Back to Religion's Roots

I have just started reading Czachesz's article on the transmission of early christian thought in order to get some info on its parallels to Wokeism.

It's hard for us to remember that religion WAS NOT historically in control of a unified system of narratives, rituals, social life, philosophy, etc. This turn happened during the axial age (8th to 3rd century BCE). 

Not only the variety, but also the complexity of early Christian religion is highly perplexing. Most religions in Greco-Roman antiquity were cults, which can be basically described in terms of rites and institutions. Mythology was also important, but it was transmitted in a number of different ways (history, poetry, fine arts, etc.) rather than controlled by religious institutions. The interpretation of mythology, together with the discussion of the great issues of life, was outside the realm of religion. In early Christianity, in contrast, a single institution coordinated aspects of mythology, ritual, social life, philosophy and ethics.  - pp 66

Thus Wokeism is probably just taking us back to the roots of socio-political religion. It is not an aberration. It's the de facto way cults, temples, shamans etc. used to operate.

Right now we see a cultish explosion and people tend to think, "that can't be religion.... it doesn't have much supernaturalism to it".  Well, it certainly has a devil figure. Does it really need a fully embodied deity?  Will the quintessential BIPOC develop?

Other people see Wokeism's fragmented cults and think "that can't be religion.... it is not a formal institution".  Sorry, as I've said before, it seems like most ancient cults and chiefdom era temple-based groups weren't either.  They were more akin to political thought tanks that had a decent-enough influence on some of the populous to act like a CNN contributor.  They both spout some imaginary stuff, push a certain meta-narrative view, have specific views that can be modified or enlarged by the right "donation" or ask by the right sort of power figure.  Should they both have messaging that comes out on the "right side of history" they add to a meta-narrative cannon.  This cannon, should it resonate with larger cultural wells can then tweak that society's grand meta-narrative textural base.  For instance the addition of a Baal vs Elohim script. Or a 1619 counterfactual trope.

I'm looking forward to reading more...