Another thing that bothers me is the epistemology of it. Not only do we live in cultures with weak background epistemologies, but he also grew up in a home where people chose to believe in whatever made them comfortable. I don't mean your typical religious folk either, but people who literally just made up shit up in order to feel good, cobbling to together syncretic nonsense as a form of escapism. The kids inability to find his way in a life is a direct result of that.