I am somewhat fascinated by cultural collapse, and more specifically with the fact that a culture can evolve or devolve, but you *cannot kill it* without literally killing all its people. You will only pervert it and take away the meaning of life for the people involved, turning them to poverty and depression, and even then they will persevere in their beliefs - culture is remarkably resilient. I am not even sure you can help victims of cultural collapse 'into a new one' - you can offer them opportunities but they will continue to make the cultural choices that work within their culture's structure.
One of the things I looked at in college was what happens to a belief system when your gods have obviously abandoned you. And the interesting answer is, that hardly ever happens. When the white man was spreading like wildfire across America, you might thing some natives would go, hey, our gods aren't there for us, we're getting slaughtered, let's ditch them. But that didn't happen. While some did turn to Christianity, that had more about turning to rather than away from (the persuasive powers of the Christian missionaries have always been superb, especially when backed by the full force of an invading culture). But another interesting phenomenon was that of the Ghost Dance - as Western culture tried to solidify its hold over the natives at the end of the 19th century a movement arose, spreading across numerous tribes. In some places this movement was simply for peace with the white man, but in others it prophesied that the gods would come and wipe the white man away. In other words, the response to a potentially shaken religious belief was *stronger belief*. (The Ghost Dance movement led directly to the massacre at Wounded Knee, which shows how much good it did.)
It is possible that the Jewish faith is so abiding *because* it has so often been threatened. Christianity, on the other hand, could be seen as being gradually abandoned by western culture because it is no longer necessary in an era of general peace and prosperity. Our major cultural influences today are capitalism and individualism.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2008-05-04 03:41 pm (UTC)One of the things I looked at in college was what happens to a belief system when your gods have obviously abandoned you. And the interesting answer is, that hardly ever happens. When the white man was spreading like wildfire across America, you might thing some natives would go, hey, our gods aren't there for us, we're getting slaughtered, let's ditch them. But that didn't happen. While some did turn to Christianity, that had more about turning to rather than away from (the persuasive powers of the Christian missionaries have always been superb, especially when backed by the full force of an invading culture). But another interesting phenomenon was that of the Ghost Dance - as Western culture tried to solidify its hold over the natives at the end of the 19th century a movement arose, spreading across numerous tribes. In some places this movement was simply for peace with the white man, but in others it prophesied that the gods would come and wipe the white man away. In other words, the response to a potentially shaken religious belief was *stronger belief*. (The Ghost Dance movement led directly to the massacre at Wounded Knee, which shows how much good it did.)
It is possible that the Jewish faith is so abiding *because* it has so often been threatened. Christianity, on the other hand, could be seen as being gradually abandoned by western culture because it is no longer necessary in an era of general peace and prosperity. Our major cultural influences today are capitalism and individualism.