Do people become devotees of a God for purely personal reasons rather than because they want to become more like the God?
How widespread is this?
Cults have always been described for the purist (ISTM). How much do people just pay lip service to the ideas but get up to all sorts of naughty things behind the high-priest's back (who is, in any case, getting up to all sorts of naughty things behind his subordinates backs).
On a scale of 0 to 10, maybe? 0 being the equivalent of 'we turn up to church on holy days but, basically, we do what we like' and 10 being 'we try our hardest to be like our god/saint/whatever'?
Richard
PS. What got me thinking about this was the Black Horse guys who, according to HW, are all members of the Atroxi church. However, that church forbids pleasures of the flesh, so how do they procreate? And do they really not enjoy it? And do they wear their hair shirts just for show but take them off when they get home and have a good scratch? And are the horses into this sort of thing too ("hit me with them spiky spurs, brother!")
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