Gayanism

**Gayanism** (German: *Gayanismus*) is a religion that originated from Christianity and has always been the national religion of the Principality of Saalenia. Over the centuries of development, however, Gayanism has moved far away from Christianity and other Abrahamic religions, and only retains distinctly Christian traits in some details.

Gayanism was a major reason for the development of the Saalenian matriarchy, and the supremacy and divinity of women is central to its teachings. The religion is a monotheism and worships a goddess named Gaya (ancient Greek: Γαῖα Gaía; comes from both earth and "the bearer"), who is regarded as the primordial mother and creator of the world. As in Christianity, Gaya is referred to as Trinity thought, that is, as a being from the goddess (ie Gaya herself), the woman (the divinity is in every woman) and the femininity (as the creative all-ruling divine power). In Gayanism, however, this Trinity plays a more subtle role in contrast to Christianity.

Gayanism in Saalenia is integrated into a public church structure reminiscent of Catholicism called the Church of Gaya, a term often used interchangeably with the religion as a whole. However, there are five streams, not all of which are organized in the Gaya public church.

## Religious Teaching

The incarnate divinity of women and the associated claim to superiority are central to gayanist teaching. The majority of Gayanists thus believe in an intimacy between the goddess Gaya and the psychic human being. Accordingly, the love for Gaya (love of the goddesses) and for fellow human beings (love of one's neighbor) is central to gayanist action.

The basic aspects of Gayanist teaching are as follows:

* Gaya is the only goddess and the earth mother. She is the only eternal being and triune.
* Each and every woman is an incarnate part of Gaya's divinity and acts according of that part.
* The woman is at the same time a deified human being and a perfect human being. Men, on the other hand, have remained in the animalistic.
* The divine matriarchy (German: *Das göttliche Matriarchat*) should and will be manifested in a worldly matriarchy, which will eventually be global.
* Love and worship of Gaya can be through love and worship of womanhood or woman. This results in the unity of goddess love (German: *Göttinnenliebe*) and neighborly love (German: *Nächstenliebe*).
* Femininity (German: *Weiblichkeit*) is the divine, all-pervading force and principle of origin and creation. Everything arises in the feminine and everything rises in the feminine. Femininity is in every woman as divine power and the totality of femininity is Gaya.
* After death, eternal life awaits everyone in the divine matriarchy and eternal kingdom of Gaya.
* The Code (German: *Der Kodex*) is the sacred and Gaya-inspired scripture of the religion.

## Modern Currents

### Humanist Gayanism

Humanistic Gayanism is currently the largest branch of religion and is organized in the Church of Gaya. It emerged in the 15th century, had an upswing in the 18th century, and has come of age in its modern form since the 1980s. This current emphasizes the development of the individual and divine creativity in the human woman. The nature of the woman is determined solely by this divinity and the nature of the man by the absence. This is manifested in a philosophical intellectualism, but also in a move away from biological gender binarism towards theories of gender identity. The reforms of Katarina II were based on humanistic Gayanism.

### Classical Gayanism

Classical Gayanism is the second largest movement and is also organized in the Church of Gaya. This form of faith rejects humanistic ideas and stands behind the classic authority figures of nobility and church rather than the individual believer. One rejects the queer theory and sets the gender hierarchy in binary terms based on biological sex.