De-secularized national movements retain messianic content as their legitimacy basis.

Evidence

In that respect, Zionist national consciousness was not separate from the theological myth, but was rather a particular interpretation of that myth, considered to be the exclusive understanding of the Scriptures. Secularization in Zionism meant the nationalization of religious-messianic conceptions, not their replacement. … Accordingly, one can summarize the secular perception as follows: God does not exist, but he promised us the Land. — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 315

Categorization

• XREF: Directly feeds the reader’s research on sacralization: shows a ‘secular’ national movement whose legitimacy still rests on divine promise — the mechanism by which political conflicts become sacralized and resist compromise. — connects to: Even secular revolution preserves the theological structure of politics — Gil Anidjar, The Jew, the Arab: A History of the…, 70; Secular and religious frames obscure persistent messianic assumptions in nationalism. — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 318; Religious claims can serve legitimacy or resistance functions in nationalism — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 207 (+2 more)
• DEEPTHINKING: The God-does-not-exist-but-He-promised-us-the-Land formulation is a dense, paradigm-shifting compression of how the sacred persists inside the secular — a top-tier formulation worth sitting with.
• QUESTION: Worth chasing: does this ‘theological secularism’ pattern hold across other settler-national projects, and does it predict when a conflict will resist rational-moral correction?

Broader Connections

• Even secular revolution preserves the theological structure of politics #corroborates (0.90) — Gil Anidjar, The Jew, the Arab, 70
• Secular and religious frames obscure persistent messianic assumptions in nationalism. #corroborates (0.90) — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 318
• Religious claims can serve legitimacy or resistance functions in nationalism #expands (0.75) — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 207
• Messianic nationalism combines western hostility with universal salvation claims #expands (0.75)
• Secular government functions as a continuation of religious authority by other means #corroborates (0.75) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 564