The threat to gay rights comes not just from the traditional religious right, but from an emerging, politically expedient alliance. This "horseshoe" coalition includes post-liberal conservatives and hard-left parties courting socially conservative immigrant communities, particularly religious Muslim constituencies in Europe.

A faction on the right is adopting the language of oppression and victimhood, creating a "woke right." If mainstream conservatives fail to reject this identitarian fringe, they risk polluting their entire movement and losing the support of the moderate majority, repeating the same mistake that damaged the left.

A useful interpretation of Nietzsche's famous quote is not about religion itself, but the death of a society's unified value system. Without a common set of foundational beliefs, factions can no longer find common ground, leading to the "horrific consequences" of intractable conflict.

After achieving significant progress in the 1960s, many Americans stopped focusing on the active defense of democracy. This created a void that the radical right filled by offering its followers a powerful sense of agency and a compelling national narrative, which liberal movements had ceased to provide.

Even for atheists, cherished Western ideals like tolerance, mercy, and humanism are not universal; they arose uniquely from Europe's Christian milieu. These values are a cultural inheritance, not a defiance of religion, and are fragile without their originating context.

Islamists strategically exploit liberal norms like tolerance and identity politics. They frame the hijab as 'empowerment' or criticism of blasphemy laws as 'Islamophobia' to dismantle core liberal values like free speech and gender equality from within the system.

Ideologies rooted in postmodernism and a victim mentality tend to foster a 'burn it down' approach to societal problems. In contrast, traditional conservative values emphasizing personal responsibility and conserving past traditions are less inclined toward mass protest and destructive action.

In rapidly secularized nations like Canada and Ireland, fervent progressive movements can function as a replacement for traditional religion. They provide a moral framework, a sense of collective identity, and an outlet for fervent belief, filling the void left by the decline of organized faith.

Doug Wilson defines Christian nationalism as a direct response to the perceived collapse of secular governance. He argues that a society without a "transcendent grounding" for its morality inevitably disintegrates, citing current cultural shifts as evidence. The movement's goal is to re-establish a public confession of dependence on God to restore social order.