Evolutionary Strategies and Religion

I think there are two generally conflicting strategies in the preservation and propagation of religions, which I like to think of as memes.

The first is flexibility and adaptability, which allows for rapid dissemination in a rapidly changing sociopolitical climate. The downside of this is that in adapting, you risk changing your religion into another religion altogether.

The second is stability. This allows for maintaining the purity of your religion and gives a stable refuge for people in times of sociopolitical change. The downside of this is that in times of major change, your religion may splinter.

I think in designing a religion, it is important to incorporate both aspects artfully. Using something from a different field, I think the United State's Constitutional Democracy is a great example of this. You write a document that outlines who you are at heart, then you make clear that this is amendable, and that the "amendability" itself is part of who we are. Imagine that immediately after you compiled and disseminated the bible, you published a divinely inspired Bill of Rights amending it. A designed religion should define divine inspiration in such a way to allow this!