What makes christianity so popular?

[Vaporous]

Indeed. The more one studies people, the more one realizes that despite all the rhetoric about "individualism" and "freedom", most people want to be led through life by the nose.

And this is why religions are and will continue to be successful. Whenever you hear anyone say that they are glad to be religious because it lets them "be part of something bigger and more important/transcendent" or because it "fills them with peace" this is why. It is easy and comfortable to surrender reason to slavery, satisfying even. Religion supplies just enough "information" about the world to build a framework on for coming up with more comfortable illusions about ultimate purposes and destinies and rewards and punishments. And people go along with their merry lives in ignorant bliss.

[Kanastrous]

One generation can pretend. But after its children and their childrens' children have all been officially indoctrinated in this religion, do you still think it will just be "pretend"?

An acquaintance of mine, last name of Moran, has worked out that his family ultimately traces back to Spain, which they left for Ireland about three hundred years ago. For as far back as anyone knew, the family was - of course - Roman Catholic.

A little more digging has led him to believe that his ancestors were Jewish conversos - also known as marranos - Jews forcibly converted to Catholicism but suspected of backsliding.

And so the Jewish Spaniard marranos became the Irish Catholic Morans.

Which looks like a dandy supporting case-study of Darth Wong's observation, to me.