Major Religions

In addition to these religions unique to CoE, some religions familiar to us still exist in the universe, such as Christianity and Islam. This is especially important due to the large influence of Christianity within the Dynasty of Rakkai.

## The Void Pilgrimage

The Void Pilgrimage is a religious movement that had its origins in what is now the Coalition of Planets. However, it became most popular in the low border colonies of Allem, which is now the territory of the Void Pact. Its headquarters are located on the capital planet of the Void Pact, Silence.

The Void Pilgrimage takes purpose in exploring every part of the universe in search of a higher being (or, as some believe, beings), referred to as "The Creator(s)" or, more colloquially, "The Void". They believe that the Void led human civilization through the wormhole to our current galaxy, and something is hidden somewhere in the universe that must be found in order to ascend to the same level as the Void. Some believe that this hidden secret was in fact the Azok, and that ascension is to be achieved together with them.

As a rite of passage, young adult Voids (as members of the Pilgrimage are often referred to) are given an exploratory ship at age 21 (17 for Azok) and sent on a 3-year exploratory mission to unknown parts of the galaxy, often with the goal to set up jump beacons for future travel. Upon their return, they are able to keep the ship if they choose and are offered opportunities in employment and education based upon their performance in the field.

The Void Pilgrimage receives most of its funding from the Void Pact. While some question the government's funding of the religious organization, those who live within the Pact itself are generally satisfied with this choice, even if they are not Voids themselves.

## The Church of the Followers of Alec

The Church of the Followers of Alec has its roots in Allem in the previous capital of the Allem Empire, Rhodern. It was originally led by a man named Alec Nehona. It is of special note that Nehona successfully predicted many specific future events, such as the fall of the Allem Empire (which led to the Church being shunned in Allem society until after the prophecy actually came true), The Pestilence, and even the coming of the Nafarians. A number of other prophecies made by Alec have yet to come to fruition. Alec taught that only through galaxy-wide cooperation, trust, and consolidation of resources would the galaxy be prepared for the dire events he foretold.

Today, the Church has organized into a well-funded reactionary group that works to promote communication between nations, providing aid during natural and societal disasters of all scales, founding hospitals and schools in impoverished areas, helping establish new colonies, and more. Followers of Alec are often involved in politics due to their core belief in intergalactic consolidation, and generally run under their own distinct Alecian Party.

Followers of Alec believe that all intelligences in the universe are connected. All sentience, whether it be that of the smallest microbe or of a massive behemoth, are all shards - incomplete pieces - of one whole, complete Intelligence that all life is a part of. They believe that as people think and act more in harmony and unity, the galactic Intelligence will become more unified as well, making life better for everyone.

## The Creed of Nafar

Among Nafarians, the Creed of Nafar is the official religion of the Empire, and its tenets are regarded as absolute fact in its educational systems. The Creed of Nafar centers on an ancient alien race known by the same name; the Nafar once had control of a sweeping intergalactic empire, terraforming planets to their liking and subjugating all sapient life they could find. Followers of the Creed of Nafar aim to model themselves after the Nafar, basing their laws, governments, and military on the ancient structure of the Nafar. Nafarians go so far as to alter themselves genetically and cybernetically in order to achieve this goal and see themselves as the successors to the Nafar.

Among other species, followers of the Creed of Nafar work to assist the Nafarians in their quest to become the next iteration of the Nafar, often acting as spies and terrorist cells in systems across the Unclouded Galaxy.

## Caretakers

Caretakers believe that the galaxy was given to humanity by a diety known as Sanacutra. They believe that the galaxy humanity lives in was chosen for its ability to sustain life; this belief was reinforced with the discovery of the Azok. The religion began in the Orient Empire during the Probing Era, and gained great popularity after the Orient's home planet, Jianguan, had to be evacuated due to pollution and depletion of the planet's natural resources. A second surge in popularity occurred more recently with the onset of the Pestilence, which the Caretakers fought (sometimes literally) with a militaristic zeal.

Caretakers view the continuation of the sustainability and habitability of the galaxy as their calling in life. They work together to stage massive ecological projects and make waves in the political scene to ensure the safety of life-bearing planets - and continued terraforming of potential ones. Their influence in the practice of terraforming is quite remarkable, and many colonies owe their existence to the Caretakers. Their most notable terraforming project in recent years was the hydroinjection and atmospheric cleansing of the planet Ezar, allowing Ezarians to breathe anywhere on the surface for the first time without the need for purification masks.

## Simulationists

Less of a religion and more of a generally accepted system of ideas, Simulationists hold the belief that the universe is a simulation being run on an incomprehensibly complex master server. Some believe that other people are fellow users in the simulation, while others believe that people (sometimes including themselves) are actually artificial intelligence, made to serve some purpose in the Sim.

Popular religious figures such as God, Morgana, Alec, Sanacutra, etc. are actually developers and moderators of the Sim, and therefore all of them are revered as higher beings. This religion is especially popular among scientists and intellectuals (as well as conspiracy theorists!), and though it has no structured organization, the ideas behind Simulationism is similar enough between believers and widespread enough to be considered a major religious movement, especially in highly developed nations.

## Strings

A loose system of ideas, similar to Simulationism, that purports the idea that an infinite number of multiverses exist in tandem with our own, in which every possible series of events has occurred, and for every possible divergence of two timelines, there are two or more multiverses to represent the possibilities. Strings are typically more spiritual than Simulationists, although there are many similarities to their basic ideas.

Specific beliefs of Strings vary wildly; some believe in supernatural beings as "anything is possible in the multiverse", while others adopt the stance that while such a thing is possible, there is no evidence to support their existence in our timeline. Despite this, the general concept of an infinite number of alternate timelines and variations of the universe is a constant among Strings.

Simulationists and Strings are most popular in the scientific community, and their followers are often at odds with one another, especially when the assumption of the world as a simulation or the assumption of a multiverse finds itself among the evidences for a new theory or publication.