Five Great Solar Religions

The **Five Great Solar Religions** are those religions which originated in Sol System and continued to spread throughout Local Space. Architecture, Faith, Terran Humanism, the Solar Temple of Our Martyred Lady, and the covenant religion of the Tontheonic Civilization.

## Architecture

Architecture describes itself, per the Preface of *Breath* from the version extant to Joshua, as "a science of religion" rather than as a religion in and of itself. It emphasizes the objective truth of a real universe as containing an inherent ethic of conduct and an intentionally anthropomorphic design. The purpose of life is to bring about the collective evolution of humanity. Persons who self identify as worshipers of the Architect are called **adherents**. The central beliefs upon which all adherents agree is the existence and benevolence of the Supreme Being called the Architect, Their **Divine Design** throughout the Universe, and the ability of humanity to collectively become like the Architect.

Most adherents are found in the Main Belt and are either colonists or descendants of colonists. There is both a high conversion rate and rate of preservation of belief in families.

Architecture has religious, philosophical, and scientific overtones. It does not differentiate between areas of human learning, believing that all truth aids humanity in progression. The religious aspect comes from the worship of the Architect as the Supreme Being and the goals of **actualization** and **realization** as the ultimate goal of practice.

The philosophy of Architecture is optimistic and healthy-minded. **Reason** is a gift of the Architect; thus philosophy is a form of worship. Architecture is not progressive, however; Architectural philosophy posits a natural and self evident ethic in creation that is to be obeyed just as simply as the laws of gravity and electromagnetism must be obeyed.

The science of Architecture lies chiefly in it's appeal to intelligent design, the anthropomorphic principle, and the mathematical certainty of life being found throughout the Universe. As philosophy, science is regarded as a form of worship. The collective evolution of humanity will be holistic and thus reflects advances in all areas of learning. Technology is a crux of this evolution; as such, scientific progress of any sort is widely supported by adherents.

A unique feature of the religion is it's admission of ignorance in some areas, such as the precise mechanics of creation.

## Faith

Faith is observed in twenty one simple tenets

Life

1. Being
2. Knowledge
3. Union
4. Vital warmth / fire
5. Resurrection
6. Rebirth (samsara)
7. Return (theosis and dissolution)

#### Truth

1. The present state of all things is illusory; it does not really exist
2. All men are saved; now we must be Faithful
3. Love is the whole of the Life, Truth, and Way and is total. On this all things hang.
4. There is more to salvation than we can ever know in this life; therefore, endure to the end.
5. The One can neither be attained nor cast off but was, is, and is to come.
6. The World-to-Come already is.
7. The only thing we can ever truly rely on and be certain of is the One.

#### Way

1. Eightfold path
2. Conformity to nature
3. Meditation, action, and devotion (active yoga)
4. Prayer
5. Recitation
6. Evangelism
7. Charity

## Terran Humanism

Terran Humanism is the psychological religious philosophy produced by the New School of the Consortium's academic system. It posits divinity as a product of humanity and is an eloquent re-expression of ancient Greco-Roman values synthesized with modern, postmodern, and new thought. It is the primary inspiration for the state cult religion of the Anthroperium and influences human expression, thought, and behavior throughout all three trilogies.

## Solar Temple of Our Martyred Lady

The **Solar Temple of Our Martyred Lady** is one of the Five Great Solar Religions and reveres Phaeronica as a messianic figure and intermediary between humanity and the Divine. They hold to the most literal interpretation of the relationships between the El'yon, Phaerons, and humankind. Sol System is regarded as the spiritual center of the entire cosmos. The El'yon are regarded as actually divine, but not worthy of worship.

## Moriezen

The religion of the Tontheonic Civilization may be described as a synchronized humanism, ancestral monotheism, and natural spirituality. It bears many similarities to the ancient Judaism of Old Earth. The mythopoeic story recorded in the two primary books of scripture, the *Muqaddas Kitab* and the *Khuulin Buyriq*, begins with the nation of Scythia on Earth under the leadership of the humble Gadojohnrho the Beggar and the fierce Khulan Garayev, the Black Donkey. These two lead the people of Scythia out of the oppression of Earth life and into their national destiny, culminating in the revelation on *Muqaddas Kuh*, the Holy Mountain of Orin. This revelation of the sacred name TNÞN and the renaming of the people as Moriezen is conditional upon the keeping of the covenant of the *Sanvaaryn*.