Well, maybe first they will appeal to "the we", "the collective", "the identity", or the will of the emperor. Then it will descend into the superstition after the dictatorship.
I much prefer the Christian religion to that, even if I weren't a believer. Mob rule and government rule - dictator rule is just an extension of "we" rule - and who is we and who gets to say? And that is, after all, what this article is about.