FWIW, I meant it strictly in the generic vernacular sense in which I've encountered it: doing something because it has the outward form of something useful or meaningful, without understanding whether or how it works.

Given the problematic history you shared, it seems a new term is needed for this... maybe "Chesterson's Folly"? It's related to Chesterson's Fence (the principle that it's unwise to remove a fence if you don't know why it was erected). If you leave in place all "fences" you don't understand, and never take the time to determine their purpose, fences which serve no good purpose will accumulate.