Religions that fail the uprooted lose followers to those meeting emotional needs

Evidence

Whether additional significant shifts in religious adherence occur elsewhere depends on the extent to which the prevailing religion is able to meet these needs. Given its emotional aridity, Confucianism appears particularly vulnerable. In Confucian countries, Protestantism and Catholicism could have an appeal similar to those of evangelical Protestantism to Latin Americans, Christianity to South Koreans, and fundamentalism to Muslims and Hindus. — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 272 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Philosophy of science revels in the ways in which it may be rational to discount contrary evidence, but the social psychology of cognitive dissonance reveals just how elastic the concept of rationality can be in social life. Festinger and his colleagues illustrated these lessons in his first book (1956) by reporting in a neutral manner the vicissitudes of a group of Midwesterners they called “The Seekers,” who developed a belief that they would be rescued by flying saucers on a specific date in 1954, prior to a great flood coming to engulf Lake City (a pseudonym). Festinger documents in great detail the hour-by-hour reactions of the Seekers as the date of their rescue came and passed with no spaceships arriving and no flood welling up to swallow Lake City. At first, the Seekers withdrew from representatives of the press seeking to upbraid them for their failed prophecies, but rapidly reversed their stance, welcoming any and all opportunities to expound and elaborate upon their (revised and expanded) faith. A minority of their group did fall away, but Festinger notes they tended to be lukewarm peripheral members of the group. Predominantly, the Seekers never renounced their challenged doctrines. The ringleaders tended to redouble their proselytising, so long as they were able to maintain interaction with a coterie of fellow covenanters. — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 1810 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Oprah’s show supplied the emotional needs religion traditionally met — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 793; Most religions fail and vanish; only a few survive. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 26; Emotionally arid faiths are vulnerable to losing adherents under modernization. — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 272 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Emotionally arid faiths are vulnerable to losing adherents under modernization. #corroborates (0.95) — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 272
• Failed predictions often intensify believers’ proselytizing rather than ending their faith #complicates (0.75) — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 1810