It gives them meaning in their lives, whereas conservatives generally have it through their career and love of family, the "liberal" activist gets their sense of self-worth (validation) solely from their "right side of history" group affiliation.
The hole that religion fills is filled by their activism. But they are decidedly not on the right side of history, and have completely lost the plot, as evidecned by such posts like azurricat's, who is told somewhere by the group that a Doge meme uses a gear icon, which at some point was also used in nazi iconography, must be heralding of the coming fourth reich. And he thinks you are the lunatics. IT can't be that it's just a gear icon symbolizing doge efforts of increasing efficiency/efficacy through elminating waste. No, can't be that.... must be Nazism masquerading itself by co-opting fundamental American values of freedom and free enterprise, the desire forless government interference in the lives of the poeple which has been integral to our nation since its inception.