Here's the thing about the whole "Why should we care about the gods?" thing that keeps getting brought up: it's missing the point.
As an atheist, when I say I don't believe in any form of higher power, it's because there's no definitive proof of one. If one came down from on high and said "FYI we're real," I'd stop being an atheist, but that wouldn't automatically make me a follower.
So, to be clear: you can not be an atheist in Exandria unless you have an intelligence of 2. No one's an atheist. No one's denying the existence of the gods. Instead, they're denying their usefulness, and that's...concerning.
Characters keep asking "why should I believe in them" and "what have they ever done for me" and "what purpose do they really serve," and that's not the problem here.
If a god stood right in front of me and told me they were real, I'd stop being an atheist. I would not become a follower of that god, but I'd stop denying their existence. Now that I know they exist and that they can be hurt and maybe even killed, I wouldn't just let someone try to kill them unprompted* and I certainly wouldn't demand an explanation for their purpose in life before doing so.
These gods of Exandria aren't just random metaphysical concepts. They have bodies. Bodies that get injured. Bodies that can be destroyed. Bodies that can die.
They are living (in a fictional sense, don't be weird about it) beings with high intelligence and emotions, but sure, let's stop to debate their usefulness to society before killing/saving them. That's not a sketch conversation to be having.
Ludinus is trying to kill an entire group of "people" (you know what I mean), and instead of replying "genocide is bad," everyone's replying, "Should I really care?"
He's trying to kill an entire group of people.
He's trying to wipe out their entire culture of worship.
Ludinus is trying to commit (in a fictional sense, don't be weird about it) genocide while characters, and even some fans, are sitting here saying "okay so, is he really all that wrong, though?"
And yes, I know it's fake. It's not a real genocide of the gods and religion, but I feel like in both the fandom and the narrative, this concept has either been missed or forgotten. I just feel like people are viewing this issue too heavily through the lens of our world where these concepts are metaphysical and not really something you can tangibly kill so it doesn't really matter, but that's not the established lore.
This isn't an argument of whether gods exist in Exandria or not. They exist.
This isn't an argument about whether their commandments are fair or not. No one makes you follow them.
This is an argument of whether they should be allowed to continue living, and that's not a question you ask about other groups of people.
*Before anyone mentions Aeor, that was fully prompted. Aeor was making weapons to kill them. The gods were fully justified in killing them first. You don't wait for the person robbing you to shoot you before trying to escape. So far, none of the lore shows the Prime Deities intentionally hurting people unprompted. And it's not even like they're bad world leaders or something, they don't really bother Exandria much outside of what their followers may do from time to time but it's not like they're running the world.