Forism

Forism, or the Church of the Forest, is an ancient Diharan polytheistic religion. While there is a commonly and widely accepted standard group of gods, different areas carry different ones as the "highest" of them, and as such shrines may vary from area to area.

Some, such as the Church of the Squirrel, are celebrated through trickery, mischief, and the likes. In areas which worship the church of the squirrel, pranks on non-believers are considered a form of offering to the Squirrels, as are physical offerings to the same, and both are considered to bring good luck upon worshippers.

A more morbid (corvid?) Variation is the Church of the Crow, often improperly shortened to Corvism, which honors ritual dismemberment and being fed to crows as the highest form of worship; although this is generally only practiced as an alternative to burial, it has historically been used as a method of execution.

Other branches include the Church of the Monkey, Ant, Worm, etc.

The Church of the Forest recognizes seven tiers of creature. Each tier has it's own degree of holiness, and while different branches may be dedicated more to one specific church, they are generally focused on the animals of the second and third tiers.

The top tier are considered the apex; creatures whose mere existence is holy. Few churches dedicate themselves to these branches, purely because all churches respect them anyway. Humans are the only animal to be universally held on this tier, but many individual species or types of tree as well as mythological beings such as the Spirits or Wendigos are also found in this group.

The second tier is home to a more varied set. Many advanced but environmentally specific animals, such as Monkeys, Elephants, Wolves, Crows, and Bears are considered second tier animals, who quite often are the subject of founded churches.

The third tier consists mostly of less intelligent but otherwise relevant animals. These include some location specific animals as well as some universal animals, such as Horses, Crocodiles, Alligators, assorted birds of prey, and so on. Churches are sometimes founded in areas where a population is particularly strong.

The fourth tier consists primarily of smaller animals - creatures like rats, mice, smaller cats, most songbirds, and so on.

Fifth tier are fish and "semi-fish," such as amphibians, amphibious reptiles and mammals, and so forth.

Sixth tier are bugs and worms, and seventh tier is reserved for the dead.