About a century ago the multitude of religions existing on New Earth joined together as one force. The resulting conglomeration of religion has lasted to this day. As it currently stands, religion is a daily part of many people's lives. Since all religion is the same, aside from the fringe religions and cults awaiting membership with the UBT, very few nations have enforced an official religion. Each of the religions that have a membership with the UBT still maintain their own individual practices, they just have learned to accept each other's differences without resorting to violence.
Not all religions are members of the UBT, however. Whenever a new religion appears, the UBT begins to watch it closely. They observe the practices the new religion employs, both in actual services and the actions of members of the religion outside of worship. If the religion seems to have a reasonable increase in membership, and doesn't pose a threat to any of the existing religions, the UBT Council will allow the religion to petition for admittance into the Brotherhood.
Major Religions
While the UBT has managed to group all religious belief under one banner, there are still a multitude of varying religious belief. The one and only tenet all belief structures follow is that of tolerance for all other beliefs. They may all have different heirarchies, rules, and paths of worship. What they all have in common is the overriding goal of reaching a better place after the death of the physical body. How they each choose to view this end, and the path to achieve it, is up to the individual. None has the right to judge the path of another.
Currently, there are literally hundreds of different paths of worship. Many, however, are so limited in followers as to be insignificant. Only twenty-five branches of the UBT have the clout to be considered world religions.
Buddhists
Church of the Last Revival
Originally founded in 3810, this religion has a very controversial history. Over the many years it existed in its first iteration, the church was actually a front for a terrorist organization. The church would move into a new country, where they would recruit new members. These new members would be subtly indoctrinated into the terrorist beliefs of the churches inner circle. Eventually this would result in numerous attacks against the nations of the world, with little evidence to tie the attacks together. Eventually, the real power behind the church was revealed and the system fell apart. In 4350 the church was rebuilt, without the terrorists. World opinion is still a little negative toward the church regardless.
The core beliefs of this religion boils down to apocalypse cult. The purpose behind the religion is that the universe itself is going to end. The exact timing on this end of everything is vague, to the point that there is no real urgency to the religion's activities. The end is coming, and others much be warned. But, the end is still far enough away that there is time to prepare. It is an odd dichotomy, with the belief that existence will come to and end but there is no rush to it.
The church currently has no real icons to identify itself with. Originally, the church used a golden circle, with a section if it in silver. That symbol, however, is to reminiscent of the Unfinished Circle and therefore no longer in use. Church leadership has been trying to find a new symbol to represent themselves, but nothing has really stuck for the masses.
Church of the Repentant Savior
During the Second Empire of Man, a mysterious figure known as Dark Ryder appeared. He claimed to be nothing more than a man possessed of knowledge and power, there to aid and guide humanity. Since that time, he has appeared in times of great crisis to continue this goal. The Church of the Repentant Savior believe him to be more than just a powerful man. They believe he is himself the representation of the divine. Originally called the Church of the Dark Savior, the faith changed their title after the events of 4010 (when their supposed deity nearly destroyed Kelshland).
The core belief of this faith is that Dark Ryder is the form the divine takes to lend his guidance to the mortal world. They feel his appearance mirrors the state of the world. Therefore, when he is handsome and healthy, the world itself is also doing well. When he appears as a demonic presence, the world is in dire straits and needs him more than ever. Followers of this religion spend a lot of time tracking appearances their savior has made, in the hopes of learning his ultimate plan for the world.
The iconography if this religion is a bit striking. Most of the faithful wear a pendant with a stylized "DR" engraved on it. Those deeper into the religion, or part of the church's hierarchy, wear biker leathers with the "DR" symbol printed on them. This is done mainly to try and emulate the appearance of their deity.
Dark Ryder himself has never commented on the existence of the religion. Whether he supports or condemns their actions is unknown.
Cult of the Jade Pupil
Around 300 years ago, a man by the name of Daniel Lucas discovered an old data file of lore from Terra. The exact nature of this information, how it was lost, and where it was found are unclear. What is known is that it inspired the man to form a religion. His attempts failed horribly. He was unable to gain any converts, and ended up dying poor and with no friends. However, the teachigns of his faith were not lost with his death. In the year 4330, Zung-hwan rediscovered these teachings, and used them to found the Cult of the Jade Pupil.
The core of this religion is a worship of a goddess known as the Jade Mother, who stands in opposition to the Obsidian Lord. All that is good in the world is a representation of the Jade Mother, who wishes to aid the universe in obtaining purity and beauty. The Obsidian Lord is a corrupting force, who wishes to bring about the end of all beauty and create the Millennium of Entropy. Among the lesser beings of import are the Oracles, religious prophets represented by precious stones. Currently there are 7 of these (Ruby, Pearl, Emerald, Sapphire, Amethyst, Diamond, and Crystal). The highest Oracle is the Oracle of Diamond, Daniel Lucas.
