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This research examined the psychological underpinnings of concern for national symbols and ritualistic-ceremonial activities or "symbolic involvement." We propose and test a distinction between symbolic and "instrumental" involvement or concern for the functionality of national institutions and their capability to provide instrumental benefits to citizens. Items comprising the two constructs were found to be empirically distinct, evidenced by statistically reliable and orthogonal dimensions in exploratory factor analysis. Moreover, evidence based on divergent patterns of relations with various forms of national membership indicates that symbolic and instrumental involvement are rooted in distinct motivational concerns related to identity expression and object appraisal, respectively. These findings suggest that national symbolism evokes a psychological attachment to the nation as an abstracted social entity, but not as a concrete functional system.

A classic article which examined American civil religion and triggered an academic discussion about civil religion in multiple countries. This is a reprint version of the article that appeared first in Daedalus, volume 96 #1 (Winter 1967), pp. 1-21.

This introduction considers the significance of Michael Billig's (1995) Banal Nationalism to geographers, and how this fits into broader trends of nationalism research in the social sciences. Through an analysis of Web of Science citation trends for the book, we illustrate its spatial and temporal reach in terms of the countries where it has been cited and how its impact has developed since 1995. We also briefly examine how political geographers have engaged the concept of banal nationalism in their research, and what sort of questions it has raised for those conducting research on nationalist discourses and territorial identity narratives more broadly. Considering how political geographers might creatively advance this scholarship, we introduce the individual papers included in this special issue and conclude with a brief gesture to future directions for research beyond Banal Nationalism.

Vexillology is defined by many organizations - including the lnternational Federation of Vexillological Associations and the North American Vexillological Association - as the "scientific study of flags." Exactly what that means is not clear to many. This article presents an overview history, exemplifying many of the issues involved in vexillologicalstudy and suggesting options for future development.

Chapters: What is American civil religion?; America: the name, the concept, and the word; Jamestown and its anniversaries; The Mayflower Compact ; Plymouth Rock, the Pilgrims, and the Indians; City on a hill: from Jesus to Winthrop, Kennedy, and Reagan; The Freedom Trail and Boston Common; The Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and the slave quarters ; The flag; The Declaration of Independence; The Great Seal and the dollar bill; The Constitution; Washington, D.C.: the city, the Capitol, and the White House; The Star-Spangled Banner; The Washington Monument; The Battle Hymn of the Republic; Gettysburg and the Gettysburg Address; Lincoln's second inaugural address; Arlington National Cemetery; The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island; America the Beautiful; The Lincoln Memorial; Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills; God Bless America ; This Land is Your Land; The four freedoms; Iwo Jima: the picture, the monuments, and the battle; Disney parks; The Kennedy inaugural; Kings' speeches: the Mall (1963) and Memphis (1968); Vietnam Veterans Memorial; Transforming the National Mall; Ground zero, martyrdom, and empire; Conflict, consensus, and the future

In the mid-twentieth century scholars in the United States began to examine American society through the lens of civil religion, a term first coined by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in the eighteenth century. Although much of the discussion focused on civil religion in the US, other scholars began to recognise that a civil religion also existed in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. While American civil religion developed organically within all strata of society, it can be argued that in the Soviet Union there was a deliberate strategy to use civil religion as a tool to replace established religion, and to create a single sense of Soviet identity among a geographically-dispersed and ethnically-diverse population. Most studies on Soviet civil religion have focused on communist rites and rituals, and the ‘cult’ of Lenin. Few scholars have examined the elaborate system of symbols that were essential to reinforcing Soviet civil religion so that it became an everyday aspect of life in the USSR. This thesis seeks to fill that gap by examining the simvolika, or set of symbols, of the Soviet Union. While the official state symbols included the Soviet flag, state emblem, and national anthem, the set of symbols that were vital to the practice of Soviet civil religion was much more extensive. This study will examine the usage of an array of flags, seals, symbolic elements, imagery, and motifs that were essential to the socialisation of children and the reinforcement of Soviet civil religion in adulthood. Finally, it will examine the symbolic legacies of the USSR in the countries that were once part of the Soviet Union.

The Australian national flag is the primary symbol of the nation. The flag produces and reproduces national identity through its presence in all spheres of the public domain. This thesis is an examination into the national flag’s representational force. It focuses on how the flag makes meaning in accordance with dominant discourses of nation and nationhood through an analysis of its uses and applications across a range of institutional sites. The thesis also takes into consideration the meaning-making potential of the national flag for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This work deploys a wide-range of historical and contemporary sources that include art and literary responses to the flag. The thesis also draws on a range of theoretical works on nation alongside the use of vexillology as a focused study of flags. A critique of the messages and meanings that the Australian national flag transmits raises important questions pertaining to the way the nation is constructed and maintained. While the thesis does not proffer a definitive solution to the many complexities surrounding Australian national identity, it offers the opportunity for further study as debates about changing the flag continue to circulate in the public sphere.

