Robert Montgomery
July 10, 2022·4 min read
Asheville Citizen-Times

Most Americans remember how we won in the Revolutionary War. We fought against a much stronger professional army, often retreating and losing battles, yet in the end succeeded in defeating the British, with important help from the French Navy.

The nationalistic fervor of the American revolutionaries played an important part. Nationalism is very useful when opposing outside domination as America did in its Revolution. America’s Revolution became an inspiration for many peoples to obtain their independence from outside domination.

I remember the nationalistic fervor in China where I grew up. Foreigners were called “foreign devils” everywhere we went. There was good reason for the resentment against foreigners after the “century of humiliation” of unequal treaties that included the coercion of China to buy opium in the name of “free trade.” In the competition between the Communists and the Nationalists after World War II, the Communists were able to win eventually because they were able to identify themselves as more nationalistic than the Nationalist Party. The Communist showed their extreme nationalism by expelling all foreigners.

Ho Chi-Min was a waiter in Paris after World War I and was inspired by President Wilson’s vision of the right of national sovereignty. Although Ho wanted to meet Wilson, he did not get the opportunity. History might have been different, if Wilson had met Ho. America was so blinded by the danger of Communism that it did not see that the basic desire of the Vietnamese was to gain national independence. They had fought the domination of their northern neighbor, China, for 1,000 years. The American defeat in Vietnam was in large part accomplished by the ability of the North Vietnamese to identify themselves as more nationalistic than the corrupt autocrats we were allied with. After America left Vietnam, it became one of our good friends.

America has also been involved in a series of nations in the Middle East (Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan) where internal groups harnessed nationalistic fervor to oppose, and in some case remove, the forces we backed. Right now, the leader of Ukraine, President Zelensky, is using nationalistic fervor to overcome the Russian invasion, and it appears to be succeeding.

For some reason, leaders of outside forces seem to underestimate the power of the emotions behind nationalism and the power of nationalistic forces against superior outside forces. This is surprising because Americans were very inspired by nationalism in our Revolution. You have to feel nationalistic fervor in yourself to realize its power. Unfortunately, nationalistic fervor can combine with other emotions that people have. One is from ethnicity. Nationalism can be mixed with ethnic consciousness and especially fear of the loss of ethnic identity. “Replacement theory” is attempting to call on such fear to oppose development of a diverse society in which people of every ethnic background can create a unified society in America that benefits everyone.

Another dangerous connection is when people mix religion with nationalism. We are seeing that in America in the “Christian nationalism” movement. They want their nation to endorse and protect their religion from non-believers. Autocrats and non-democratic movements have a history of using religion to gain support. Remember Constantine? The quasi religion of Communism has used resentment against foreign domination to gain support from populations. Western colonialism helped to create many nationalistic movements against Western domination. The nationalistic spirit can be used by both autocrats and democracies. Unfortunately, nationalism can also be used against those who seek cooperation with other nations. The “America First” slogan represents a non-cooperative nationalism. “America First” people use this slogan to oppose important areas of international cooperation, such as the UN, the World Health Organization, and NATO. A healthy ethnically mixed democracy like America balances international cooperation with national needs, such as domestic industries, international trade, and defense.

A basic need for a democracy is to maintain a healthy nationalism. It is wise to realize the power of nationalism, but to avoid extreme nationalism that uses people’s emotions in unhelpful and destructive ways. Nations should be able to protect their national identity, but at the same time interact with other nations in ways that are mutually beneficial. The health and well-being of stronger nations is enhanced by contributing to the well-being of weaker nations. For example, we see this clearly in relation to pandemics, but also in general economic development. Another example: America can and should do much to aid the countries to our south to be strong democracies with strong economies.

Rev. Robert L. Montgomery, who holds a Ph.D. in social scientific studies of religion, lives in Black Mountain.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: 'Replacement theory' and the danger of mixing religion and nationalism