One of the things about Trump that pisses me off the most:

[Ol Janx Spirit]

13. It seems an important factor to the success of their efforts over the last 40 years has been...

...the particular brand of conservative religion that so many--especially rural Republicans--have been steeped in.

In their do-as-you're-told and don't-ask-questions world, it is not a long walk to join a political cult. Believing in lies is just part of the curriculum--as is the fear of not believing in them.

In their world, the story of Abraham binding his son Isaac to an alter for sacrifice in order to prove his faith is something to be heralded and not hidden. When you teach your children that it is reasonable for a deity to ask you to kill your own children as a profession of faith, you are planting the seeds for all sorts of other abuses being normal in their young minds.

And on the other side of that equation: believing that there is a deity that will punish your every sin means that when bad behavior goes unpunished it must be acceptable to said deity. Sure, there may be punishment in the afterlife, but the belief that anyone can ask for forgiveness at any time and be forgiven by a merciful god basically nullifies that fear.

Reason and logic have very difficult times climbing the walls of that fort....