Hefty-Set5236 t1_je8qphh wrote on March 30, 2023 at 6:08 AM

Often times the penalty for not following the new religion was death. Most would fall in line, some would not. Of those who did not, some would get caught and some would flee to an area where they could freely practice the old religion. After a generation, the cycle would continue. Some would convert, some would get caught, some would flee. Over the course of generations, this would eventually lead to very few people still secretly practicing the old religion. In other cases, many followers of the old religion would simply be rounded up and killed before they knew to hide, similar to what happened to the jews under nazi rule. As this is one of the largest and most recent examples of religious purification, reading up on this history could provide you with a more detailed answer.

atuljinni OP t1_je8r4q7 wrote on March 30, 2023 at 6:13 AM

I did not think of the issue this way. Great answer, but I want to know, how could one change their entire view so suddenly. Like if one has grown up knowing that worshipping X is the correct way, only to be told that they have to worship Y now, which the person never believed to be a god anyway. So would the person not feel that they are getting in the wrong books of the god and probably ruining their afterlife, only to worship god Y in whom they don't believe anyway, and so is fruitless.

Hefty-Set5236 t1_je8rlis wrote on March 30, 2023 at 6:19 AM

That's a much more complicated question. To give the shortest possible answer, the new religion usually incorporates aspects of the old one, sometimes on purpose, like Christmas (pagan festival of lights) to ease the transition of conversion. The threat of death can also be very compelling. Each example in history was a bit different, so its difficult to provide a good answer.

die_kuestenwache t1_je8s2bo wrote on March 30, 2023 at 6:25 AM

If you are very religious you might view your defeat as a sign that your god has abandoned you or that their god is more powerful. Good reasons to warship someone else. If you are not, you might just not care that much either way.

battling_futility t1_je8rtjn wrote on March 30, 2023 at 6:22 AM

There is also an element of Stockholm syndrome as well. Not forgetting another religeon sweeps in often by force, clearly they are more favoured by the gods and your god wasn't real or didn't care.

Whatawaist t1_je8t58m wrote on March 30, 2023 at 6:40 AM

Also keep in mind that ancient religions don't always match cleanly with what we expect out of modern ones.

Especially the idea of deific exclusivity. If you have always believed that your gods and your neighbors gods are different and war with one another just like you and your neighbors do, then maybe they lost along with you.

Plenty of stories about gods dying, probably feels better that your gods died trying to save you than ran off and abandoned you.

Just one speculative example, but no one today would assume that a personal problem is because their religion got annihilated, maybe not so much with all the numerous past belief systems.

Mr_Mojo_Risin_83 t1_je8t72a wrote on March 30, 2023 at 6:40 AM

They don’t have to. They just need to act like they do or get killed. And teaching your kids the old religion would see them get executed so you don’t teach it to them. Your kids only get instructed with the new religion so within a generation or two, the old religion dies out.