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Uh ... is it news to people that american nationalism is a very religious belief system? It isn't to outsiders, I definitely heard this comparison made when I

Uh ... is it news to people that american nationalism is a very religious belief system? It isn't to outsiders, I definitely heard this comparison made when I was in school ... which was the 90's. This also feels more like americans adjusting to having explicit ideological beliefs in the first place, since the decades-long political monoculture is breaking up. There is an interesting religious feel to party affiliation in the US, but nothing particularly exceptional compared to other places. Maybe that's an outsider missing some nuance though.

remarkEon 5y ago
>Uh ... is it news to people that american nationalism is a very religious belief system? I think the "news" here, such as there actually is any, is that modern secular progressivism has adopted (transplanted?) many religious notions from e.g. Catholicism, and the comparison bothers people because the left prides itself on being anti-religious. American Nationalism has pretty much always been tied to Christianity given the history of the country, so yeah it's not surprising at all to point that out.
- sidlls 5y ago
  In America, religion has always had an outsized influence in everything, including leftist movements. It's no surprise that its influence has extended to other movements in ways both subtle and (perhaps) surprising.
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godelski 5y ago
It isn't. Politics being the new religion and growing amounts of atheism and agnosticism has commonly been the scapegoat. But it is easy to disprove. The South is extremely religious and just as radical (if not more) than the areas of the country that aren't as religious. If it was the lack of religion we'd see the political fervor be less homogeneously distributed (and similarly if religion caused this division). Neither is this news to people nor is it a good claim. But it is a believable claim so that's why we're talking about it.

remarkEon 5y ago

>Uh ... is it news to people that american nationalism is a very religious belief system? I think the "news" here, such as there actually is any, is that modern secular progressivism has adopted (transplanted?) many religious notions from e.g. Catholicism, and the comparison bothers people because the left prides itself on being anti-religious. American Nationalism has pretty much always been tied to Christianity given the history of the country, so yeah it's not surprising at all to point that out.

sidlls 5y ago
In America, religion has always had an outsized influence in everything, including leftist movements. It's no surprise that its influence has extended to other movements in ways both subtle and (perhaps) surprising.

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godelski 5y ago

It isn't. Politics being the new religion and growing amounts of atheism and agnosticism has commonly been the scapegoat. But it is easy to disprove. The South is extremely religious and just as radical (if not more) than the areas of the country that aren't as religious. If it was the lack of religion we'd see the political fervor be less homogeneously distributed (and similarly if religion caused this division). Neither is this news to people nor is it a good claim. But it is a believable claim so that's why we're talking about it.