tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post6415475480364675917..comments2024-03-27T03:19:11.216-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: The Hollow CenterAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-15313394214962834012022-01-10T10:28:59.878-05:002022-01-10T10:28:59.878-05:00@ AVI tend to be pro-natalist and have more child...@ AVI tend to be pro-natalist and have more children, and this is a stronger long-term strategy for growth than evangelism<br />@ james high commitment religions. Perhaps counterintuitively, they can be more attractive than low commitment ones.<br /><br />This makes me think of Shakers as examples of these two points. A high commitment sect to be sure, but not over pushy with getting new converts. They generally got along quite well with the community at large because of this. Since members had to be celibate, even married couples that joined, the growth of Shakerism was as much dependent on taking in orphans as it was converting adults to the fold. They embraced the orphan model and it served them well - until improved heath conditions in the average population coupled with new laws that probably discouraged adoption by non-relatives slowed the "pool" of orphans. That, and changing spiritual attitudes in the populations around them meant there were fewer and fewer with the commitment necessary to sustain such a unique religious sect.Sponge-headed ScienceManhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12914014641719908195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-64067253997549980712022-01-10T01:59:25.487-05:002022-01-10T01:59:25.487-05:00Kaufman mentions Stark's earlier work specific...Kaufman mentions Stark's earlier work specifically, generally with approval but noting that his prediction about Mormon growth did not materialise. It was part of his discussion that endogenous growth - having children - was a stronger long term strategy than evangelism.<br /><br />Point taken on the use of "center." I will go back and see if that is the word he actually used. I think it was largely because they are more numerousAssistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-80881208709671032862022-01-09T20:22:48.906-05:002022-01-09T20:22:48.906-05:00A quibble: I'm not sure I'd call cultural...A quibble: I'm not sure I'd call cultural Christians or cultural Jews the "center" of the religion--certainly not the philosophical center. Or, if they are, the religion is in deep trouble.<br /><br />Rodney Stark suggested that the growth of Christianity was slower than we usually think. <br /><br />In later works he wrote about high commitment religions. Perhaps counterintuitively, they can be more attractive than low commitment ones.jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01792036361407527304noreply@blogger.com