From “Civil Religion” to Nationalism as the Religion of Modern Times: Rethinking a Complex Relationship

Santiago, José

doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2009.01455.x

Cited by 32 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…However, the extent of that sanctification is indeterminate, and much depends on its relation with the divine: is the nation still “under God”? (Santiago ). If the answer is patently affirmative, this model resembles auxiliary religion.…”

Section: Nationalism and Religion: Enemies A Legitimation Storymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Roles of Religion in National Legitimation: Judaism and Zionism's Elusive Quest for Legitimacy

Abulof

2014

Scientific Study of Religion

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Why and how do nations turn to religion to justify claims for statehood? This article addresses this question in both theory and practice, showing that religion plays multiple legitimating roles that shift dynamically according to the success they yield for national movements. I posit four legitimating models: (1) nationalism instead of religion (“secular nationalism”), (2) nationalism as a religion (“civil religion”), (3) religion as a resource for nationalism (“auxiliary religion”), and (4) religion as a source of nationalism (“chosen people”). Empirically, I analyze the roles of religion in Zionist efforts to legitimate a Jewish state in Palestine. I argue that Zionism has responded to persistent delegitimation by expanding the role of religion in its political legitimation. The right of self‐determination, which stands at the core of the “secular Zionism” legitimation, has given way to leveraging Judaism, which in turn has been eclipsed by constructing a Zionist civil religion and a “chosen people” justification.

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Section: Nationalism and Religion: Enemies A Legitimation Storymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Roles of Religion in National Legitimation: Judaism and Zionism's Elusive Quest for Legitimacy

Abulof

2014

Scientific Study of Religion

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“…Importantly, as the above historical narrative begins to suggest, Ona's nationalism is intrinsically religious, not in the sense that religion is the origin of Bougainville's nationalism, but rather nationalism and religion are mutually imbricated in his conceptualization of Bougainville's independence and self‐determining logos. Ona's pronouncements shape a distinctively religious form of nationalism in which religion, and in particular both ancestral beliefs and Catholicism, provide cohesion and constitute ‘the overall mechanism for integrating signifier and motivation in systems of action’ (Brubaker cited in Santiago :399).…”

Section: Independence: Nationalism As Religionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Like Moses Who Led His People to the Promised Land: Nation‐ and State‐Building in Bougainville

Hermkens

2013

Oceania

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This article focuses on indigenous religious beliefs and practices in relation to nationalism and state‐building in conflict and post‐conflict Bougainville. Since the early seventies, people of the island of Bougainville have sought to secede from Papua New Guinea and constitute a separate sovereign state. The almost ten year long secessionist struggle between the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) and the PNG Defence Force (PNGDF) that eventuated in 1988, destroyed nearly all infrastructure, socio‐economic services, and the functions of the PNG state on the island. At the same time, the crisis also brought about the establishment of new local governments, such as ‘The Bougainville Interim Government’, as well as a new Nation: the Independent Republic, later called the Kingdom of Me'ekamui, ruled by BRA leader Francis Ona. This article explores the creation of the Me'ekamui Nation and analyses the religious underpinnings of nation‐ and state‐building in Bougainville, focusing on the performances and normative frameworks used in the endeavor to become a sovereign state.

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“…Moreover, as Bellah says, 'every nation and every people come to some form of religious self-understanding ' (1991: 168). Some authors even speak of nationalism as the religion of modernity (Santiago, 2009). This means that the historical problem of separation between Church and State as a central enclave in the process of democratization of the national state is giving way to the new issue of the different degrees of separation between culture and religion in the autochthonous and immigrant population, as we have seen in speaking of the Islamic veil (Roy, 2010).…”

Section: The Persistence Of Religion In Western Europementioning

confidence: 99%

The notion of secularization: Drawing the boundaries of its contemporary scientific validity

Pérez-Agote

2014

Current Sociology

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The notion of secularization as an incompatibility between modernization and religion derives from the analysis of the process of modernization of Western European societies. This process led to a weight loss of religion in society and to a progressive differentiation of social spheres, such as religion, politics, science, etc. Following on from this analysis the category and the theory were extended to take on a universal scope in order to describe the modernization processes that would occur in other societies. From the very beginning, sociology has provided exceptions to the rule of secularization. The first was noted by de Tocqueville: American exceptionalism. Then came the processes of rapid economic growth of some Asian Pacific countries (Japan, Korea, Singapore, etc.). Progressively, the entry of new countries into the field of interest of sociologists is showing the Eurocentric nature of the concept. The case of Western Europe, which was the rule, became the exception. Even the notion of religion as a separate social sphere is considered by some social scientists to be ethnocentric. Despite its previous Eurocentrism, the notion of secularization remains useful for sociologists. It has served to account for European religious change, and its analytical instruments can be applied to other cases and may be useful for interpreting these cases either with regard to how they adhere to the Western European model, or how they differ from it -still further, if we consider the huge extent of contemporary international migration. If sociologists want to understand the new Western European societies, they must reapply this analytical rather than predictive version of the concept.

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From “Civil Religion” to Nationalism as the Religion of Modern Times: Rethinking a Complex Relationship

Cited by 32 publications

References 16 publications

The Roles of Religion in National Legitimation: Judaism and Zionism's Elusive Quest for Legitimacy

The Roles of Religion in National Legitimation: Judaism and Zionism's Elusive Quest for Legitimacy

Like Moses Who Led His People to the Promised Land: Nation‐ and State‐Building in Bougainville

The notion of secularization: Drawing the boundaries of its contemporary scientific validity

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