Religion (Principia Moderni IV Map Game)

Culture can largely be defined by religion. Therefore, understanding of any geopolitical situation relies on understanding of religion. This page aims to describe major religions of the Principia Moderni IV universe, as well as elaborating notable trends and changes that differ from OTL.

World Map of State Religions

Key

• Roman Catholicism is yellow
• Bulgarian Rite Catholicism is light yellow
• Northern Rite Catholicism is dark yellow
• Eastern Orthodoxy is orange-brown
• Oriental Orthodoxy is brown
• Sunni Islam is green
• Shia Islam is light green
• Ibadi Islam is dark green
• Hinduism is neon blue
• Mongolian Buddhism is blue
• Buddhism is orange
• Confucianism is pink-purple
• Shintoism is red. 
• Gunterism is dark blue
• Kuzirism is pale blue
• "Pagan" Religions are dark red

Christianity

Roman Catholicism

The main difference between ATL Roman Catholicism and OTL Roman Catholicism is that it has been altered by the Adelphinian Reforms to promote charitable endeavours, emphasise strict monastic discipline and eliminate corruption.

Coptic Christianity

The Coptic Church is a monophysite split off from western Christianity, distinguished by its Christological schism at the Council of Ephesus in 451 AD. Centered around the Pope of Alexandria, the Coptic Church holds jurisdiction over all Christianity in Africa in general. Until the Arab-Ethiopian War, the main support of the Coptic Church came from the Ethiopian Empire in the far south. Since then, the Coptic Amharic people have grown tremendously in their migration northward into Egypt, known collectively as the "Amharic Sojourn". Coptic Christianity is most popular among a minority of middle-class in Egypt, as the Coptic church is given much privilege to the education system there. 

Another distinguishing feature of the Coptic Church is their liturgical language, known as the Coptic Language. Coptic is based on a combination of Hellenistic Greek and Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs. For this reason, the Coptic Church has also been instrumental in the foundation of archaeology in the Caliphate. 

After the Second Arab-Ethiopian War, Egypt was conquered by the Ethiopian Empire, restoring rule to a Coptic state. In Ethiopia, the religious and secular relationship between the Coptic Church and the Emperor are restored. Especially under the reign of Theodore II, religious institutions of Coptic Christianity dominated east Africa. After the Council of Alexandria in 1725, the Coptic Church was made its own Christian rite over the churches in Africa and the Middle East. 

Numerical order	Pontificate	Portrait	Name English · Regnal	Personal name	Place of birth	Notes
87	July 25 1378 - December 31 1408		Saint Matthew I Papas MATHEOS Enas	Antony Yalpogha	Cairo, Mamluk Sultanate	Rashidi debates with Caliph Al-Mutawakkil IV Martyred by Sultan Jafar Abu Sufyan
88	July 7 1409 - January 3 1428		Saint Gabriel V Papas GAVRIEL Pende		Alexandria, Mamluk Sultanate	Largely underground during the persecution of Al-M'utadid II
89	1429 - 1531		Saint John XI Papas IOANNIS Enteke	Farag Al-Maski	El-Maska, Mamluk Sultanate	Coptic Revolt Reorganized the church after the persecution ended
90	1532 - 1545		Saint Matthew II Papas MATHEOS Dyo		El-Muharraq, Mamluk Sultanate	Friendly with, and supported by Al-Najm the Great
91	1546 - 1556		Saint Gabriel VI Papas GAVRIL Exi	Yayha Al-Fayyum	Herekropolis, Abbasid Caliphate	Arab-Ethiopian War Founded the Museum of Alexandria Revitalized religious dialogue in the Arab Renaissance
92	1559 - 1560		Saint Michael VI Papas MICHAIL Exi		Damietta, Abbasid Caliphate
93	1562 - 1565		Saint John XII Papas IOANNIS Dodeka		Alexandria, Abbasid Caliphate
94	1566 - 1598		Saint John XIII Papas IOANNIS Dekatria	Yayha Zuwayla	Alexandria, Abbasid Caliphate	Amharic Sojourn; Arab colonization of Africa Established Coptic primacy in Africa Created Coptic education system Martyred by Caliph Al-Mansur II
95	1601 - 1655		Saint Gabriel VII Papas GAVRIL Efta	Antony Al-Eskandir	El-Muharraq, Abbasid Caliphate	Friendly to the Rashidun Caliphate Established Coptic Church hierarchy
96	1656 -1671		Saint John XIV Papas IOANNIS Dekatessara	Markus Al-Aswed	El-Muharraq, Abbasid Caliphate	Height of Amharic Sojourn with Theodore the Hermit Seventh Fitna
97	1672 - 1691		Saint Gabril VIII Papas GAVRIL Okto	Shenouda Al-Bishoy	Meer, Rashidun Caliphate	Saxon Crusade Amharic Aliyah
98	1691 - 1702		Saint Mark V Papas MARKOS Pende		Herakropolis, Rashidun Caliphate	Crowned Iyasu II Emperor of Ethiopia
99	1702 - 1719		Saint John XV Papas IOANNIS Dekapente		Medina Jamil, Rashidun Caliphate	Second Arab-Ethiopian War
100	1721 - 1732		Saint Matthew III Papas MATHEOS Tris		El-Monufia, Rashidun Caliphate	Council of Alexandria
101	1732 - 1741		Saint Mark VI Papas MARKOS Exi		Bahgourah, Rashidun Caliphate
102	1745 -		Saint Matthew IV Papas MATHEOS Tesseris		Meer, Rashidun Caliphate

Islam

Sunni Islam

Sunni (or "traditional") Islam is founded on the revelations of the Prophet Muhammad from the 7th century AD. It holds the Qu'ran, or recitation of this revelation, above all other doctrines for faith. The Five Pillars of Islam, as outward signs of faith, are derived from the Hadith or "traditions" passed from the companions of Muhammad. The head of Sunni Islam is the Caliph, currently descended from the Banu Hashim through Muhammad's uncle, Abbass, and hence known as the Abbassid Caliphate. Islam holds many similarities to Christianity and Judaism, and for that reason both of these religions are tolerated under Islamic rule, with the additional Jizya tax. 

