I’d say the provenance of those beliefs is relevant, since it tells you what kind of rubes we’re talking about. A 2000-year-old religion is one thing, even if its foundational beliefs are mythical. Some half-assed bullshit cobbbled together by a gaggle of late-19th-century and early-20th-century hucksters doesn’t even have the excuse that at least they built a few cathedrals, wrote some good music and did some good paintings, along with all the life-denying superstition and oppression.
I’d say the provenance of those beliefs is relevant, since it tells you what kind of rubes we’re talking about. A 2000-year-old religion is one thing, even if its foundational beliefs are mythical. Some half-assed bullshit cobbbled together by a gaggle of late-19th-century and early-20th-century hucksters doesn’t even have the excuse that at least they built a few cathedrals, wrote some good music and did some good paintings, along with all the life-denying superstition and oppression.