit" which the clergy wields, and "the sword of steel" which the law enforcing soldier uses.
By 1150 AD this interpretation of the two swords was well ingrained. Two swords were said to belong to Peter, one, the religious sword is in his hand, the other (steel sword) is at his command whenever it is needful to draw it. This doctrine was put in use all through medieval history.
Even the Reformers had a hard time understanding that this "two swords" interpretation was WRONG and began to persecute in territories under protestant control. It wasn't until the late 1700's that the two were separated and the church could no longer use a civil sword to enforce their religion. Church and state were separated, to allow religious freedom.
This integralism of course is undoing the very foundation of religious freedom, for the person who believes a sacral society is needed for a country or territory to function in a proper manner will see the union of church and state as a necessary thing. It's giving the sword of civil power back into the hands of the church.