Adeptus Ministorum - Mutants and Abhumans: Many of the Imperial Creed's teachings warn of the danger of mutation. It is often said that the Emperor created Mankind in His own perfect form, and that any deviation from the physical norms of the Human body is an indication of inner impurities and sins. Some would say this doctrine is quite correct, for it has long been known that where instances of mutation increase within a population there will soon follow a rise in psyker birth rates.Some blame mutation on spiritual corruption, alien intervention or chemical pollution. Mutation tends to take one of two forms. The first is spontaneous and can occur anywhere, at birth or later in life. There is often no discernible cause, and the afflicted may go to great lengths to hide their mutation. If the mutation can be hidden, the individual might be able to lead a relatively normal life, but if it is so obvious that it cannot be hidden, the mutant may be forced to flee from their community, and seek others similarly afflicted to start a new life.Many worlds are subject to strict laws regarding mutations, and these may be policed by "purity patrols," which conduct arbitrary raids on workplaces and homes and stop-search operations in the streets in order to identify mutants. Only those with the power or wealth to avoid or pay off such scrutiny have any chance of avoiding it, and many of the Imperium's most influential noble houses are the subjects of vicious rumours regarding the genetic horrors they are believed to regularly spawn.The second form of mutation is that which throughout the ages has become stabilised and, to a degree at least, recognised and tolerated. Such mutants are commonly referred to as "Abhumans." Some populations are tall and muscular, some squat and stout. Over the millennia these characteristics have become so exaggerated that new strains of the Human genome have become established, often encouraged by genetic tinkering of one sort or another.It is not uncommon for explorers operating at the fringes of the Imperium to discover Human populations lost since time immemorial who have developed some unusual physical trait. Through deliberate selection on the part of the society in question, such characteristics might become ubiquitous in the population. These might include garish skin colouring and patterning, exaggerated or even additional limbs or the ability to see in the dark, breathe underwater, or any one of thousands of unusual features that might be considered mutation.The fate of many such strains is to be annihilated at the hands of vengeful Puritans, but often a small number of survivors are spirited away by curious Inquisitors, tech-priests or others for further study.Attitudes to mutation vary widely across the Imperium. On some worlds no divergence whatsoever is tolerated, and even stable Abhuman strains such as Ogryns might be shot on sight. Others harbour vast mutant under-classes, often condemned to a life of servile drudgery doing the jobs that no others will undertake.It should not be assumed that civilisation denotes enlightenment in this matter, or that ignorant feral worlders are more or less likely to be more accepting of mutation than educated nobility. Superstition rules at every level of the Imperium, from the High Lords of Terra right down to the lowest indentured menial. The attitudes of mutants themselves towards the Imperial Creed can be just as varied, depending upon the degree to which they are allowed access to it.Preachers often flock to worlds where a large mutant population is tolerated sometimes as punishment from their superiors but other times because they genuinely wish to make a difference in the Abumans' lives. Such sermons often take the form of lengthy diatribes telling the mutants that they are filthy and debased, that they are fortunate to be allowed to exist at all, and that their continued existence can only be justified by their toil.In the case of Abhuman populations who are useful to the Imperium, such as Ogryns or Ratlings serving with the Astra Militarum, they may be exposed to a highly simplified version of the Imperial Creed, extolling the virtues of service and reward but leaving out more complex or problematic doctrines.In fact, it has been noted that the childlike mind of an Ogryn can be easily inspired to great acts of bravery by the admonitions of a skilled preacher, and the commissars of the Officio Prefectus are especially adept in rousing their charges to such ends.