Quote:
Originally Posted by PeteMoss
Disagree with the bolded. I'm sure there are a ton of great religions that have been wiped out because other religion just had more people and/or more firepower than they do.
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The pagan Romans had much more firepower than the early Christians.
The Mongols had unsurpassed firepower, and yet their shamanist religion did not spread to the places they conquered. When Muslim Arabs conquered much of the same territory, Islam stuck.
Buddhism was not spread by military force. Judaism had no temporal power for a couple millennia, but it survived.
It helps if your religion has the backing of secular power. But it doesn't seem necessary for a religion to survive. And religions without that backing have survived and thrived. So social and spiritual utility does seem to play a big part in the success of a religion.