I think you are misreading the larger context.

The Christian Church is losing congregants because the weaponized conspiracy theories are appealing to the conspiratorial exercise of power that American Christianity has always indulged in.

People are either leaving Christianity because it is too unpopular or because they are joining the conspiracy/ extremism movement.

I don't think people are leaving Christianity because they are fundamentally becoming anti-religious or less religious.

It's just being replaced with something else.

You meant to include agnostics, right?

@domos I think you are right. Social trends are often more complex than they seem, and there are usually things going on under the surface that the mass media never picks up on.

@Mb_Man the tools of targeted advertising are being combined with America's heritage of conspiracies in a weaponized way.

I do not want to inject another conspiracy into the mix but I find it hard to conceive of another way to accomplish a literal civil war that's different than what the Republicans have been doing.

The last 40 years of education policy has basically primed white Americans to demand a deliberate form of ignorance that they are determined to maintain with the recent patriotic education and attempts to shut down education on racism.

It is important to note that racist conspiracies, and beliefs have been the primary means of motivating and growing the far right base of supporters since the tea party.

The conspiracies are basically providing the conspiratorial exercise of power that these people use to get out of religion..

So were my 2 Uncles in WWII and me and a whole lot of Aussies in Vietnam as well.