Preface: A Dangerous Epiphany

Recently, I suddenly realized a phenomenon: the “nationalism” we take for granted is astonishingly similar to traditional religious faith.

It possesses its own deity (the leader), its own scripture (the ideology/platform), its own saints (the war heroes), and even a complete set of rituals (flag-raising), hymns (the national anthem), and sacred sites (revolutionary relics). What is even more terrifying is that it also possesses its own exclusion of others—the heathen (foreigners) and the heretics (thought criminals).

This similarity is no coincidence. When we piece these fragments together, an unsettling conclusion emerges: Modern nationalism is essentially a “modern deification movement” that fills the vacuum of faith in the secular state. One might even say it is a highly destructive “National Cult.”

I. The Vacuum of Faith and the Birth of the “National Cult”

Why does nationalism evolve into religion?

Psychology tells us that “religious sentiment” is like appetite and libido—it is an innate human instinct. We need a sense of belonging; we need to worship something grander than the individual. After the Enlightenment, traditional religion declined; God “died,” as Nietzsche put it, but the spiritual void in humanity remains.

Political leaders, seeking powerful social mobilization, and ordinary people, seeking a new spiritual refuge, found a perfect match. The “nation-state” thus ascended to the altar.

This is a clever “swapping of heaven for earth” (or “stealing the heavens and replacing them with the earth”). The evangelists of nationalism, with the passion of missionaries, elevate loyalty to the nation into a sacred obligation. From then on, patriotism is no longer a rational contract, but a fervent faith.

II. The Complete “Theological System”

If we examine nationalism through the lens of religious studies, we find it possesses a perfectly closed-loop system:

  1. The Deity of the Present World (The Deity): This deity is no longer the ethereal God, but the embodied Great Leader. He is omniscient and omnipotent, the incarnation of the national will. His portrait hangs in every home, much like a divine statue.
  2. The Scripture of Absolute Truth (Scripture): From My Struggle to various “Little Red Books,” the leader’s works are not merely political theories; they are scriptures. All students must memorize them; they are the highest guide for action, unquestionable.
  3. Rituals & Totems (Rituals & Totems): The national flag is the core object of worship (the relic), for which complex flag-raising ceremonies are designed (the worship). When the national anthem plays, everyone must stand at attention (religious reverence). Military parades and marches are religious frenzies demonstrating power.
  4. Sacred Geography & Pilgrimage (Sacred Geography): Just as Christians yearn for Jerusalem, nationalists have their own sacred sites (such as Yan’an or Nuremberg). Visiting these places is not merely tourism; it is “receiving spiritual baptism,” going to venerate the leader’s relics, which are treated like “holy artifacts.”
  5. Saints & Martyrs (Saints & Martyrs): Every nation-state has its own “Martyrs’ Cemetery.” The war heroes who died for the nation replace the position of religious saints. Their deaths are imbued with a meaning transcending life—eternal life for the sake of the “Great Cause.”

III. From “Religion” to “Cult”: The Logic of Destroying Humanity

If nationalism were merely an ordinary religion, it might not be so threatening. Its greatest problem is not that it is a religion, but that it often manifests as a “cult.”

Traditional religions (like Christianity) may have dark histories, but their core doctrines often include universal values—loving humanity, compassion, humility. However, the goodness of nationalism is exclusive; its love is confined within the borders.

This narrow “sacredness” leads to extremely terrifying consequences:

1. Destruction of Basic Humanity When “loyalty to the nation” becomes the supreme criterion, all human ethical bottom lines can be breached.

  • We have seen Bo XX, who, in order to draw a line, denounced his own father;
  • We have seen Zhang Hongbing, who, out of loyalty to the leader, personally sent his mother to the execution ground. In this fervor, love for family, for friends, for fellow humans, must all yield to the “abstract nation.” This is the typical characteristic of a cult: stripping away your humanity, leaving only party loyalty or ethnic loyalty.

2. Seeking and Purging Heretics Nationalism cannot tolerate noise.

  • External Heathens (Foreigners): Tolerated normally, but during wartime, a “holy war” is launched against them, dehumanizing them so they can be slaughtered.
  • Internal Heretics (Thought Criminals): This is the group that frightens it the most. Intellectuals who hold dissenting views, criticize the leader, or fail to participate in the frenzy are viewed as “traitors” or “spiritual foreigners.” They are imprisoned, exiled, or “burned at the stake” in the public sphere.

3. “Outsourcing” Morality and Anesthesizing Conscience Why did Nazi officers lack guilt during the Holocaust? Why could militarists smile while beheading civilians? Because in the logic of the cult, the individual is no longer the subject of morality. The believer “submits” their conscience to the state and the leader.

  • “I am not killing; I am executing a sacred command.”
  • “This is not a crime; this is for the survival space of the nation.” This mechanism successfully abstracts specific, bloody crimes into a “great cause.” As Hannah Arendt said about the “banality of evil,” it turns ordinary people into thoughtless parts, allowing them to willingly become accomplices to the devil under a veneer of illusory honor.

4. Corruption and Reshaping of Language The cult shields reality by inventing a new language:

  • Invasion is not called “invasion,” but “special action” or “co-prosperity”;
  • Massacre is not called “massacre,” but “purification” or “final solution”;
  • Hatred is not called “hatred,” but “patriotism” or “firm stance.” In this linguistic fog, the bottom line of humanity is easily breached, and atrocities are draped in a sacred cloak.

5. War: Bloody Sacrifice The most dangerous aspect of nationalism is that it possesses a great mission (such as unifying territory, reviving the empire, liberating lost lands). This is the secular version of “soteriology” (the doctrine of salvation). For this “sacred mission,” any price is acceptable. It makes ordinary people believe they are guardians of an ideal, causing them to willingly march onto the battlefield to slaughter another group that has also been brainwashed. It is not technological progress that leads to more dead, but nationalism—this spiritual atomic bomb—that makes the slaughter “sublime” and “just.”

IV. Guarding Against the “Kidnapped” Political Sphere

Dictators often believe they can control this dragon, using nationalism to extend their political life. But this is an extremely foolish gamble.

Once this machine starts, it reinforces itself. “Patriotism” evolves into hatred for other nations, evolves into blind obedience to the leader, and evolves into tyranny over others. Finally, when public opinion is stoked to the extreme, the government is often kidnapped by the monster it created, forced onto the irreversible path of war.

Conclusion: Is Patriotism a Crime?

In the narrative of nationalism, patriotism is the highest virtue; “My nation, whether right or wrong” is the supreme creed.

But if we examine it under the light of reason, we must bravely answer: Yes, within the framework of nationalism, patriotism is a crime.

Because this “patriotism” means abandoning the judgment of right and wrong; it means admitting that the collective is always correct; it means being ready to sacrifice individual life and freedom for the collective vanity at any moment.

True virtue should not be built upon hatred for others. Above nationalism, there is humanity; above party loyalty, there is conscience. Maintaining rationality and guarding against fanaticism—this may be our final self-salvation in this noisy age; let us not become another sacrifice on the altar of fervor.