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07/05/2004: "Religion of the Republic"

Is patriotism a religion? It often bears the trappings of one, with its holidays, holy writ, hymns, saints and theology; and I think there is an argument that, historically, patriotism in America was promoted to replace religion in the hearts of our citizens. I no longer have the references to support this story, but I seem to recollect it was a conscious movement in the early to mid-ninetheenth century. Need to research further, but anyway.... as a religion Americanism is highly unsystematic. As generally practiced, it is a sin to criticise a Republican president, but not a Democrat. Some public servants are idealized as if in holy orders (soldiers, firefighters, cops); others are not (librarians, IRS agents, congressmen). The Pledge of Allegience is akin to scripture, the Constitution, not so much. For these patriots, the American way of life is universally and self-evidently the right and true one; but this doesn't explain, on the one hand, why foreigners blindly insist on being patriotic to their own homelands instead of ours, even unto death; but this is probably a good thing, since in the eyes of the Americanist, this is the Promised Land for us, no others need apply.