Monism

An Overview

Monism is the minority religion for the Mongoloid peoples of Unspecifistan in East Asia. Originally, it was their only religion, but two-thirds of the Mongoloid people converted to the Greek Orthodox church when it arrived in the 15th Century. Today, there are roughly 1.4 million Monists in Unspecifistan, a sizeable minority, and they possess significant economic and political influence.

Creed

The Monist faith is based around the prinicipal that there is a natural, organic, order to the world, and that our duty as humans is to restore this order as best we can, and enhance it through our lives and our creations.

Monists beleive that, after death, our souls become one with the Earth, where they reside forever, listening to and watching us, and sometimes helping or hindering our lives. Consequently, it is a great punishment for a Monist to be denied burial or cremation into the earth.

They are not a very strict religion, with no set holy days or sabbath beyond the perscription to attend the Summer Solstice festival every year. This festival is a series of rituals designed to honour the dead and the Earth, and remind all Monists of their duty to preserve the natural order.

Hierarchy

The leader of Monism is the Monist High Priest, currently his Serene Highness Mi-lun XII, the 563rd High Priest since the first was appointed by the traditional Monist Diet in 800 B.C. His role is to co-ordinate all the other Monist priests, and the handful of Monist Sanctuaries (i.e. Monasteries), and preside over the main Summer Solstice event at Harbin every year.

Other than the High Preist, there are no elevated positions within the faith. Preists are all part-time, and their job is simply to mediate the community, and act as a unified voice for them. The Sancutary Members or 'Moninians' are people who have chosen to devote some, or all, of their lives to discovering and understanding the natural order. Consequently, Monist Sancutaries are hotbeds of art, literature, discussion and education.