vexillolatry means the worship of a flag or flags. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 82 out of 100.
Why “vexillolatry” is a great word
VEXILLOLATRY — [Noun] An excessive or idolatrous veneration of a flag as a sacred object, often conflating the symbol with the ideals it represents. From the Latin vexillum ("flag, banner") and the combining form -latry (from Greek -latreia, "worship"). Unlike "patriotism," which denotes a devotion to one's country, or "vexillology," which is the neutral, academic study of flags, vexillolatry is the elevation of cloth and dye to the altar. It is the stiff-backed silence before a folded triangle, the fevered burning of a rival emblem, and the profound belief that a desecrated standard is a wound upon the soul—a quiet substitution where the flawless symbol eclipses the complex, flawed nation it was meant to represent.
Etymology
From vexillo- + -latry.
noun
- The worship of a flag or flags.“Beginning when I was about twelve, I railed, silently, against having to begin school each day by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, with right hand over heart, if you can imagine such shameless vexillolatry.”