Journal for the Study of Antisemitism

2009] CATHOLICISM & THE TEACHINGS OF BISHOP WILLIAMSON 241
focus of Perennialism is a fierce adherence to natural, human traditions and
a bitter rejection of modernity, which Perennialists perceive to flow from
the modern spirit. As Marxism embraced the idea of modern progress as
the antidote to Western modernity, Perennialism holds that the answer to
the problem of modernity lies with its rejection.
The Fathers of Perennialism
Rene Guenon was a French scholar of the early twentieth century.
Guenon was born to Catholic parents, but early in his youth he abandoned
his faith and turned to the study of the occult, which was then in vogue in
Paris. He became in turn a Free-Mason, an adept of Hinduism, and, finally,
a Sufi-Muslim. Guenon wrote prolifically about his Perennialist theories,
and his most important book was Crisis of the Modern World (1927).
The two other authors who contributed most significantly to the formulation
of Perennialist thinking were Ananda K. Coomaraswamy and
Frithjof Schuon. Coomaraswamy, an expert on Hindu art, was interested
primarily in the role of art and craftsmanship in culture, and their relation to
industrialized labor. Frithjof Schuon was responsible for giving to Rene
Guenon’s philosophical theories the more formal structure of a religious
movement. Schuon was also a convert to Islam.
The most politically radical of the Perennialists was Baron Julius
Evola. Julius Evola adapted many of the tenets of Perennialism to the
Aryan movement typified in the Third Reich. Many philosophical Perennialists
designate Evola as a Traditionalist, as opposed to a Perennialist.
Below is a brief summary of the principles of the Perennialists and of Julius
Evola. Many of these same ideas can be found in the new rise of radical
Islam, as well as among the extreme far-right.
Love of Tradition
Perennialists believe there is an original source of knowledge that is
esoteric and attainable by observing the customs found in “traditional” religions
and cultures. This love of “tradition” is the reason for their disdain for
modernity.
Hatred of Modernity
The Perennialists, in an effort to counter the evils of modern philosophies,
place an exaggerated importance on human custom or tradition. This
tendency is sometimes carried to such an extent that the Perennialists will
oppose modern technology, cities, the education of women, medicine, uni-