civic religion
Nation as sacred
Civic religion refers to the quasi-religious reverence surrounding a nation's founding documents, symbols, rituals, and heroes.
In the United States, this includes veneration of the Constitution, the flag, the Founders, and ceremonies like the Pledge of Allegiance.
The term captures how patriotic observance takes on sacred qualities—shared myths, holy texts, saints and martyrs—without being formally religious: The Fourth of July functions as civic religion's highest holy day.
- flagCloth symbol or signal
- pledgeBinding promise given
- national anthemOfficial patriotic composition
- paradeCeremonial public procession
- anthemOfficial song of praise
Fourth of July · monument · war memorial · civil rights movement · national myths · oath · social contract · ceremony · historical narratives · government · town square · democracy · citizenship · founding fathers · collective identity · constitution · sacred symbols · patriotism
- French CatholicismCatholic Church, Roman Catholicism, Notre-Dame, Sacre-Coeur, Joan of Arc
- ideologyideology, worldview, belief system, values, collectivism
- national mythsfounding myth, founding myths, national origin, origin story, origin stories
- state religionestablished church, national church, religious establishment, state funding, theocracy
- religious nationalismreligious nationalism, theocracy, Zionism, Islamism, caliphate