North Korea 'executes Christians'

[Kasz216]

Final-Fan said:

Kasz216 said:

Final-Fan said:
It's hard to say, IMO, how much religions that start to spread and then get stomped on really would have spread. Maybe it would have just been a minority of the population that it really resonated with.

I duno.  In Japan Catholicsim spread to something like 300,000 followers, had full cities and converted many "noble" famlies. 

It got banned because it was seen as more dangerous then Buddism... when originally it was allowed because they hoped it would be a niche religion that would counterbalnce budishm.

Well, I have some passing familiarity with this subject, but you may well know more than me. 

Obviously it would have been a lot bigger than it was if it hadn't got stomped on, whether or not it was majority/minority.  Or ... there are "fad"-like religions, right?  Huge for a generation or so and then rapidly dwindle to a small minority?  Or is that just something I completely made up? 

I've never heard of fad religions... but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

In truth I only know about this subject because of books I read after seeing a movie based on the Shimabara Rebellion.

Where the leader gets killed... then rises from the dead thanks to a pact with the devil and leads his zombie ex christians on a war of revenge vs the Tokugawa.

Good action movie really. 

That and it's interesting to see why Judiasm first spread.

Which was largely... religion used to be a case of "We beat you... so my god is better!" and everyone would just agree and convert.

However Judiasm was once saved by a miracle of sorts... which the people took as proof of religion.  Then when they later got conquered it was just seen as their god punnishing them.