Religion in Esquarium
Being a culturally and ethnically diverse region, Esquarium also boasts diversity in religion. A significant portion of Esquarium's population are adherents of both monotheistic and polytheistic religions. Some countries have official state religions, while others are secularist or atheist.
Irreligion and Agnosticism
Some countries have largely irreligious, atheist or agnostic populations. People may also be apatheist, believing that the existence of deities are not of great concern for livelihoods or living.
In Namor, official estimates say 60% of people are agnostic or irreligious, although this percentage may be way higher or way lower depending on individual interpretations of religion among Namorese. Ironically, Namor is the birthplace of Txoism, one of the largest religions in Esquarium which has gained momentum in the rest of the Namorese-speaking world. There is ongoing debate on the factors behind the large amount of irreligious people in Namor, but most theologists agree that loss of faith in religious practices and government policies (in the past, movements by the Liberationist Party of Namor, especially the Green Fever, significantly attacked religion) all play some role in the status of irreligion and agnosticism in Namor today.
Vyvland has a plurality of irreligious people, who make up 48.7% of the population. Vyvland was converted to Christianity relatively late in its history, while the religion never exerted a particularly strong influence on Vyvlanders' lives, partly due to the early foundation of the Lutheran Church of Vyvland and the country's secular monarchial tradition. Coupled with the anti-religious drives of Jeusev Jueves in South Vyvland, this has contributed to a large irreligious culture, especially in urban areas.
Abrahamic religions
Judaism
Judaism has a long - and often troubled - history among many Esquarian countries, although Jews are very geographically dispersed in the modern period. Other significant Jewish populations exist in Bohemia (17%), Luziyca (1.0%, but with a historical Jewish majority in the years BC) and Vyvland (1.0% - see Jews in Vyvland), in addition Aucuria, Lecistan, Montecara, Korivania, and Crolacia.
Nevanmaa had a fairly large Jewish minority, mostly centered in Oivarinmaa and northern Hedland. King Väinö I banished all jews and muslims who refused to convert to Christianity from Nevanmaa in 1663. Most Nevan jews who refused to convert escaped to Vyvland. Judaism and islam remained banned until it was legalized by the Eduskunta in 1903. Today, there are only sixteen synagogues and 42,558 Jews in Nevanmaa (0.018% of the population).
Christianity
Christianity is the most developed Abrahamic religion in Esquarium, with more Esquarian followers than any other religion or sect in the same category. There are many Christian sects in Esquarium. One of the most controversial issues facing Esquarian Christians is the question over the birthplace of Jesus Christ. The Luziyca-based Lutheran Catholic Church maintains that Jesus was born in Luziyca and died there, but the vast majority of the other Christian sects elsewhere dispute this. This issue, accompanied with other Biblical and doctrinal disagreements, has led to many countries forming their own churches or sects of Christianity, breaking away from the Lutheran Catholic system. The Church of Geadland, among other churches, is a prominent example of a church which separated from the Lutheran Catholic authority to follow its own path. There are also a significant amount of Christian churches, like the Church of Walminghaven, that have had no prior affiliation with the Lutheran Catholic Church and were founded and/or evolved independently.
Countries that are predominantly Christian include Luziyca, Geadland, Sardeed, Walminghaven, Ainin, Vjaarland, Nevanmaa, Wolfmanne, Arkiasis, Prybourne, Dhomland, Naures, Bohemia and among others.
Islam
There is a small Muslim community in Namor, known as the Hoi (Muslim Namorese) ethnic group. Most Hoi reside in the district of West Namor. They are racially identical with the Kannei Namorese, but the main difference is that they follow Islam. Nearly all Namorese Muslims belong to the Sunni sect.
Nevanmaa had a Muslim minority concentrated in the "mountain realms" of Alasmaa, Evessia, Haukimaa Lemeria and Shamilia until king Väinö I banished all muslims and jews who refused to convert to Christianity from Nevanmaa in 1663. Judaism and Islam remained banned until it was legalized by the Eduskunta in 1903. Compared to the Jewish community, the Muslims never recovered and today there are 6251 Muslims and five mosques in entire Nevanmaa.
Namoric religions
Namoric religions, also known as Oriental Western Esquarian religions, Namorese religions, or Txoic religions, are religions which originated, and retain a certain degree of dominance in countries greatly influenced by Namorese culture.
Txoism and Namorese folk religion
"Txoism" is a term used by theologists and the media to describe the mainstream Namoric religion which still many Namorese adhere to. It is sometimes interchangeable with the term "Namorese folk religion," although theologists differentiate between the two by using "Txoism" to describe the religion as it is practiced by not only Namorese, but by Choreans, among other Namoric peoples. "Namorese folk religion" is used for Txoism as it is practiced in Namor only.
