358 N. J. Demerath III
its conflict with the political situation of the moment. And in virtually every instance
in which cultural nationalism has asserted itself against an imposed nation state, it
is the organizations and movements of the civil society that have carried the torch.
These converging developments describe to one degree or another the Balkans, Brazil,
Poland, Iran, Thailand, Indonesia, Turkey, and even India. They also describe those
many episodes in U.S. history when some aspect of the structure of civil society has
effectively wielded its interpretation of the culture of civil religion to exert the kind of
power necessary to challenge the status quo and make a difference.
Instances in which civil society works in conjunction with civil religion are more
potent than they are common. It is true that religion narrowly construed has a nar-
rowing prospect of making a difference in the world of secular affairs. But it is most
assuredly not true that religion has become a mere cipher. When its structural and
cultural potential are combined, it can still be very powerful indeed.