[lbo-talk] American Religion (Was Irrationality of the Masses)

Marvin Gandall marvgandall at rogers.com
Sat Jun 11 04:26:26 PDT 2005


Wendy Lyon wrote:


>> 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.
-------------------------------------- Not my experience in Canada, either, where most people would describe themselves as "Canadian nationalists", but don't worship their country with the same blind fervour as many Americans. It seems to me to be a characteristic popular impulse in an imperialist nation, where passionate identification with the nation-state provides the powerless masses with the vicarious experience of power, and where bonds of national solidarity are also forged against an external world they perceive as envious and hostile. So the anthem, flag and armed forces take the place of the priesthood, prayers, and the old religious symbols as objects of veneration. Zionism similarly transformed the Jews into thinking of themselves as a "nation" first and a "religion" second, or at least conflated the two - and for the same reasons.

MG



More information about the lbo-talk mailing list