Real change requires discarding rather than reforming the old religion

Evidence

Perhaps, similarly, there is also some element in religion which is not religious; when this element comes to the surface, all concretized religious forms, in which there is true religion, may be destroyed. This is the inner dynamic of heresy and apostasy. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 852 (#responds-to, via linked claim)

The Mahatma says that the standards I have applied to test Hindus and Hinduism are too severe, and that judged by those standards every known living faith will probably fail. The complaint that my standards are high may be true. But the question is not whether they are high or whether they are low. The question is whether they are the right standards to apply. A people and their religion must be judged by social standards based on social ethics. No other standard would have any meaning, if religion is held to be a necessary good for the well-being of the people. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1264 (#contradicts, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Moral transformation requires grinding away the old self first. — , A Year of World Stories, 11611; Clozel’s traditionalist reforms failed by ignoring irreversible social change; Caste’s reform requires destroying the divine authority of the shastras and Vedas (+12 more)

Related

• A non-religious impulse within religion can destroy its own forms (similarity 0.80)
• Religions must be judged by social standards based on social ethics (similarity 0.80)
• Preserving religious feeling requires abandoning religious forms (similarity 0.80)
• People will not change conduct until they stop believing the shastras are sacred (similarity 0.79)
• A religion’s failure by demanding standards offers no comfort to its defenders (similarity 0.79)
• Reforms divide into secular, religion-conforming, and religion-opposed species (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• A non-religious impulse within religion can destroy its own forms #responds-to (0.75) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 852
• Religions should be judged by their best products rather than their worst #contradicts (0.60)
• Religions must be judged by social standards based on social ethics #contradicts (0.55) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1264
• Intellectual change proceeds through uneven breaks rather than tradition or rupture #expands (0.50) — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 180