I wrote something a while back about how the most passive aggressive people I know are the most religious. What you've said here builds on the conclusions I made and makes that dynamic even more clear.

This also helps me to better understand a training program I was in for a while where the entire class was completely focused on one student who's mother had been killed by her boyfriend. Although this was certainly a horrendous experience that deserved all of our compassion and gentleness, I found it distressing that she quickly became the center focus for most everyone on an on-going basis. Makes more sense now why that happened. Thanks!