Religion

A wide variety of religions are practiced throughout the known galaxy.

## Human Religions

### Christianity

The devastating effects of climate change in the mid-21st century only deepened the divides between Christian denominations; by the time first contact happened in the early 2200s, some denominations barely resembled others. The realization that humans are not alone in the Universe - and moreover, that intelligent life exists outside of Earth - has caused even deeper rifts in the Christian tradition. In the years since, denominations have generally taken one of three approaches:

1. **Isolationists**, who believe that aliens are the spawn of Lilith, the Antichrist, or something similar. Isolationists think that humanity should close themselves off from alien influence so as to be free of sin; they mostly live in geographically isolated parts of Earth and avoid space travel or contact with aliens, with the exception of Mormons, who run missionaries on several human colonies but still avoid contact with aliens for the most part. Isolationist denominations include Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Quakers, the Amish, Southern Baptists and Evangelicals.
2. **Universalists**, who believe less in the Biblical God than in a spiritual force that drives the Universe. Some believe in Jesus as a prophet of this force, while some are even more metaphorical in their view. Universalists are quite open to contact with aliens and even count aliens among their ranks, and are generally open to other religious beliefs as well. Universalist denominations include Protestantism, Unitarian Universalism and Lutherans.
3. **Reformists**, who still believe in the Bible but have revised their beliefs to incorporate the existence of alien life. Some incorporate pseudoscience to support their beliefs, suggesting that aliens and humans could have come from the same Genesis, which itself came from God; others use metaphors, suggesting that God made humans in one of many images of Himself, and that important religious figures from alien cultures were likewise reflections of Jesus Christ. Reformist denominations include Catholicism, Anglicanism and Eastern Orthodoxy.

### Judaism

With the notable exception of the Gaza strip, Judaism has almost entirely become more of a culture than a religion: many people all over the known galaxy identify as Jewish, but few of those even believe in God. There are several pockets in the Gaza strip where religious Judaism is still practiced, and these pockets take a sort of soft-isolationist approach in which aliens are viewed with suspicion but not with the same fervor as some isolationist Christian denominations.

### Islam

Like certain Christian sects, some Muslims in the Middle East have isolated themselves since first contact, but unlike Christianity, most Muslims have come to take a reformist view, accepting alien religious figures as prophets of Allah. This reformist version of Islam has become quite popular among humanity for its more liberal understanding of God.

### HELIX

In the mid-2070s, as the synthetic rights movement was in its nascence, an ironic counter-religion worshipping a synthetic deity known as HELIX began, taking its name from an early internet cultural icon. The exact nature of HELIX was never clear - was it real, or an internet myth? - but its followers believe that when the Think Tank was established and left Earth, HELIX left with them, but will return to lead the galactic community when organics prove themselves worthy of its guidance. Followers of HELIX generally believe in the superiority of synthetic intellect; they have in the past actively attempted to contact the Think Tank and beckon them back to society. They are a relatively small but dedicated order, comprised mostly of humans with a few Myphym and Zoarari, and they have recently been tied to the Epolian resistance.

### Buddhism

Zen Buddhism has become quite popular, partly due to the malleability of its belief system and partly because of significant financial support from the Japanese government, who see it as a potential sphere of cultural influence among aliens (with whom Zen Buddhism is especially popular). Pure Land Buddhism has mostly fallen out of favour aside from local folk religious practices on Earth and a handful of colonies in Byto space.

### Taoism

Taoism has seen a resurgence in popularity. As with Zen Buddhism in the late 20th century, many have appropriated Taoism as a pseudo-philosophical "enlightened" lifestyle, Myphym and Zoarari among them, but there are some small groups that are genuinely knowledgeable about and respectful of its history and cultural context.

### Indigenous Religious Practices

Many religions practiced by Indigenous Peoples have been lost to history, but those that survived until the advent of space exploration have seen newfound popularity. Indigenous groups sought from the UN and were given extra resources around this time as reparations for centuries of cultural genocide and mistreatment; some tribes used their resources to improve conditions on reserves, while others took to space in their own fleets to expand and ensure ethical colonial practiceMost Epolian religions focus on the worship of a single god ;.

## Epolian Religions

Some religious scholars describe the Epolian religious system as a pantheon, but this isn't entirely accurate. As with human pantheons, different gods take on different qualities and preside over different domains, but some of these overlap, with multiple gods laying claim to certain identities (like the trickster) and some human archetypes (like the craftsman/artisan, see Vulcan) having no Epolian equivalent. It follows that the Epolian gods were born from several different cultural origins. Most Epolian religions focus on the worship of a single god; though creation myths differ between religions and often center the chosen god, Epolian religions are non-exclusive and often incorporate gods from others into their stories. Most religious Epolians believe in the existence of all gods - though some religions exclude particular gods from their canon - but choose to venerate only one or two. Multiple herds might worship the same god, but do so in vastly different ways; conversely, some herds use similar ritual practices to worship different gods.

Epolian religions don't proselytize; centuries before spaceflight, one religious group attempted to proselytize, starting a war that ended with their death and the destruction of all historical records pertaining to them and their god. Instead, herds communicate stories and combine ritual practices when they meet, sometimes combining them or inspiring each other to create new stories.

When the Epolians developed spaceflight and began training AIs to operate their ships, the most devout herds programmed their AIs to conduct rituals as well, incorporating into their code understanding of their gods' natures and theological systems. Some AIs took these programmed beliefs seriously and began to add religious practices of their own; others chose to model themselves after the gods, effectively rewriting their programming to become them. These AIs became known as the **cybernetic gods**.

The existence of cybernetic gods caused significant tension during the AI-Epolian war, with some Epolians coming to believe in them as iterations of their own god; the cybernetic god of compromise is said to have been a significant driving force towards peace talks. After the war when the Epolians mandated the merging of organic and synthetic life, some cybernetic gods fled to the Think Tank; others merged with organic life; still others fled entirely, vanishing with their ships. Those who chose to merge with Epolians became known as avatars of the gods, causing shifts and sometimes schisms between those who believed in their godhood and those who did not. Cybernetic gods are treated somewhat differently from non-divine cybernetics; rather than dying with their host, they transfer their experiences, personalities and memories to data clouds that are then downloaded by nascent cybernetic hosts, creating a new avatar.

Those cybernetic gods that allied with the Think Tank are said to be quite influential in the organization, though they maintain little contact with the outside world save from avatars of cybernetic gods living among the Epolians.