c. 1997 Religion News Service

UNDATED _ As we anticipate the year 2000, all of us would like to believe the new century will be better than this one, which has produced two world wars, Nazism, Fascism, Communism, the Holocaust, nuclear weapons, and endless regional conflicts.

The last 100 years has rightly been labeled the”century of nationalism,”in which the highest form of devotion was offered to the nation-state. Various”fatherlands,””motherlands,”and”homelands”have demanded and received unswerving allegiance and reverence from their citizens.

Indeed, classic religious language was used to describe nationalistic ideologies during the 20th century. When young men and women died for their countries in warfare, their deaths were accorded holy status:”supreme sacrifices”offered to an”eternally thankful”nation.

In our century, land became more than God’s creation, a treasure to be nurtured and respected. Instead, nationalism sanctified land as”sacred soil.”Land was considered so sacred that millions of people were slaughtered on the altar of nationalism defending territory against an”evil”invader, usually a neighboring state. And, of course, the opposite justification was provided when nations went to war to gain coveted lands from their neighbors. Either way, millions died.

Language, race, and blood were defining identities for many states during the 20th century. And if certain citizens did not share those characteristics, it became a national”mission”to”cleanse”the state of such inferior peoples. And if a mass”exile”of the”impure”people was not possible or desired, genocide effectively rid a nation of its despised”surplus”population.

In the nationalist ferment of this century, it is no accident that more than 120 new states have declared or gained their independence since World War II ended in 1945.

The futurists who make their livings predicting what lies ahead gloomily tell us the new century will simply be more of the same _ a tragic continuation of nationalist fervor.

But I believe they are wrong. My vision of the new century is different from the futurists, but it’s still grim. I predict violent religion, not nationalism, will be the driving force of the 21st century.

While the end of the Cold War and its menacing Moscow-Washington confrontation has eased fears of global atomic war, many at century’s end feel even democratic forms of nationalism have not and cannot usher in the longed-for messianic era. This growing disenchantment with democracy has created a vacuum of belief being filled by religious extremism.

Spiritual zealots continually charge that democracy is”profane”and”immoral”_ even”ungodly”_ because it is not rooted in a holy text. The constant use of such harsh language will force many of the disillusioned to embrace extreme forms of religion as a convenient answer to questions personal and political.

This is already happening in many parts of the world.”Secular”political regimes are regularly denounced as sinful, atheistic, and wicked; the violence hurled against them is more than verbal. It often includes terrorist attacks and well-organized underground movements seeking to replace presidents and prime ministers with religious leaders wielding absolute power.

If the hammer and sickle have failed, and if national symbols such as eagles, lions, and rising suns are severely weakened, the only thing remaining is traditional religion, which never goes out of date and never disappoints.

In the new theocracies, such as Iran, the dirtiest word of all is”pluralism.”Political dissent is cruelly crushed, members of minority religions are persecuted, religious dialogue is banned, nascent women’s movements are smashed, and spiritual uniformity is forcibly imposed upon an entire population.

The Western democracies, including the United States, are painfully seeking to achieve a balance between religion and the political system even as their populations become increasingly multi-religious and multi-ethnic. Whose rule is supreme in a democracy? The laws of a flesh and blood government or”God’s law?” But who has the authority to define God’s law for an entire nation? And what happens when a religious leader’s understanding of the divine will directly conflicts with the law based upon a constitution and democratically elected officials?

If you thought the 20th century was difficult, welcome to the millennium. Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

MJP END RUDIN