Religion

A **religion** can be defined as a sociocultural system of specific behaviours, practices, morals, and beliefs, which are commonly shared by all practitioners of that religion. Typically the aim of a religion is to connect the practitioner to the supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements of existence. However, there is no conclusive, universal definition of what exactly constitutes a religion.

Different religions may contain a central god, divine figure, or supernatural being, or a multitude and any combination of each, although many religions do not have any of these. The foundation of a religion may come from sacred texts, spoken word passed from generation to generation, or simply through a shared worldview between practitioners. Religious practices may include rituals, sacrifices, festivals, feasts, music, dance, art, prayer, meditation, funerary occasions, matrimonial occasions, hallucinations, initiations, public services, and commemoration or veneration of deities, saints, spirits or ancestors. Religions may contain any number of sacred texts, scriptures, fables and stories, typically attempting to explain the origin and meaning of life and the universe, and providing examples of how to achieve peace, live properly, attain deeper understanding of oneself and others, form harmonious communities, and instigate spiritual change.

## Types of religion

### Theistic religion

Theistic religions comprise a belief in either a single god or multiple gods, although this can also be attributed to a belief in divine figures or supernatural beings. These gods may exist separately from the universe, or they can be considered to be one and the same.

#### Monotheism

Monotheism is the belief that a single deity exists. Monotheistic religions are categorised as either exclusive or inclusive monotheism: the former being the belief that only one god exists in a singular form, and the latter being the belief that only one god exists but acknowledges the existence of other deities, although these are simply believed to be interpretations of that one god.

#### Polytheism

Polytheism is the belief that multiple deities of a specific pantheon exist. A pantheon is a set of deities specific to any individual polytheistic religion, often depicted as a family or a union of gods. Subcategories of polytheism include hard polytheism and soft polytheism. Hard polytheism is the belief that multiple gods of a pantheon exist, but are distinct and separate entities of one another. Soft polytheism, meanwhile, is the belief that multiple gods of a pantheon exist, but are continually subsumed into one another or a greater whole.

Other categorisations of polytheism include henotheism (the belief that multiple gods exist but only one of them, typically the supreme god, is worshipped), kathenotheism (the belief that multiple gods exist but only one is worshipped at any one time or place, in order to maintain the supremacy, or lack thereof, of each god), and monolatrism (the belief that multiple gods exist but only one of them is worthy of worship).

#### Pantheism & panentheism

Pantheism is the belief that the universe is equivalent to god, that nothing can exist as separate from god, and that god exists within all things. Similar to these beliefs, panentheism acknowledges that all things are pervaded by a god or gods, but that the god or gods also exist beyond the universe and that the universe is not equal to god but is simply a manifestation of god. Essentially, pantheism believes "all is god", while panentheism believes "all in god". Some scholars assert that pantheism can in many cases be considered a nontheistic religious system, given that the lines between what is god and what is not are blurred. Panentheism, meanwhile, holds god at a higher position than the rest of the universe, so it can be more clearly defined as theistic.

#### Autotheism

Autotheism is the belief that god exists within oneself, and that one has the ability to become a god or godlike. While this appears to be inherently self-focused, practitioners of autotheism are typically motivated to become either a god or godlike for the betterment of others. This is different to the act of deification, which may exist within polytheism with the ascending of an individual into the pantheon of deities, in that autotheism believes that god exists solely as a result of the deification of the individual.

### Nontheistic religion

Nontheistic religions comprise religious practices that do not concern themselves with the worship or acknowledgement of a specific deity or set of deities, divine figure, or supernatural being. Nontheism is not necessarily defined as the active belief that god does not exist, such as in atheism, but the belief that a faith in a specific god is not necessary to the core purposes of religion. Pantheism is often considered a nontheistic religious approach, but this is disputed by scholars highlighting that pantheism defines god as wholly existing, while nontheism does not.

## Examples of religion

### Asturidic religions

The Asturidic religions comprise religions based on Asturidism, which itself comes from the texts of the Asturid Fables.

#### Asturidism

*main article: Asturidism*

Asturidism is one of the oldest religions in the Galaxy, originally practiced by the Asturids, which has its origins in the texts of the Asturid Fables. It is usually only referred to as Asturidism by those who do not practice it, while for believers of Asturidism it is commonly referred to as the Asturid Fables, or simply The Fables. Asturidism is the basis for many offshoot religions widely practiced throughout the Galaxy, and it is known for its adaptability and the multiplicity of its stories and divine figures, but also for the mysteries surrounding its lost texts. This incompleteness and variability makes it one of the most inclusive of all galactic religions, with many religious groups referring to it in their own religious practice in one way or another. The central themes of Asturidism are an emphasis on natural order, shared knowledge, inclusivity, and the intricate balance between light and dark. It is a generally considered to be a polytheistic-pantheistic religion, worshipping a variety of gods, each of whom are believed to exist indistinct from the physical universe. It is believed within Asturidism that the gods were once mortal, only becoming immortal through their creation of the universe, pouring themselves into whatever part of the universe they created. Asturidism is usually divided into two categories, Original Asturidism and Modern Asturidism, with the former being the religion of the original Asturids, and the latter being the primary religion of the modern Gimoans during the Gimoan Alliance.

#### Jurrikian Orthodoxy

*main article: Jurrikian Orthodoxy*

Jurrikian Orthodoxy is considered to be the most widespread and commonly practiced offshoot of Asturidism, popularised and in many cases enforced by the Jurrikian Empire, which rose to prominence during the end of the Old Era and the beginning of the Middle Era. The peak of Jurrikian Orthodox practice lasted during the Golden Epoch, before the gradual decline of the religion and the Jurrikian Empire in the Bleak Epoch. It is generally considered to be a monolatristic religion in that it believes in the existence of all the gods of the Asturidic pantheon, but solely worships Jura (the Jurrikian name for the Asturid, Mahas) who is also associated with the pre-Asturidic Jurrikian folk hero of the same name. Orthodox Jurrikians generally believe that Jura is the central and most powerful and potent member of the Asturidic pantheon, and that all the other deities in Asturidism simply laid the groundwork so that he could exist. Orthodox Jurrikians do not adhere to the worship of the light and dark aspects of the Asturidic deities, and assert that Jura is the sole god to be composed of only a light aspect, and that all he does is done to counteract the negative effects of the other deities' dark aspects. Orthodox Jurrikians believed that the downfall of the Gimoan Alliance was a result of the Asturidic acceptence of darkness, which Orthodox Jurrikians associated with rebellion and social upheaval since Jura embodied social order. It has been asserted that this belief justified the authoritarianism of the Jurrikian Empire, which openly expressed itself as the manifestation of perfect social order.

#### Kethicism

*main article: Kethicism*

Kethicism is the religion practiced by members of the Kethic Order, typically Umanars

### Other religions

#### Galarism

*main article: [[Galarism]]*

Galarism

#### Gorooism

*main article: Gorooism*

Gorooism

#### Joomuic Prophecies

*main article: [[Joomuic Prophecies]]*

Joomuic Prophecies