After the Sixth Fitna, the Abbasid Dynasty collapsed and was replaced with the elective Rashidun Caliphate. Unlike previous Arab Dynasties, the Rashidun are non-dynastic, elective theocracy where the Caliph could potentially be nominated from any tribe or clan. This has since created a far more stable and enlightened form of Islam in general. 

Shia Islam

Shia Islam (derived from Shiat Ali, or "partisans of Ali") holds to most of the same values of Sunni Islam, but split off from it after the death of Muhammad. Shia Islam, mainly located in Iran and Iraq, maintains that Ali was the true successor of Muhammad, and as such the Caliphs of Sunni Islam are invalid. Until the 9th century, Shia Islam maintained their own head of the religion known as the Grand Imam, which ended with Muhammad Al-Mahdi in 880 AD. More recently, a local Ziyadi Sheikh from Yemen was elevated as Caliph of the Shia by the Gurkani Sultanate in 1443. The Ziyadi Caliphate continued until 1527, reaching a point of outnumbering Sunni Islam entirely. Since the Caliphate was deposed with the Treaty of Batman, however, Shia Islam has returned to a minority religion. 

After the Grand Council of Basra, the Ziyadi branch of Islam was merged back into the Sunni faith, albeit with some tensions remaining. 

Ibadi Islam

Ibadi Islam is the third branch of Islam that considers both the authority of Sunni and Shia to be invalid. Ibadis believe it is unnecessary to have one leader for the entire Muslim world, and are generally more tolerant of other faiths and beliefs than Sunnis and Shiites. Ibadi Islam was influenced mainly by Abd-Allah ibn Ibadh, whom the name of the denomination is derived from. This branch is only held by a majority in Oman, the Island of the Moon, and parts of Swahili. 

Oman has since been subjugated by the Sunni Caliphate with the Unification of Arabia, but Ibadi Islam remains a separate religion. 

Hinduism

Although Hinduism once ruled over the entire Indian Subcontinent and beyond, the rise of Gunturism and the conquests of the Delhi and Bahmani Sultanates have resulted in the conquest or vassalization of every non-Gunturist Hindu state. Nonetheless, every state in India has a majority Hindu population, and the Muslim states of the subcontinent have given them a wide range of concessions.

A Hindu state of the Delhi Raj has risen from the Delhi Sultanate and now seeks to establish a unified Hindu state. Shaivism is the most popular form. Hinduism is tolerant of all religions except Shia and Sunni Islam.

Kuzirism

The Star of Oghodua

Kuzirism (Kụziiri, "taught" or "instructed") is a monotheistic religious ideology which encompasses a series philosophical, economical, and sociopolitical ideals as well as articulated by the Iwe ti Iwo, the religious text revered by its adherents as the word of God as transmitted by Oba Ewuare, the former ruler of the Benin Empire and founder of the religion. Because of the wide-reaching teachings of Kurizism, the religion is often considered to be more than a typical faith, but a way of life which touches upon all aspects of an adherent's livelihood. The faith teaches that god, known as Oghodua, created man with an inescapable desire to learn and expand his understanding of the universe and its inner-workings, a desire driven by the fact that Oghodua hid himself within the mechanics of the universe. Oghodua promised to reveal himself to his followers and humanity as a whole once they discovered all there was to know about the universe, and could definitively prove that Oghodua was their god, upon which all of humanity would be blessed in his presence and follow him into the afterlife.

Sects of Kuzirism

Since the decline of the Benin Empire, the religion of Kuzirsm became greatly decentralized. As the Kuzirist religion was more centered on philosophy rather than doctrine or mythology - each ethnic community in Africa adopted unique interpretations of it. In West Africa, Kuzirism was merged with Muslim philosophy. In Buha and parts of southern Africa, a branch of Kuzirism worshiped the god Olorun known as Hermiticism. 

"Pagan" Religions

Australian Aborigine Mythology

The South Australian Civilization follows traditional polytheistic religion centered on the cult of Lord Ngintaka. The pantheon of gods, known as "The First Ones", were the original colonists of Australia back in the Paleolithic Era. After creating the world and life on the continent, the First Ones went to sleep under Mount Uluru, until such time as they can return to rule the world once again. Until then, a clerical class known as "Dreamspeakers" communicates with the First Ones by going into a traditional meditative process, known as Dreamtime. 

The cult of Ngintaka was founded around 1450 by the Tjilbruke, the mythological patriarch of the South Australian Civilization. According to Mythology, Lord Ngintaka met Tjilbruke and helped him to develop farming and permanent settlements, as well as founding the civilization in general.

The two most sacred places to the religion are the Ochre Chapel, located in Ngarrindjeri, OTL Adelied Valley, and the White Chapel on Mount Uluru. Both of these places are said to have direct communication with the First Ones by Dreamtime, and all work in and around the temples are restricted to the Dreamspeakers. 

Culoden Religion

The Culoden religion is a Mzerkan animist religion, which believes that certain animals are the representatives of the world spirits. The main animal representative of a spirit is the Chipmunk who is named Culo. Culo is the God of Gods and the god of all food. The official name of this religion is also based on this representative as he is the only universally worshiped spirit in the Culoden religion. The religion is also quite intertwined with the old Sinkyone tribal leadership and Culture. As the Sinkyone chief was also the religion's head and the messenger of the God's spirits.