Read the whole article at High Anthropology and the Bait and Switch Gospel - Mockingbird (mbird.com)

High anthropology is the tie that binds together nearly every account of religious burnout and disillusionment. It is the foundation of legalistic and oppressive forms of religion, without which they cannot find oxygen. A high anthropology approach to religion devastates. I am speaking mainly about Christianity, but you can encounter instances of it in many traditions. Anytime you hear someone refer to a former religious observance with some form of “I just couldn’t keep it up anymore,” you are in the vicinity of high anthropology.

Dramatic tales of deconversion and denouncement are the