Nationhood and religion
... However, it is slightly taboo to bring up religion in public arenas with people you know on a merely formal level, because in American culture religion is a matter of personal preference with no official bearing upon government policy or even public life. ... Religion is not, however, totally absent from our public sphere. ... The concept of nationhood and government in America is so different from that in Islamic countries that communication is stunted. ... Perhaps this new war on terrorism will seem less insurmountable if the two opposing sides can learn about one another enough to gain a little bit of respect for different points of view and different ways of constructing the concept of civilization and nationhood.