So I was chatting about Juergensmeyer's book "Terror in the Mind of God" which is about religious terrorism. Some of the qualities the book touches upon in religious groups that engage in terrorism include:
Perception of a struggle that is perceived as a defense of basic identity or dignity.
Believing that losing the struggle is unthinkable.
Feeling that the ordinary options for resolving problems are blocked.
Satanizing one's opponents.
This does sound like what happens in religious terrorist groups across the religious spectrum. You know what it also sounds like. Individuals engaging in identity politics on the left and the right. Remove some of the notions of cosmic war then a lot of identity politics has great similarity to the mentality of religious terrorists.
This is one of the reasons why no matter who wins in November we will see violence and unrest. Not looking forward to that.