Religion in Althanas

[Isalidi]

Frequently in the almanac and history, I see references to religions in Althanas. I have a few questions regarding this:


General:
How many major religions are there?
What was the first major civilization to have a well defined religion (or set of philosophical, arguably non-religious concepts)
How come some people are religious but others aren't? That wasn't really anything true in the ancient world (if you don't include forms of nonworshipful deism, like Epicureanism)

Polytheistic:
In descriptions, the various deities are generally treated as definite beings (who at least visit Althanas) that can be physically experienced instead of faith-requiring cosmic beings. Is there anything to this?
If so, why are there skeptics, ignostics, agnostics, monotheists, etc. in Althanas?
Could Althanas polytheist religion be considered more akin to Egyptian paganism, Celtic paganism, Greco-Roman paganism, etc?
Could many of the Althanic pagans be considered henotheistic? (Accept many gods, worship one. Think Hinduism(/vedic religion). Or some forms of Egyptian paganism. Or, arguably, early forms of Judaism.)
Are there many tendencies towards ghost worship, animal worship, ancestor veneration, monolarchy (one god who manifests itself as many gods. Again, think Hinduism and some forms of Egyptian paganism), spirit worship (think Shinto) etc?

Monotheism/The Sway:
Are there any monotheistic movements other than The Sway?
What, if there is one, is the Sway's creation myth?
Is there any primary creed or text members return to?
Could it be compared, spiritually or theologically, to any IRL religions?
What is the origin of the Sway?
If different, what is the origin of monotheism?
Is this widely regarded as a mystical belief?
Could some of their beliefs be considered "closed to outsiders"/esoteric/whatever?
The Sway has an odd name. Any explanation?
Generally, could I just have a rundown of The Sway's theology.

Miscellaneous question:

Is there a strong pantheist/panentheist/theological monist movement in Althanas?

[Caden Law]

How many major religions are there?Currently, I think there are three major religions: The Thaynes, the Church of Denebriel, and the resurgence of the old Star-Gods of the Elves (or something like that). There are many variations, and plenty of smaller pantheons and so-on. Althanas' players are home to a few disempowered gods, and some variants of the Judeo-Christian faiths exist too.


What was the first major civilization to have a well defined religion (or set of philosophical, arguably non-religious concepts)Hard to say. The Thaynes seem to be the oldest of the modern religions, and the most likely to have a bona fide claim on the old We Created Everything bit. The Star-Gods are also, apparently, very old.


How come some people are religious but others aren't? That wasn't really anything true in the ancient world (if you don't include forms of nonworshipful deism, like Epicureanism)...huh? D:


In descriptions, the various deities are generally treated as definite beings (who at least visit Althanas) that can be physically experienced instead of faith-requiring cosmic beings. Is there anything to this?The Gods work in mysterious ways. Some of them just sit around with their thumbs up their ass demanding worship for nothing, while a good many pay visits to the mortal world for shits and giggles. Recently, one or more the Thaynes has been popping up here and there to manipulate major events in Raiaera, Denebriel and the Ethereal Sway of Salvar have been taking a relatively pro-active role in things too.


If so, why are there skeptics, ignostics, agnostics, monotheists, etc. in Althanas?Why the hell not? :p

But on a more serious note: There are plenty of reasons. Off the top of my head, and giving one for each: Skeptics may not necessarily believe in divinity since there are so fucking many of them, ignostics probably have difficulty interpreting any of them for the same reason, agnostics can simply not give a damn, and monotheists just prefer one god above others (a common thing even in polythiestic religions).


Could Althanas polytheist religion be considered more akin to Egyptian paganism, Celtic paganism, Greco-Roman paganism, etc?Varies by pantheon and region. There's no real set historical clique any of them can be pigeonholed into.


Could many of the Althanic pagans be considered henotheistic? (Accept many gods, worship one. Think Hinduism(/vedic religion). Or some forms of Egyptian paganism. Or, arguably, early forms of Judaism.)Probably.


Are there many tendencies towards ghost worship, animal worship, ancestor veneration, monolarchy (one god who manifests itself as many gods. Again, think Hinduism and some forms of Egyptian paganism), spirit worship (think Shinto) etc?Yes. Again, it varies by region.


