Zohism in Senria
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The practice of Zohism in Senria can be dated to the 500s CE, with the faith becoming well-established in Senria within a century of its arrival. Patronized by most emperors and many prominent nobles throughout the medieval period, Zohism has played a very important role in shaping Senrian culture - particularly as a result of its heavy syncretization with Tenkyou - and the faith remains prominent and widely-practiced within the country into the present.
Zohism is the second-largest religion in Senria, with 62.6% of Senrians, or 161.98 million people, identifying themselves as Zohist in the nation's 2015 census; this gives Senria one of the highest Zohist populations in the world. Survey data suggests that roughly 55-60% of the Senrian population has a Zohist altar in their home. The overwhelming majority of Senrian Zohists belong to the Kuoeci school, though the Tsandau and Dengoq schools do have small presences within the country.
History
[arrival, initial hostility/wariness followed by patronage]
[early development (three old schools), syncretism with tenkyou]
[further development (four new schools), some syncretism with senrian badi but not as much]
[late medieval/early modern period]
[shinbutsu bunri]
[since the revolution]
Senrian schools of Zohism
Senrian Zohism is overwhelmingly dominated by the Kuoeci (Senrian: Kanken) school; while the Tsandau (Senrian: Zoudou) and Dengoq (Senrian: Taigou) schools are both also present within the country, Kuoeci was the first to arrive and entrench itself, and neither Tsandau nor Taigou has ever been particularly major or consequential in Senria.
Shaped by several temple and monastery lineages emerging from Kuoeci Zohism's tendency towards a less centralized clergy, Senrian Zohism is further subdivided into several major theological schools which have differing interpretations of how best to overcome the Abyss and the Tower and thereby attain enlightenment, with each school emphasizing different scriptures and practices as the most important or effective means of cultivating spiritual awareness. The most historically-important groups are generally divided between the "Three Old Schools", which emerged in the 6th and 7th centuries, and the "Four New Schools", which emerged between the 9th and 13th centuries.
Three Old Schools
[schools which emerged in the sixth and seventh centuries, when zohism first arrived in senria; once influential, past their prime now]
[!yogacara/!hosso - a school emphasizing the study of writings focusing on the nature of consciousness and the self] [!kegon - noteworthy subschool which emphasizes the study of writings about the nature of reality, as the self is an emanation of reality]
[!madhyakama/!sanron - a school emphasizing the study of writings focusing on the nature of transience and emptiness]
[a school emphasizing study of the writings of soucius and his immediate disciples specifically as the "purest form" of zohism]
Four New Schools
[schools emerging from the ninth century to the thirteenth century] [these schools by and large replaced the three old schools]
[!tendai - 9th century, a school emphasizing the recitation of analects and sutras, doctrinally broad]
[!shingon - 9th century, highly esoteric, a school emphasizing mantras and tantras and mandalas and foreign deities; very satrian-influenced, also inherits a lot of the !kegon tradition]
[!zen - 12th century, a school emphasizing meditation and introspection about the nature of existence; adapted pieces of the !sanron tradition]
[!pure land/!nichiren - 13th century, an often-populist school emphasizing nembutsu, the veneration of the names of sages and !bodhisattvas, with vibes of trying to find salvation in times of moral decay]
Other schools
[many other schools exist though none of these have ever attained the prominence of the big seven]
[minor !risshu-esque school which carries on some of the traditions of two of the three old schools at like four temples max]
[modern humanistic zohist sects, some influenced by northern interpretations of zohism]
[tsandau and busothaq presence in senria]
Cultural impact
[religious impacts - heavy syncretization with Tenkyou; importation of zohist divinities, sages, holidays, and rituals, particularly those of Shangea, Ansan, and Satria ]
[zohism brought concepts of eschatology and salvation that don't really exist in tenkyou; these plus certain bits of tenkyou plus later Sotirian messianism are the fuel for the fire that is Senrian new religious movements]
[societal impacts - sengshui system, caste system]
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[cultural impacts - philosophy, art, architecture, holidays]
[as zohism and Taoshi were brought to senria roughly simultaneously, the things that taoshi brought over - meritocracy, rationalism, etc. - are conflated with zohism by many senrians; it's syncretism all the way down]
