Secularist bias hid that nationalism and religion fused while remaining distinct

Evidence

We share the argument that has been broadly accepted in postcolonial literature that secularist and Eurocentric biases have shaped the view that nationalism replaced religion and became a distinctive category, as also highlighted by some contributors to this volume (e.g., Chapters 2, 4, 9, 10, and 13). Yet, while we accept this view, we also concur with Brubaker (2012, 16) that there remains the case that “the fundamental point of reference of nationalist politics is ‘the nation,’” and that political claims are made in the name of the nation and its distinctive doctrine of sources of legitimacy and political authority. This is why Brubaker argues for approaching the two – religion and nationalism – as fundamentally different despite their discursive intertwining. — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 70

Categorization

• DEFINE: Establishes the analytic frame: religion and nationalism as intertwined yet fundamentally distinct, the volume’s central conceptual move.
• XREF: connects to: Religion and nationalism are fused throughout secular Zionism, not only in religious nationalism. — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 523; Distinguishes ‘full fusion’ nationalisms from mere religiously-inflected ones by whether religion defines the nationalism — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 102; Nationalisms vary in how fully religion defines them rather than merely residue — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 102 (+9 more)

Broader Connections

• Distinguishes ‘full fusion’ nationalisms from mere religiously-inflected ones by whether religion defines the nationalism #expands (0.95) — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 102
• Nationalisms vary in how fully religion defines them rather than merely residue #expands (0.90) — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 102
• Religion and nationalism mutually constitute identity and resist clean separation #corroborates (0.85) — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 292
• Religion and nationalism fuse when religious symbols represent the nation #qualifies (0.80) — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 71
• Religion fuses with nationalism only when it legitimizes actual state governance #qualifies (0.75) — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 75
• Nationalism’s borrowings from religion do not make religion its source #corroborates (0.75) — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 946
• National religion fusion silences religious critiques of the state #expands (0.75)
• Secular and religious frames obscure persistent messianic assumptions in nationalism. #corroborates (0.70) — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 318