Are there any monotheistic movements other than The Sway?Again, there are variants of Judeo-Christian traditions in Althanas, ranging from homegrown to beliefs carried over by people who more or less Fell into the Universe from Earth or some other place.


What, if there is one, is the Sway's creation myth?Good question. Can't help ya there.


Is there any primary creed or text members return to?Presumably there are many. The Church of Ethereal Sway is scattered across an entire continent filled with duelling fiefdoms and ???-knows-what. There are probably a dozen different variations of the Church's beliefs that slink by without witchburnings and accusations of heresy just because it's so fucking cold around there that nobody feels like wasting wood for it D:


Could it be compared, spiritually or theologically, to any IRL religions?Visually, I think it resembles a fantastic variation of Catholicism. Accounting only for substance, it's probably just a matter of interpretation.


What is the origin of the Sway?There are two origins for them: From what I remember off the top of my head, the public version is that they've always been around doing this and that, and only get involved now because of a woman named Saint Denebriel -- the stock Messianic figure of the Sway religion. The truth is something along the lines of the Sway actually being Denebriel's servants and she's some kind of ridiculously epic badass counted among the number of equally ridiculously epic badasses known as the Forgotten Ones.


If different, what is the origin of monotheism?Some schmoe out in a desert one day looked upon a shrine to his gods. He nodded to himself that it was a bitch to keep cleaning sand out of all of them. The god with the simplest statue is the only one who didn't end up at the bottom of a lake. AND THEY ALL LIVED HAPPILY NEVER AFTER! D:


Is this widely regarded as a mystical belief?Open to interpretation. Considering the sheer volume of magic users in Althanas, mysticism itself ain't that mystical.


Could some of their beliefs be considered "closed to outsiders"/esoteric/whatever?Wouldn't know. Considering that the Church holds massive power in Salvar (prior to, and possibly even now during the Civil War there), it's probably a mixture. Closed to outsiders here and there, open in most spots, Join Or We'll Fucking Kill You in others, and so on and so forth.


The Sway has an odd name. Any explanation?Not a clue. Probably boils down to 'swaying' the hearts and minds of others or some such.


Generally, could I just have a rundown of The Sway's theology.I'd copy and pasta the one-or-two paragraphs from the Comprehensive Guide to Salvar, but you've probably read them. Since I'm relatively clueless about it, I'll just leave this one open for a Staffer or something. D:


Is there a strong pantheist/panentheist/theological monist movement in Althanas?Two of the biggest known religions are pantheist movements. If you mean the kill their gods and convert them variety of movement, it's pretty give-and-take depending on where you are.

[Zook Murnig]

This topic has been touched upon recently, and I don't think there can ever be a definable number of religions in any world. Especially not a fantasy world where each new character brings with them a set of beliefs and possible faith.

However, canon religions are the Thayne, the Ethereal Sway, the Raiaeran one, and Fallien's Suravani and Cult of the Sun.


Could many of the Althanic pagans be considered henotheistic? (Accept many gods, worship one. Think Hinduism(/vedic religion). Or some forms of Egyptian paganism. Or, arguably, early forms of Judaism.)

Hi. Caduceus actually practices a religion that acknowledges all of the Althanian gods (Thayne, Mya, Suravani, etc.), but focuses on a single God above all others. Beyond that, he's a freakin' Jew. I, personally, see him as monotheistic, but I guess henotheism fits here.


# Miscellaneous question:
# Is there a strong pantheist/panentheist/theological monist movement in Althanas?

I am a strong movement in Althanas.

[Destrudo]

On the subject of new characters and their new faiths, I'm establishing one that will involve each of my characters in different ways at different times. I'm starting it now in a quest called The Glorious Light.

Taking into consideration that there are people from many diffrent realities/universes/elsewhere, I needed a strong overarching diety that could be in control over it all, a diety so powerful, even other gods worship it. Thus I came up with The Omnisource. I guess you could define it with the same yardstick as The Religons of Abraham, most noticably Christianity/Catholicism.

