A surge in secessionist theology

Corruption has gone too far. The righteous must break away. Hope now rests with a holy remnant that honors foundational texts.

The message sounds familiar. A church schism? No, mounting calls for secession from the United States.

Since President Obama won reelection, more than 750,000 Americans have petitioned the White House website to let their respective states secede. The petitions range from Alaska to Iowa to Maryland to Vermont. Those leading the charge are framing it, observers say, in terms suggesting that a deep-seated religious impulse for purity through separation is flaring up once again.