Culture and religion are deeply tied. Trying to let them wither away is just falling for western propaganda that culture shifting to that of the western hegemony is good, and that "modernization" (read: assimilation) is progress.
No internet documentation or Wikipedia article, no matter how detailed will capture a culture in a way that is sufficient, certainly not before we have some sort of sci-fi technology that will allow us to experience that culture in its fullness firsthand. Yes, cultures will evolve and change over time, but they have to be allowed to do that, instead of just rolling over the top of it with copy-pasted American culture like a coat of paint. That happens by teaching children that culture and that religion, and allowing it to evolve over time. It also doesn't mean that the culture is dead, just that it is a living and flourishing culture interacting and learning from other cultures. Cataloguing those changes and evolutions over time is within the realm of the internet, but preserving a comprehensive look or slice of that culture is not.
Allowing a religion's teachings to evolve and shift with good morals requires that the religion continue to exist, which won't really happen if you allow it to wither away into nothingness as a forgotten relic from another time. Of course people will teach their child the nuances. That's how it always happens. Most people, especially the religiously active, won't just hand their kid a holy book and then tell them to listen to everything their parents and religious leader says without question, even when it's nonsensical. That seems to be more of a phenomenon tied to people disengaging from religion on any level other than the aesthetic and for the purposes of controlling others.
Imma be real, it sounds like you had a shitty experience with religion and that sucks. A lot of people have that happen, and it's a significant driver behind the ever increasing atheism of the west. But not everyone has had that experience, and it's not your place to just say "Hey, it's an ethically good thing to just let First Nations religious beliefs, Mandaeism, or Zoroastrianism, for example, die out." It's not just about our knowledge of religious minutia, it's about our understanding of a culture. Religion and culture are deeply, inexorably tied for many people around the world, and you can't just say that your bad experiences with Christianity in a western country are universal and should apply to religions and cultures around the world. Different cultures provide for different perspectives and different experiences, and it would be a true shame to see that disappear more and more over time.
I don't think the Ship of Theseus argument really applies here, and certainly doesn't help your argument. The cells in your body are continually replaced and you are continually changing. Are you not still you despite the fact that all of your cells are routinely replaced? You continue to change, but you are still you.
This withering away overwhelmingly will affect more peripheral and uncommon cultures and religions far more drastically than it will affect those religions and cultures that are more common. It also doesn't result in people leaving religion entirely and becoming an atheist, it far more often results in them converting religions to one that is more popular.
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Culture and religion are deeply tied. Trying to let them wither away is just falling for western propaganda that culture shifting to that of the western hegemony is good, and that "modernization" (read: assimilation) is progress.
No internet documentation or Wikipedia article, no matter how detailed will capture a culture in a way that is sufficient, certainly not before we have some sort of sci-fi technology that will allow us to experience that culture in its fullness firsthand. Yes, cultures will evolve and change over time, but they have to be allowed to do that, instead of just rolling over the top of it with copy-pasted American culture like a coat of paint. That happens by teaching children that culture and that religion, and allowing it to evolve over time. It also doesn't mean that the culture is dead, just that it is a living and flourishing culture interacting and learning from other cultures. Cataloguing those changes and evolutions over time is within the realm of the internet, but preserving a comprehensive look or slice of that culture is not.
Allowing a religion's teachings to evolve and shift with good morals requires that the religion continue to exist, which won't really happen if you allow it to wither away into nothingness as a forgotten relic from another time. Of course people will teach their child the nuances. That's how it always happens. Most people, especially the religiously active, won't just hand their kid a holy book and then tell them to listen to everything their parents and religious leader says without question, even when it's nonsensical. That seems to be more of a phenomenon tied to people disengaging from religion on any level other than the aesthetic and for the purposes of controlling others.
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Imma be real, it sounds like you had a shitty experience with religion and that sucks. A lot of people have that happen, and it's a significant driver behind the ever increasing atheism of the west. But not everyone has had that experience, and it's not your place to just say "Hey, it's an ethically good thing to just let First Nations religious beliefs, Mandaeism, or Zoroastrianism, for example, die out." It's not just about our knowledge of religious minutia, it's about our understanding of a culture. Religion and culture are deeply, inexorably tied for many people around the world, and you can't just say that your bad experiences with Christianity in a western country are universal and should apply to religions and cultures around the world. Different cultures provide for different perspectives and different experiences, and it would be a true shame to see that disappear more and more over time.
I don't think the Ship of Theseus argument really applies here, and certainly doesn't help your argument. The cells in your body are continually replaced and you are continually changing. Are you not still you despite the fact that all of your cells are routinely replaced? You continue to change, but you are still you.
This withering away overwhelmingly will affect more peripheral and uncommon cultures and religions far more drastically than it will affect those religions and cultures that are more common. It also doesn't result in people leaving religion entirely and becoming an atheist, it far more often results in them converting religions to one that is more popular.
I'm done arguing with you.
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