A polytheistic religion where many gods are worshiped, Txoism evolved from primitive society, where worship is heavily relied on in an agrarian society and seen as the way to achieve a bountiful harvest. Unlike Abrahamic religions, Txoism was not founded by a single person who proclaims himself to be the prophet of the religion. It was spread throughout the Namorese-speaking world through migrants and settlers.
Txoists believe in a supreme god, Songte, who rules over all the other gods. Songte's daughter, Nushen, is also worshiped, although Namorese Txoists worship her more than other Txoists as she is viewed as the protector-god of the Namorese exclusively).
Worshiped to a lesser degree during ancient times was the Emperor of Namor, viewed as the Son of Heaven who rules according to a mandate from heaven.
Shento
Shento is a religion unique to the country of Chorea, believed to be an indirect variation of mainstream Txoism. Unlike Txoism, however, nature is more worshiped in Shento, and worship of Chorean kings and emperors is more emphasized. Ancient Choreans were more religiously intolerant than their Namorese counterparts, and declared Shento the state religion. Laws were passed to impose heavy penalties (ranging from banishment to death) upon Choreans who don't follow Shento. In fact, belief in non-Shento faiths wasn't officially decriminalized in Chorea until 1945, and legalized in 1989.
Gods worshiped in Shento are considered to be variants of Namorese gods in Txoism, just like how Roman gods are to Greek gods.
Hinduism and Sikhism
Smalls groups of Sikhs and Hindus are found in West Cedarbrook, mostly in larger cities. Their presence is traced to the ancient Dal people of the region.
Hinduism
Temples to popular gods, particularly Vishnu and Brahma are found in most Cedarbrookese cities. The religion is not particularly vegetarian, and reincarnation is deemphasized compared to the importance of performing good deeds in the current lifetime.
Prominent Cedarbrookese Hindus include Srinivas Rao, music director of the Radio West Cedarbrook orchestra, and Dr. Pari Krishnamurthy, named as Chairman of the Antarctic Treaty Conference.
Sikhism
Sikhism started as an offshoot of Hinduism under the influence of Jewish concept of the oneness of God in West Cedarbrook during the 1610s, mostly among those Hindus serving as soldiers in the imperial armies of Luba and Yerushalaim. To this day military service is seen as a sign of devotion to Cedarbrookese Sikhs.
Nordanian Religions
All most all modern native Nordanian religions originated from the Nordic pagan religion that existed in the continent since antiquity. However since the introduction of Christianity to Nordania, the number of practitioners of these religions have declined significantly.
Ríkr Átrunaðr
Ríkr Átrunaðr is an Old Nordanian phrase literally meaning the Great/Magnificent Faith, which refers to a religion largely found in Sjealand, Fjalland, and Vjaarland. It is a pantheistic and monotheistic faith centered on an omnipotent creator god and several guardian gods for every people on earth. Cyclical and and benevolent deeds are highly prized in Atrunean philosophy and practitioners are encouraged to be kind to their national siblings so that their rebirth may be strengthened.
Religions and Esquarian politics
State religions
Presently, few countries in Esquarium have an official state religion. Most countries are secular; in this case, government policies are not influenced by religious practices or doctrines but the population still enjoys a relatively acceptable degree of religious freedom.
Some countries with an official state religion, especially those that have Christianity as the state religion, have a church tax in place. Citizens pay taxes that go to the country's official church organization. This is seen in Luziyca and Geadland, although in countries that do have a church tax in place, church tax rates are very low.
Religion as a means of bolstering support for government rule
Some leaders identify themselves as adherents of a certain religion or sect in order to gain the support of followers of that sect, primarily when they constitute a large portion of a country's population.
Unolia's late leader, Jarrod Thuman, was a Christian who actively promoted his faith to the Unolian people during his rule. Coining himself as a "SOC (Soldier of Christ)," Thuman promoted Unolian youth to participate in church-related activities. Jahistic sympathy for Christianity lasted well after Thuman's death until very recently, when the ruling Jahistic Party declared state atheism.
Before the onset of the Green Fever, the Liberationist government of Yunglang Antelope, in spite of being staunchly secularist, advocated a union between Txoists, Christians, Jews and Muslims to increase support for the Liberationist Party. In Katranjiev, it is widely believed that Huankun Chen tolerated Txoism and allowed it to stand during the 26th of July Movement so to keep the support of Kannei Namorese.