The historical reversal over the course of several centuries in the West is striking: while language has become much "more" central to public life and "more" politically contentious, religion has become "less" central to public life and "less" politically contentious, notwithstanding the resurgence of public religion in recent decades, and despite the fact that understandings of nationhood remain deeply permeated by particular religious traditions and their secular legacies. (Brubaker, 2015, p. 6)