The most important icon of the faith is the holy symbol, a piece of jade (or synthetic jade) worn around the neck on a leather strap. It is considered bad fortune and taboo to decorate or carve this jade in any way. Only unaltered pieces of jade are considered acceptable. It is also a common practice for a piece that breaks off the main symbol to be donated to the church for new members to take. The number 7 is considered holy, though if this is due to the number of Oracles or for another reason is unknown to those outside the faith. An interesting aspect of worship, and the origin of the name for the church, is the habit of having the left eye replaced with a cybernetic one in a jade-like coloration.
Daughters of the New Dawn
An offshoot of the Temple of Endless Light, this primarily female religion has narrowed their worship from the worship of God via the stars to the worship of the sun as God. The split happened about 50 years ago, when one of the higher members of the Temple made a controversial discovery. Her observations pointed at the dual suns of New Earth as the center of God's plan. From this she extrapolated that the suns must therefore be God. Her theory was not accepted by the rest of the church, so she gathered her own followers and forged ahead with this new branch of faith.
The core belief if this religion is not far from that of the Temple of Endless Light. The Daughters believe that the stars are a map of God's plan. They also believe that the stars are sentient beings under the orders of God. The difference is that they believe that the dual suns of New Earth (Icominic and Varagnos) are in fact God. They strive to continue study of the stars to further understand His plan, while simultaneously making offerings to Him via rockets fired into the suns full of copies of the charts. It is felt that, by showing God what they have discovered so far, they will gain His respect and aid in deciphering the rest of the plan.
The iconography of the religion is the seven pointed star that the Temple of Endless Light uses, with the single sphere replaced by two spheres. One of these spheres is yellow to represent Icominic, the other is orange to represent Varagnos. Other symbols that are common are representations of the suns themselves in art. Often, members of the church will wear clothing in oranges and yellows to further strengthen their connection to the suns, and therefore God.
Druidic Faith
Erisian Theists
An odd group, to say the least. Officially created in 3156, they claim to have existed since before the Exodus. This religion, if the stories of the worshipers can be believed, has remained unchanged for thousands of years. This is for one simple reason. The religion has no true structure. It is a belief system based on chaos. Everything about this faith is random, anarchic, and often a bit silly.
The core of this religion is the Goddess. It is believed that She is one of many divine beings, all of which have their own individual faiths built on their worship. The Goddess was not respected by her peers, and chose to sow dissent among them out of revenge. This translated into Her followers choosing to sow discord and anarchy in worship of Her. The faithful worship the Goddess above all others, though they recognize the other deities as equally divine, if not worthy of worship.
The major iconography of the religion is the golden apple, representing the Goddess's chosen food. The number 5 is also of great importance, representing the number said to be the foundation of creation. A symbol called the Golden Chao (a sort of yin-yang with a pentagon on one side and a golden apple on the other) is also prominent in the faith.
Hindu
Necrists
The most controversial of the major religions, due to the nature of their worship. This faith is best described as a death cult, with a twist. The followers of this religion do not worship some force or object, witht he end result being suicide to be with their god. Instead, they worship death itself. Many outside of the faith misunderstand, and often mistrust, those who follow this belief system.
The main belief of this religion is that death is everything. The followers of the Necrist path simply point out that everything dies, regardless of whatever other beliefs they may hold. It just seems natural to them that this means the ultimate power is death, and not some unknowable God or Goddess. They have a healthy (in their minds) respect and understanding of death. This does not mean they kill themselves, or others. That would be trying to take on the powers of death, which would be tantamount to heresy. Aiding the death process is acceptable, if the ending of that life is inevitable anyhow. Taking a life in other circumstances is not allowed.
The iconography of the religion is related to the funerary rites of the region they are in. Often, this will include such things as coffins, flowers, and grave markers. Skeletons and ashes are also common themes in religious ceremonies. As death is the end of life, the remains left behind do not hold any special significance beyond the symbolism of death itself. There is nothing left of the person that was once there, so using their physical remains is not considered taboo. The only limitation on this is that of hygiene.
Neo-Pagans
New Church of Islam
Order Draconis
When the first dragon was sighted on New Earth, it incited a wave of worship among many people worldwide. those who were familiar with Terran lore immediately came forward to tell the ancient stories of dragon-human interaction. Many of these stories were about humans and dragons fighting. It was implied by these "scholars" that the conflicts were due to the lack of respect and worship humans had for the obviously superior dragons. They stated that these stories would repeat themselves if dragonkind were not properly worshiped. Dragons, for their part, did not have anything to add to the discussion and simply seemed amused by this turn of events.
