Was the practice of human sacrifice ever intelectually challenged by philosophers or political leaders? Was there ever a rebellion against sacrifices? Or was it universally accepted as an ordinary social custom instead? Was sacrifice viewed as a natural way to die by each and every one of the Aztecs?
Firstly, I would like to note that it is commonly theorized by modern historians that the human scarifices in the Aztec empire were not as widespread as they are generally understood by the public/early historical accounts because of the colonial accounts of the Aztecs made by the Spanish. But in response to your question, the simple answer is: not that we know of. We dont really have direct sources from the Aztecs as they were mostly destroyed by the Spanish colonists so a lot of what we knows does come from the Spanish sources. The morality around those sacrifices was extremely complex as well which made them seeminly moral within the Aztec context due to their religous beliefs. So this combination makes it difficult to determine if there was any internal controversies surrounding the sacrifices. Likely there was not due to the makeup and the religous beliefs of the Aztec society. Sorry thats not much of an answer, these sacrifices are a complex topic. And, as I mentioned, we dont have the direct written sources from the Aztecs themselves which means a lot of what we know has been interpreted through archaeological and colonial sources. If youd like more information about these sacrifices I would love to answer any more questions! I have done a lot of research during my masters about these rituals so I have quite a lot of information and articles I can share with you.