In this patriotic season, is nationalism idolatry?

“All Nationalism is Idolatry” blared the headline of an opinion paper in California, arguing that “the Christian scriptures contend that all allegiance to the God of love is paramount, and yet all modern (and ancient) nation-states enact a religious pageantry that demands the total allegiance of its citizens.”

Of course, this is a serious accusation. In ”Moral Man and Immoral Society,” Reinhold Ni...