Obviously, the core of this religion is the worship of dragons as a whole. There is no single higher power, just the greater power that dragons themselves possess. There are a number of different sects within this faith, each one favoring a different breed of dragon over the others. Each sect feels a mild rivalry with the others, since none of them wishes to admit their chosen breed is not the superior breed.
Iconography of this religion is, obviously, patterned on a dragon theme. They main religious symbol is the ouroboros, a snake eating its tail to make an infinite circle. Many members of the church choose to have reptiles as pets. Images of dragons are also fairly common.
Pantheistic Naturalist
Redefined Jewish Tradition
Shamanistic Path
Temple of Endless Light
Originally, this was a religion based off of the star cults of the Exodus. Those old faiths were based off of a desire to find meaning in the black of space surrounding the generations that lived and died on the path to New Earth. The current iteration of the belief system is less a general worship of stars and more of a study of the stars to better understand God's plan. The followers of this faith think that the patterns of the stars make up the blueprint of the universe, and proper understanding of the meaning of everything.
The core belief of this religion is the infinite pattern of space and how it pertains to the meaning of life. By studying the stars, their current positions, and teh positions they once held, the followers of the religion are able to determine the plan of God. This makes the religion sort of a cross between one of the more traditional monotheistic belief systems and astrology. The difference is that the followers of this religion believe that he stars are actually sentient beings themselves, under the direct orders of God. They further believe that the study of the stars will allow them to eventually rise to the level of becoming a star themselves when they die.
The most important religious icon is a seven pointed star. In the center of this star is a sphere of varying color, coinciding with one of the colors of the stars (red, yellow, orange, white, etc.). The highest level of church leadership wear a star symbol with a black sphere in the center. Other major icons of the religion are the star charts used by the church to map the stars.
The Changeless Analects
The Cult of the Silenced Tongue
Little understood by the outside world, this religion is nonetheless fairly well regarded. A monastic order that takes a vow of silence, the cult does not open itself to outsiders. Those who are members tend to be born into it, rather than converting. The small number of potential converts do so by a way unknown outside of the cult, as no member has broken their silence to elaborate. It is assumed that truly joining this faith is done by actually touching the divine, and therefore unable to be communicated (even if speech was an option). It is interesting to note that, while the members of this faith do not speak, they also do not physically remove their ability to do so. All members, unless born otherwise, are still capable of speech. They just choose not to use it.
The core of this religion is that only through the absence of sound can the divine be discovered. The followers of this belief system believe that in moments of absolute silence, the universe can be fully connected with. Only by this connection can true understanding and enlightenment be found. Whether or not there is a higher power, and what form or forms this power may take are beyond the tenets of this cult. They simply wish to discover what there is between the sounds.
This religion does not have any definitive iconography. Members of the cult are mostly known for their lack of speech. Some members, trying to fit their beliefs in with the modern world, have taken to using a pocket-sized notepad of some nature. This allows them to communicate with others without breaking their silence.
The Way
Transcendentalists
Unified Christian Church
Yikari Traditionalists
One of the few intelligent species native to the planet, the Yikari have a rich history and society predating humanity's conquering the world. Their religion is likewise steeped in tradition and a deep spirituality. Over recent years, with the decline of Yikari dominated land and the increase in human expansionism, the Yikari religion is in a decline. There is a small sect of humans who have converted to this faith, though they are very much a minority among the greater faith.
The core belief of this religion is a mix of ancestor worship and natural spiritualism. The spirits of those who have died do not move on to a higher plane, but instead are thought to inhabit items specifically prepared to house them. A good reward for a life well lived is to be placed in an ornate fetish crafted out of natural items (such as wood, stone, or bone wands or carvings). Those who were not considered good or who lived selfish lives are instead bound to fabricated items (such as forged metals or synthetic materials), or are left unbound. Being one of the unbound is the worst punishment among the faithful, and left only for those who were the most vile or evil beings during their lives.
Religions icons are the fetishes crafted to hold the spirits of the dead. These can range from something as simple as a piece of wood with symbols carved to indicate the name of the spirit held within, to a finely decorated carving made of bone and painted with natural dyes. All members of this faith will carry a single item with no spirit bound to it, meant to be the housing for their own spirit upon their death. Whether this personal fetish will be used or not will be determined at the time of their death. During their life, the personal fetish will remain unaltered.
Zenrachi
Minor Religions
Hunterists
Lockists
Order of the Endless Void
A relatively new religious group, dedicated to the worship of the Flayer. Not much is known about the practices of this order, its worshipers, or their practices. What is known is that they are a secretive bunch who worship the alien beings from another realm, and that they are particularly dangerous for their secrecy. Currently, the UBT recommends the citizens of the world to keep an eye out for strange behaviors, and caution when dealing with members of this group.
