Religion makes places stupid and drags them back in time and knowledge. The Taliban should be a warning to Christians. They have done the same thing throughout history. Christianity dragged Europe backward into the dark ages and would happily do it here. The Repubs and religious nuts are anti-science. They claim vaccines are bad. That global warming does not exist. They hate EVs. They are not able to keep up with the real world, so they shut the door after 1800. Picture America run by evangelicals. It would be on par with Afghanistan.
At one point, the Arabs were way ahead of Europe in science, math, philosophy, engineering, and much more Why do you think you use Arabic numerals? Europe was run by the Church at that time. Then Islam happened to the Middle East and they fell way behind as they became ruled by the church. Churches are violent and brutal leaders. They do not accept criticism and will destroy non-believers.