Unifaith

The Unifaith, informally Gaianists, formally the Church of the Universal Faith, is a holistic eco-spiritualist ideoreligion founded in 2241 by Dr. Karól Tarnowski, a historian and former Archivist of the Pantheon of the Anthropocene. Formed in the aftermath of the Corporate Revolution, its tenets are rooted in the philosophical and ideological perspectives of Tarnowski, who had grown disillusioned with human civilization, in particular the widespread devastation of Earth and its biosphere. Unifaith advocates degrowth, deep ecology and human coexistence with nature.
Dr. Tarnowski, alongside a significant number of academics within the Pantheon, had come to the conclusion that human history was nothing more than a chronicle of genocide, inflicted on both mankind itself and nature as a whole. Together, they published The Message, a 'super-manifesto' prefaced by the texts of ecological activists throughout history, followed by Tarnowski's own writings regarding the failures of man. They posited that all nature—poetically dubbed Gaia—is connected, and that a disharmonious relationship between man and nature was evidence of humanity becoming a cancer. Dr. Tarnowski believed that only through a critical reordering of individual and collective thinking could this disharmony be rectified, ushering in a new age of peace and prospering life.
The publication of The Message was tantamount to defiance of the Pantheon, leading to the ouster of Dr. Tarnowski and his co-authors on account of 'pseudo-religious, regressive blasphemy.' In response, Tarnowski founded the Unifaith with himself as its Guru. While initially managing a tenuous coexistence in New Rome, persistent hostilities and discrimination led to Tarnowski leaving for Tupã with his followers in 2273. They would settle on the planet Moñái in the midst of its then-ongoing Earthforming procedure—initially without Coalition approval—building their first commune around a particularly large Dinizia excelsa tree. This structure would expand over the years, becoming known as the Great Tree of Life.
Though its central entity, the Church of the Unifaith, only has approximately 450 million members, it is believed that the beliefs and philosophy of the Unifaith have come to influence billions. Owing to the Unifaith's open-endedness and individualism on its stances on faith and spirituality, a number of diverse interpretations of Tarnowski's teachings exist, with sects ranging from atheistic deep-ecology spirituality to new age beliefs. More radical sects advocate green anarchism and forceful or voluntary anthropocide.
== Name ==
The Unifaith is rooted in Dr. Tarnowski's belief that nature is all-encompassing, and thus reverence and harmony with nature is tantamount to universal peace. Its followers are sometimes referred to as Gaianists in reference to Gaia, the Greek goddess and personification of Earth. They are also known as Messengers, in reference to their sacred text, The Message, a compilation text with texts dating as far back as the 18th and 19th centuries.
== Tenets ==
Regardless of sect, all Gaianists hold the texts contained within The Message with sacred reverence. The Message is prefaced by a compilation of ecological texts, which have each been assigned poetic names in accordance to their significance to the Unifaith Movement. Most prominent within said texts are The Promise and The Warning, whose authors (The Visionary and The First Messenger) are regarded as gurus in their own right for their novel efforts of opposing industrial consumption-centric society. This preface is followed by 33 chapters written by Dr. Tarnowski and his co-authors, which are dubbed Epochs, subdivided into Canticles.
== Practices ==
While interpretations differ, Gaianists regard Gaia as either a metaphorical or literal deity representing all-encompassing, universal life, man and nature alike. The central church and more spiritual sects practice mantra and ritual meditation, as well as harnessing and coexisting with nature. Some sects make ritual use of psychedelics, such as peyote and ayahuasca, to achieve spiritual enlightenment and 'oneness' with the universe. A Gaianist views their mission to be oneness with nature, as well as the protection, cultivation and expansion of organic life. As a result, many Gaianists reject cybernetics, although 'compromise' with the demands of modern life tend to vary between individual communes, groves and even life-trees.
Gaianists celebrate a number of holidays, most prominent of them Gaia Day.
Category:Unifaith
Category:Religion