I have been staring aghast at the undilluted hateful pettyness of the american “religious right” (which is neither) and wondering how religious sentiment can be so perverted. Maybe modernity has something to do with it: when a ritual becomes empty, when a prayer is done just for show, performing it can only be an excercise in hypocrisy. If a religious dogma is no longer believable (because the advance of knowledge has made it ridiculous, or it no longer fits a changing world), many people will still hold on to it, but they will be unable to do so in an honest manner. At this point every prayer, every bending of the knee, will be a soul-corrupting excercise. And the most religious people will be the worst of all.