> Or so it appears from the outside. I can't think of another country where
> nationalism has assumed such a quasi-mystical religious character, except
> maybe Israel. Probably it was also true of Roman, British, and other
> imperialisms.
Maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but are you suggesting that it's unusual for people of non-American nationalities to think of themselves as "nationality" first and "religion" second? That's certainly not my experience living in Europe.