To explain what is actually going you'd really need someone who understands, because they are part of the religious tradition within which it takes place. We can try to do that, maybe, for some of the strange ways our own particular tradition, whatever that may be, can throw up, but there's a real limit to how far we can, when we trespass beyond that.

There are points of similarity here with things that happen within other "faith communities", including the fact that within any expression of populist religious fervour there are going to be some people whose involvement is a lot more extreme than others, and that can distort our understanding of what is actually taking place.

The truth is, religion is dangerous. So is electricity. I remember reading once about a local legislature somewhere which voted to abolish electricity. There've been plenty of legislatures which, in their day, have voted to abolish religion. About as effective in both cases.