exclusivist tendencies can be challenged.

Our analyses of both of

these cases offer cautionary reminders that liberal democracies
1
are not immune from chauvinistic tendencies to which national­
ism in all of its varieties is prone. Chapters 2 and 3 adapt a few
paragraphs from Jason A. Springs, "Civil Religion," in Richard What Is 11 Religious'' about
D. Hecht and Vincent f. Biondo III (eds.), Religion and Culture: Con­
temporary Practices and Perspectives (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress
11
Religious Nationalism''?
Press, 2012).
Finally, Chapters 4 through 8 provide readers with a set of
reference tools (chronology, biographical sketches, data and docu­
ments, a directory of organizations, further resources, and a glos­
sary) which aim to facilitate further reading and research, and
orient our audience to the many broader debates surrounding
religious nationalism.

Defining Nationalism
In the modern era, nationalism refers to a group identity defined
in terms of political, ethnic, or cultural identities, associations,
and attachments. Based on this understanding, nationalism is
identified by common features that a group of people recognize
as holding them together as a nation ("a people"). For example,
such attachments may relate to the operations of a particular state
or government (e.g., French or U.S. nationalism), participation in
the life of civil society (e.g., civic nationalism), or an identifiable
ethnic, cultural, or racial community (e.g., black nationalism in
the United States).

Misconceptions about Religious Nationalism

Many people assume that nationalism is basically a nonreligious,
or secular, phenomenon and that religious nationalism alters or
perverts that phenomenon by adding a religious component. On
this account, religion is usually viewed as a matter of personal
belief and practice, and thus something that should be contained
within the private sphere. Furthermore, proponents of this per­
spective believe that religion and nationalism should not be mixed
because doing so leads to dangerous, fanatical, and uniquely
explosive results. In other words, religion infuses nationalism with
an "otherworldly" significance, which is considered superstitious,