Omni is accepting of the other gods, and does not care if you worship Omni or not. (Omni has no defined sex, so the proper terms are Omnisource, Omni, it, and on occasion, The Light)
Now, despite Omni's power, he isn't out to take control, or influnce the happenings on Althanas, and is perfectly content with letting the canon gods do as they will. That's not to say Omni wouldn't lend a hand if they wanted, but more or less just it just minds it's own business, focusing on the individual, setting down rules for the individual. There are no group rules outside of no murder, nd the rules of karma are inforced. Beyond that, it's up to te individual, to help each individual person improve themselves, and eventually, possibly, become a part of The Omnisource. Sounds nice, right? That's where The Great Devourer comes in.
He, for its definatly a he, is the exact opposite, but has not come into play yet. He's a destruction diety, just as powerful as Omni. Sort of like God, and Anti-God.
I doubt I'll ever bring the devourer into play, preferring instead to use his powers through N'jal, who is already established, accepted, and has all the same sort of powers he does, to a point. For my purposes, she will work just fine.

It's through Omni most of my characters improve, and become better people via Omni's teachings. Using Omni, I have complete religous freedom for greater creativity, and figure as long as I don't have omni go butting into the business of the established gods, I'll be just fine. I can use this worlds main force of opposition, N'jal, to interfer in Omni's plans, and oppose my characters, except for Destrudo, Destrudo's the exact opposite, she actually helps him get better, and Omni interfers with him.

I guess in summary, if you can't find what you want, use your imagination, just don't go stomping all over what's established.

[MetalDrago]

Of course, there are many ways that religions can be defined on Althanas. Currently, there are several quests going on that are going to influence at least one of the major religions on Althanas.

Though these are more or less 'what-if' scenarios, the people involved are taking the project very seriously, and it may very well shape events on Althanas for the better, or perhaps even for the worse. For a more detailed account on what exactly it is that we are doing, it would be a good idea to read Red Hand Pilgrimage: The Second Age of Darkness. It''s in Raiaera, and should still be the last post made in Raiaera, so you can go straight from the main forum page. If not, it's in Narenhad, the ruins of Valinatal.

Sometimes experimenting with the established religion, in this case the Thayne, can be a good thing. Besides it being a new interpretation of an accepted code, it gives depth to each individual's story. It can also cause a general uproar in the church itself. Though not necessarily a good thing, it makes it far from boring. Speaking of N'Jal, Destrudo, you may want to take a look at this interpretation of her and see if she fits in with what you are doing. If it does, then perhaps at some point in the future, our characters can meet, and perhaps even work together.

A fact about many religions in Althanas, and perhaps even in the real world, is that the religions evolve. As the needs change, so too do the religions themselves. Sometimes, though, it ceases to be a matter of faith, and more a matter of fact. That is what we are experimenting with in The Second Age of Darkness. Due to the Featured Quest, something that has never happened before became possible, and now we are exploiting that in full.

[Esmerelda]

(Destrudo, diffrent account)

So, the Red hand Pilgrimmage is about N'jal?

As a sort of synopsis on my part, N'jal is the original source behind Destrudo's Creation. I mean, her color is red, he glows red, i'm surprised no one has misidentified him as one of her followers yet. Yes she has the Spidermagi, and that's all well and good, but if you only attack your enemies with a spear, a single type of spear, sooner or later their going to become impervious to your spear. I'm not saying she's a one trick show, but all the same, she decided she needed a new weapon, thus Destrudo.

I still have some developmental work on his storyline, but once he gets stronger, he seriously gets stronger. Not in brute strength alone mind you, but he masters, powers. I choose to keep them secret, but, as people see how he develops, perhaps we could work him into the main storyline, as at least one of her secret weapons.

[MetalDrago]

Sounds like fun. Of course, N'Jal needs many weapons. She managed to corrupt my one-incorruptible hero, MetalDrago and make him into one of her Paladins. He went from hero to evil servant over a relatively long time... But if you read the Pilgrimage, it gives some information about our version of N'Jal.

[Esmerelda]

I'm reading along. Perhaps eventually, our stories will intersect. Besides, let us remember, N'jal is a goddess. If there can be many versions of a person in Real life, as in, many sides to their personalities, then how much more is it then for one who is Divine. It could very well be both our versions are completly correct, it could be everyone's is correct, in their own ways. only in my Version, Destrudo doesn't need the Necronomicon, or anything else, only N'jal's voice, once he figures out who the voice is that blew him from Corone to Scara Brae (It was her).

[Karandros]

I'm going to use as close to a Judeo-Christian format as I can with this character. God, The Lord, biblical quotes, no Jesus, sin and holiness. I'm not too well-versed on it, actually, but I'm hoping it will be enough for it to be believable.