I have written at length about this phenomenon of people who abandon their religion have this tendency to hold on to their religious thinking, which is why a lot of ex-vangelicals are wokescolds (Owen Morgan and Jimmy Snow immediately come to mind). Same personality, same cult mentality, different ideology. I wouldn't be surprised if a reverse trend soon emerges of ex-socialists becoming fundie-dunces after noticing that socialism is just as much an ideological grift. Maybe it has, and I just haven't noticed yet. I've heard people make such a claim, but I haven't seen any evidence of it.

BTW, there is a book which dissects the problem of Christ and the State quite well, it's called The Man of Sorrows, written by Elbert Hubbard in 1904. I own a vintage copy of the 1906 edition, and I plan to have the Varyag review it eventually.