Religion

> “
> “I do not blame those who do not believe, for this galaxy is one filled with machinations of Man so unbelievable, or so malicious, that it begs the question of a god's existence. Yet, for those who can see through this mirage, God lies at the end.”
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> — *Amadeus Eleison, to his adoptive daughter Aurora*
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**Religion** and spirituality are metaphysical concepts that persist even into the modern era and have assisted in the guidance of human history up to the present. Although irreligion, agnosticism, and atheism are more widespread than ever before within the population of the Coalition of Congressional Republics, various new-age and old-age religions persist strongly.

As of the end of the 27th century, religion has kept a continuum of adherence since the beginning of interstellar colonization. The old age Abrahamic faiths of Christianity and Islam are the largest religions across all of humanity, with a combined share of nearly three hundred and fifty billion adherents across hundreds of different worlds. Ethnoreligions such as Judaism and Hinduism still exist, but mostly within their respective ethnocultural communities; Judaism in particular being one of the smallest old-world religions to date, with only around 100 million adherents as of the end of 27th century.

New faiths, however, are on the rise. The Church of Pannosis is a novel technoreligion that centers around the tenets posited by the anomalous figure known as Pannosis; this religious body has accrued enough political and economic power to colonize a system christened after their namesake. Another is the Pantheon of the Anthropocene, an atheistic and anti-theistic religion dedicated to worshipping the collective spirit of the human race, which has accrued 5 billion adherents.

## Overview

Religion in the Coalition of Congressional Republics is the dominant form of "meta-belief" in the Coalition, with around fifty three percent of the human citizens of the Coalition professing some sort of faith.

The most popular of religions include Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism; all originating from Earth.

## Official religions of the Coalition

### Old Age faiths

#### Christianity

Christianity is the largest of the Abrahamic religions within the Coalition and the largest single religion, with one hundred and seventy five billion adherents. It is a monotheistic religion that proclaims Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, with most denominations affirming the trinitarian doctrine that Jesus is God the Son and was God in the flesh.

Christianity has been the most influential religion on the Coalition due to its sheer scope and influence through its many sects. Several General Secretaries of the Coalition have been Christians, with its presence in nearly every major human settlement across the stars in the form of churches and chapels. However, it has seen stagnation in modernity.

#### Buddhism

##### Washin Buddhism

The Washin School of Buddhism is one of...

## The Tadayuki hypothesis

The **Tadayuki hypothesis,** also known as the **Abrahamic invincibility hypothesis**, is a sociotheological proposition originally posited by Japanese religion researcher **Iwayanagi Tadayuki** in 2207 which states that:

* the "[*invincibility] of Abrahamic religions*" (namely Christianity and Islam) is as a result of their abilities to compensate for the rapid expansion of human mutual consciousness to the cosmic level; this is thanks to the "pre-existence" of concepts of infinity through the nature of God.
* the abilities of many denominations Christianity and Islam to adapt to new technological advancements delays subversion of their practicing populations to technology-adapting religions or irreligion.
* the diversity of Christian and Islamic thought, and mutual socioreligious discussions within these faiths, allows for a compensation or pacifistic rejection of modern sociocultural and technological standards.
* for both Christianity and Islam, the presence of an infinitely powerful, but merciful, being (that being God, whether through Christ in Christianity or to God in the Islamic faith) that offers salvation even in the face of human nature's sinful inclination brings a significant amount of psychological relief to those in extremely distressing social or environmental situations, such as colonization or inhabitation of extreme densely-populated centers (such as Earth and Hyperion, who both have the largest religious populations in all of the Coalition).

Tadayuki mentioned that similar universalizing religions, such as Buddhism, cover some points (but not all) of his hypothesis, allowing for their similar persistence to modernity.