> It's his great-grandmother and his family. I imagine he would know a thing or two about the culture, history and customs. My reading of OP is that he does no

> It's his great-grandmother and his family. I imagine he would know a thing or two about the culture, history and customs. My reading of OP is that he does not claim to have understood these until he read the source. And neither he nor his sources seem to have any grasp of the underlying economics. The underlying narrative of a prosperous society that collapsed because nobody was available to work the fields is extremely dubious. OP mentions that there is 30% unemployment in the region. Why can't they STILL get anyone to work the fields (Not to mention the massive productivity improvements that agriculture has gone through)? > I don't think reproductive and sex rituals are uncommon and strange. [...] I don't think that needs rigorous sources. I don't think these are uncommon at all (especially the premarital sex on which the interview frowns so much)... which is precisely why I doubt their causal link to the observed depopulation. > It seems they still have more information and experience to draw from than an average HN'er here. If they do, why don't they share that information, instead of talking about sex with farm animals and premarital relations? Even through the language barrier of the translation, the moral panic is evident. > If you just want to say, "I personally dislike that culture or ritual or theory" I do dislike the theory. It's a rancid mix of natalism and moral panic. I do NOT dislike the culture. It's the OP and his sources who are claiming that Protestant Slovaks sheep shagged themselves to extinction. My baseline is that everybody has traditions, rituals, and the occasional dysfunction, so any contention that a particular set of these led to disaster needs to be backed by data, not anecdotes.