Discussion: Religion

[Valles]

What are y'all planning to do with yours?

Japan, as I'm planning to run it, will be home to two native Christian churches, a significant Jewry, and several different subspecies of Mennonites, as well as various Buddhist and animist creeds unique to the empire's three component kingdoms. Other sects - the Latter-Day Saints, Sunni Islam, the Catholic Church - are outright forbidden as 'Evil Cults' that have historically demonstrated themselves likely to attempt to overthrow the secular government.

The two native churches are the 'Nippondaikyoukai' and 'Nipponchikyoukai', the 'Greater' and 'Lesser' Churches of Japan. The Daikyoukai was established by the Shogun in the wake of the schism from the Catholic Church in the late 1600s, and is very like it in its rituals and theology: the primary point of difference is the Daikyoukai's insistence on treating the various kami as angelic beings in the service of God and invoking their intercession after the manner of Catholic Saints. Besides the high nobility, the Daikyoukai is most entrenched in the merchant classes.

The Chikyoukai has its origins in a peasant uprising during the early years of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and has several times been added to and removed from the 'Evil Cult' list. In the wake of the land reform edicts of the early nineteenth century, the Chikyoukai has taken on a degree of respectability to match its popularity. Theologically, the Lesser Church places the kami as entities seperated from the Creator in degree rather than kind, and justifies veneration of them as placing them after, rather than before, him. The rituals of the Lesser Church, even when dealing with 'Kami-sama', owe more to those of the Japanese animist traditions than to Western Christianity, which has historically had much to do with its appeal to the poorly-educated peasantry. The Chikyoukai's adherents are typically drawn from farming and craftsman backgrounds.

Jews, Mennonites, and other 'foreign' religious groups tend to have found their way to Japan in an effort to escape religious persecution elsewhere - the Shogunate is a civil government first and foremost, and has historically been completely indifferent to theological questions as long as the groups in question maintain a properly respectful submission to its laws and officials. The purges that result when groups - such as the Moslem community of the early eighteen century - abuse this license have tended to be sufficiently brutal that 'The fate of an evil cult' has become a Japanese expression for a horrific and bloody death.

Buddhism in modern Japan is mostly found in the samurai classes, most famously in the association between Zen and the military families, and in the eta underclass (in the form of several different Amidist or 'Pure Land' schools.)

[TexanCowboy]

Why the heck is the resident Jew the only one not getting a significant jewish population here???

[miketr]

Byzantium is Eastern Orthodox Christian and rabidly so.  The Great Schism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East-West_Schism) is still yesterday and the Pope is still viewed as an enemy.  The head of the Church is the Patriarch of Constantinople but the Emperor has massive power including the ability to sit in on church councils and tradition holds that Bishops within the Empire are to at least meet with approval of the Emperor.  The exact power struggle waxes and wanes.

Second largest religious group in Empire is Sunni Muslims, under official protection but subjected to occasional programs.  Typically when the once a generation war with Persia and or Egypt breaks outs.  Mostly in eastern provinces out in the countryside.

Third Largest is Judaism; concentrated in big cities such as Athens and Constantinople.

Michael

[Korpen]

The people belong to the Church. Since 1873 I guess some people have converted to some weird but now leagal cults like Baptists, and there are some migrants that have moved to the kingdom belonging to other religions as well.

[Nobody]

In Germany most people are Christians, with both the Catholics and Protestants being equally large groups. The Jews are a relatively large minority. Maybe something like 48:48:4. Many people will also be organized in clubs or voluntary organizations, keeping up old traditions and maybe unchristian rites.

[Sachmle]

Rough approximation based on this map, noting that I do not have Serbia

Catholic -35%
Protestant -35%
Jewish - 15%
Eastern Orthodox -10%
Muslim -5%

[Carthaginian]

Acadia will have a large percentage of French Catholics (probably about 65%), a very strong Native community (about 25%) and Jewish will fill out about 8% of the remaining population. There might be some Mohammedans or a rare few African Tribal sects... but not anything significant. Native religions will not die out as in OTL, though.

[Darman]

NERF will be mostly Protestant followed by Catholics (heavily Catholic in the northern states though) and a smattering of Jews.  Native religions.... not really.  And even the exact type of Protestantism will change according to state.  In RI for example (my home state so of course I know it best) there is a varied religious environment since it was founded on the basis of religious freedom (and since social values are something the Federal govt refuses to take a stance on RI may remain a bastion of religious freedom).  Massachusetts.... I may do some research on the religion of the Pilgrims and how it changed, I had a discussion with my boss and he started explaining how we (Americans) view the Pilgrims as our ancestors in everything including religion but he stated that the religion of the Pilgrims died out with a few generations.  So I may actually try to revive Massachusetts as a strictly Puritan state.  then again I may not.  The rest of the states, I'm gonna have to forgo details and only use generalities. 

[Tanthalas]

The Population of Deseret will break down roughly as follows in 1880

Latter Day Saint 75.5%
Catholic 10%
Evangelicals 7%
Mainline Protestants 6%
Black Protestant Churches 1%
Other Faiths 1%
Buddhism 0.5%
Eastern Orthodox 0.5%
Hinduism 0.5%
Islam 0.5%
Jehovah's Witnesses 0.5%
Judaism 0.5%
Other World Religions 0.5%

the rights and property of all recognised religions will be respected equaly but Deseret will have for obvious reasons a rather large LDS Majority.

[Desertfox]

Mexico will be heavily Catholic but will have significant numbers of Protestants(~10-15%), Jews (Monterrey area)(+5%), and Muslims(~5%). The government is strongly secular and for the separation of Church and State, so there will be tensions between the government and the Church. The rights of non-Catholics will be strongly protected by the government except for Mormons.

[Barcaii]

Well, unsuprisingly a very large majority of the Italian population will be Catholics. I'm not sure about the exact numbers yet but at least around 90%(considering that today in OTL ~88% are Catholics in Italy). Judaism is also a fairly large minority, and are quite established part of Rome.

[TexanCowboy]

Screw this.

Tejas is 100% Jewish.

:P

[Sachmle]

So we should probably not buy stuff from them...without haggling first..

..I KID...I KID...oy vey...

[TexanCowboy]

We accept no checks, simply pure silver and gold. :P

[ctwaterman]

In God We Trust ALL Others Pay CASH !!!!!
Seriously..

The United Souther States will be using a modified version of the 1783 US Constitution adopted some time in the Late 1890's   Since the Seperation of Church in state is really only mentioned in Jefferson letters and not in the constitutution we will see.  The right to practice ones religion and the lack of a state religion are enshrined.  But this is 1880 not 1980...   I will deal with the issue of slavery seperately.   But while the Jewish Population in the USS is at minority levels the 2 predominant religions are the two Chrisitian sects.   Other religion would be almost unknown.