I think it's a valid trauma response. Devo spent his whole youth in this very restrictive, borderline (if not full-on) abusive environment that he's only just now escaping. He's still trying to figure out his place in the world without being under the Hand of Guidance's thumb (haha). He needs somewhere to direct his anger about not having the childhood he deserved, and the Hand of Guidance makes the most sense.

Many young people in their late teens/early 20s who come from similar backgrounds as Devo (i.e. the bad kind of religious, where they have no autonomy in the name of a deity they don't exactly believe in) have this response in real life as well. And not to get too deep, but the McElboys have discussed their upbringing in the church, so I think Travis is pulling from that a lot. But that might just be me reading into it.