Are Catholics Following A False American Civil Religon

This is always a constant theme by some Catholics. There is a uptick in these posts around certain American Holidays like when something happens like Amy Wellborn describes here in Rome -

How to get a bunch of Americans to start tearing up, immediately?
Start playing America the Beautiful as your closing song at a Thanksgiving day Mass at an American-centered parish in a foreign country. Even if it’s Italy, and even if it’s a beautiful Roman day outside. Halfway through the first verse, I looked around, and saw six people wiping their eyes.
Funny thing. Because it’s more than “I miss a clothes dryer, I miss going to Wal-Mart, I miss driving a car” as one person said to me this week. It’s just something else, hard to define.
It was Thanksgiving Day Mass at Santa Susanna, the American parish in Rome, run by the Paulists. I got there about halfway through, so I didn’t hear Cardinal Foley’s homily. But I did meet him as he juggled coffee and a muffin, and also had the great honor of meeting Ambassador Mary Ann Glendon, who was there in attendance, and read President Bush’s Thanksgiving Day proclamation after Mass. EWTN’s Joan Lewis was there, but was busy chatting with several others, so I didn’t have a chance to meet her. She’s quite the energetic lady, it seems.

I am sure there was a segement of Catholics that did not find that inspiring as Amy or the teary eyed people at Mass in Rome.. An American flag in a Catholic Church gives them hives. The singing of American the Beautiful at Mass gives them fits and don't even get them started if the Priest Homily is on the related holiday.

While at times there is truth to some complaints in extreme cases I think most of these charges are overblown and wrongheaded.

I thought American Catholic had a good common sense post on this accusation some of us get that we are worshiping a heretical American Civic Religion.