The Cathars

The Cathars are a religious movement, born out of a power struggle with the High Church. Following the Great Schism of 1106, millions of Partisans left the High Church and founded the Cathar movement. In the wake of the schism, the Cathars have been involved in a global conflict with the High Church. Warfare is mostly reserved to several nations in Westrath, but individual acts of violence and terror occur globally.
While the two vary in terms of organization, customs, and practices, the religious framework for the two is the same. In fact, the Cathars and the High Church are functionally the same religion, split largely along socio-political lines. While the High Church is a uniform order, the Cathars are far less organized. The movement contains many sects with varying practices and often conflicting ideologies. Violence between the Cathars is almost as common as conflict between the Cathars and High Church.
The vast majority of Cathars are located in Westrath and Carossa (unlike the High Church, which has high populations of adherents on all continents, despite being primarily based in Westrath). While Westrath remains religiously split (with adherents of the High Church forming a significant majority), the Cathars are the majority in Carossa. Due to the turmoil from the religious wars, millions of Cathars fled to Carossa. They formed the Freehold, a republic for pilgrims and exiles. The Freehold is the only nation on Varden that is primarily comprised of Cathars. It is, however, home to a large population of Partisans, most of which are recent immigrants. The influx of Partisans (and immigrants of other faiths, to a lesser extent) has been much the subject of controversy in the Freehold. Many have stoked xenophobia and conspiracies against the Partisans, and religious tensions and violence simmer. Many Cathars, who were once subject to persecution under the High Church in Westrath, now encourage persecution of the Partisans.
== Trivia ==
* The Cathars are inspired by the real life Cathars, the Protestants, the Mormons, the Anabaptists, American pilgrims, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.