It all goes back to Jonathan Edwards.

I had to read that sermon in high school, as part of my studies in American Literature. It occurred to me while I studied it; "These people are totally alien to me, I have absolutely nothing in common with them. Not only are they mistaken, but they are mad, and most important, they are evil. And in a very perverse, convoluted way, they understand that perfectly as well, yet dare not admit it to themselves. That makes them dangerous, too."

I now realize how wise our teachers were in making us study the Puritans. Those who might suffer by exposure to them were already lost anyway, but the rest of us got a valuable insight into how and why things are the way they are. History and culture are a process, not a conspiracy. There is a reason for everything, but a purpose to nothing. It was a devastating insight for a young man, and it haunts me to this day.