The memorial service for Charlie Kirk was intended to honour a young right-wing activist’s life, but it also revealed the combustible mix of politics, faith and identity shaping today’s United States. Tens of thousands filled a football stadium, waiting through the night for a seat, transforming a farewell into something closer to a revival meeting. Music from Christian performers, chants of national pride and a procession of high-ranking speakers fused grief with political theatre, creating an atmosphere both mournful and defiant.

Kirk’s death at just thirty-one is tragic in any context. He built a national following by challenging liberal orthodoxies on college campuses and urging young voters to embrace conservative ideas. His career was marked by a combative style and a gift for mobilising crowds, and his sudden killing has understandably shocked those who saw him as a generational leader. But the service went beyond........

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