In this context, it doesn't matter if they "must" or "should be able to". No, I didn't misunderstand the maxim. No, I didn't mean that it has to happen in all cases. You are reading something into what I wrote that I didn't.
The maxim is not used by religious people to its intended effect. Please read again, if you didn't see it the first time. The maxim is used as a challenge that can be rephrased as: "if you are as intelligent as you claim, then you should be able to accept both what you believe to be true and whatever nonsense I want you to believe to be true."
> The maxim is not used by religious people to its intended effect.
Your comment literally says "the maxim suggests".
If that wasn't what you were saying, then your comment is misphrased.
If that -was- what you were saying, then I reiterate that, no, the maxim does not suggest that. You (or whatever hypothetical person you're referring to) are the one suggesting it, not the maxim.
It doesn't matter how you rephrase it - "should be able to" is not the same as "must". "Able-bodied people should be able to jump off the top of a building." That's a perfectly valid and true statement - jumping off of things is within the physical capabilities of the able-bodied. But that statement, however true, does not suggest that one must jump off the top of a building to prove that one is able-bodied.
> No, I didn't mean that it has to happen in all cases.
If it doesn't have to happen in all cases, then an intelligent person can simply say "no, even though I am -able to- accept contradictory ideas, in this case I still reject child marriage in all contexts". Clearly you would agree that this is perfectly compatible with the maxim. So, in what way is the maxim being harmful here?
In reality, your comment has almost nothing to do with the maxim itself, and is mostly just about people using religion and rhetoric to manipulate others. Such people would use whatever tool they have available - with or without the existence of the maxim.
The maxim is not used by religious people to its intended effect. Please read again, if you didn't see it the first time. The maxim is used as a challenge that can be rephrased as: "if you are as intelligent as you claim, then you should be able to accept both what you believe to be true and whatever nonsense I want you to believe to be true."