ABSTRACT
If current theories fail to fully explain religious nationalism today, then where do we stand? This chapter argues for a “new” theory, not in the sense of a revolutionary break from the past, but in the sense of small shifts in thinking – a tweaking of the ideas put forth by Coakley, Bruce, and others. The aim here is not to argue that the world is black or white, secular or religious, but to illuminate the shades of gray in between the two, the areas that reflect the real world that we live in every day. With any luck, the result will be a better understanding of modern religious nationalism and its roots. The ideas examined in the previous chapter are insightful. I simply seek to elucidate them further and look at the processes that make them function.