This thesis analyses the symbolic changes in the expression of white Rhodesian identity from the arrival of the settlers in 1890 and subsequent establishment of the Colony until the independence of Zimbabwe in 1980. It examines the concepts of ‘nation’ and ‘identity’. It is generally agreed that national symbols, such as flags, anthems, coats of arms, and the like, not only represent the ‘nation’ but also condense and express the values, history and memories associated with it. The thesis argues that initially Rhodesians considered and identified themselves to be quintessentially British and loyal members of the Empire which was demonstrated through the use of Imperial symbols such as the Crown and the Union Jack. However, following the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in November 1965, the need for a more distinctive local identity became more acute as the country moved to sever its imperial links and became ostracised on the international stage. A new panoply of symbols was adopted to reflect this change, the most visible and long-lasting of which was the new Rhodesian flag. The flag continues to be the most emotional and contested symbol of post-UDI Rhodesian identity to this day.

The central themes of this thesis are to highlight the importance of national symbols and ceremonies in the formation of nations and national identities, and examine how they contribute to the expressions of nationhood. The research has been conducted by means of a systematic investigation of national symbols and ceremonies, analysed as an integral part of identity-making, maintenance and change. The focus is on the contemporary European nations, and conclusions have been drawn with regard to their symbolism and ceremonies. The overall study has been complemented by three case studies; of Britain, France, Norway, with Germany as an analytical counter-case. Throughout this thesis evidence will be provided to the effect that national symbols and ceremonies express deeper aspects and meanings of the nation, and function as integrative and/or divisive forces. Moreover, national symbols and ceremonies form a central part of a `secular' religion which provides anchorage in a dynamic world. National symbols and ceremonies also have an effect upon the community they represent; that is, they raise collective consciousness of `who we are' and `where we are from'. Finally, it has been argued that nations cannot be dated in a precise manner since they come into being by stages, marked by the adoption of national symbols, such as the national flag and the national day. These stages have been linked to three main symbolic regimes (termed `old', `modem' and `new') and understood as a function of national independence and continuity, the implication being that the whole process of nation building forms a complex that is constituted along a continuum of re-discovery and invention.

In the mid-twentieth century scholars in the United States began to examine American society through the lens of civil religion, a term first coined by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in the eighteenth century. Although much of the discussion focused on civil religion in the US, other scholars began to recognise that a civil religion also existed in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. While American civil religion developed organically within all strata of society, it can be argued that in the Soviet Union there was a deliberate strategy to use civil religion as a tool to replace established religion, and to create a single sense of Soviet identity among a geographically-dispersed and ethnically-diverse population. Most studies on Soviet civil religion have focused on communist rites and rituals, and the 'cult' of Lenin. Few scholars have examined the elaborate system of symbols that were essential to reinforcing Soviet civil religion so that it became an everyday aspect of life in the USSR. This thesis seeks to fill that gap by examining the simvolika, or set of symbols, of the Soviet Union. While the official state symbols included the Soviet flag, state emblem, and national anthem, the set of symbols that were vital to the practice of Soviet civil religion was much more extensive. This study will examine the usage of an array of flags, seals, symbolic elements, imagery, and motifs that were essential to the socialisation of children and the reinforcement of Soviet civil religion in adulthood. Finally, it will examine the symbolic legacies of the USSR in the countries that were once part of the Soviet Union "An adaptation of the doctoral thesis in history submitted as part of the requirements for the PhD degree at the University of Leicester (UK), 2021".,

Analyzes the result of a survey given to 200 college students to assess their knowledge of American flag history, their opinions on some controversial arguments over appropriate flag usage, and within the panoply of symbols that are used to evoke and represent America, how they might rank and group other symbols beyond the most obvious, the American flag.

American Sāmoa, a territory of the United States, officially flies the Stars and Stripes of the U.S. as well as its own territorial flag, which features an American bald eagle along with some uniquely Sāmoan symbols and a red, white, and blue color scheme. More recently, an additional, unofficial flag has been flown in the Manu‘a archipelago—a district of American Sāmoa—that features a chicken, which has a deeply historical, regional, and symbolic significance, and that employs a red, green, and yellow color scheme reflective of other Manu‘a-specific material culture. This article charts the author’s experiences living and working in American Sāmoa and his efforts to understand the history and cultural significance of the territory’s many flags, as well as the ways in which these flags are interpreted and contested between and within islands and districts. Analysis of these flags is an opportunity for further discussions of colonialism and indigenous symbolism.

Discusses incentive flags that were used to promote industrial production and investment in the war effort in the United States during World War II.