Ask Lemmy

I think the main principle behind it is what conservatives call "virtue signaling" - associating with things that make them appear pious, strong or respectable to signal to others how virtuous they themselves are.

• Running around with "God Wins" flags and spouting bible quotes online both gives them an edge in discussion (in the "if you disagree with me you're going against god" sense) and makes them appear pious
• Similarly, carrying around guns and posting pictures of their guns and tacticool gear is an attempt to appear strong and dangerous
• Same with flags or flag-themed clothes, calling themselves patriots and so on once again hits into the same notch.

From my PoV your observation seems spot on. A good portion of Amerca's religious community these days is just appropriating religion for the respect and authority it brings while practicing almost none of its virtues.

I think, as a big picture view, any religion is very prone to drift. If you demand utter reverence and obedience to a god that is at the same time also the weakest possible being (one that doesn't exist), you get a plaything that stands for everything and for nothing - aka whatever the general mood of the population wants or what those who are most adept at assuming its authority want it to be.

Consider "Prosperity Theology,," popular in Nigeria, for example, where an entire subculture has assumed the belief that the god from Christianity rewards the pious with material wealth, thus, the richer one is, the more faithful and holier they must be.