Strigidism

Strigidism is the dominant religion in Yuunli.

It is estimated that 71% of Yuunli's population are strigidists (57% of them follow the traditional variant, 43% the modern variant), 24% are atheists, and 5% follow other religions.

On Mich-Inzl, 72% are strigidists (53% of them traditionalists, 47% modernists), 23% atheists and 5% follow other religions.
In Chirachi, 64% are strigidists (91% of them traditionalists, 9% modernists), 33% atheists and 3% follow other religions.

The mountainous regions (such as Pinkeba) are strongholds of traditional strigidism, whereas the modern variant is stronger in the coastal provinces of Mich-Inzl (such as Poapik).
Atheists are more common in more urbanized provinces (such as Itupt).

Traditional Strigidism

Strigidists believe in a complex rebirth sequence:

• Good people are born again as owls.
• Owls observe which people are good, and which people are bad.
• Being an owl gives you the opportunity to observe many people's lifestyles.
• Owls are born again as people who subconsciously know what they saw in their owl lives.
• Good born-again people can become priests.
• Priests are supposed to care about other people, and teach them about strigidism.
• Good priests come to paradise.
• Bad priests come to hell.
• Bad people are born again as mosquitoes.
• Bad mosquitoes (those who suck lots of human blood) come to hell.
• Good mosquitoes are born again as refined people.

The god created the world and everything in it.

The god gives children their souls at the time of conception. A mother's first-born child is a reincarnation of an owl or mosquito. Other people are new to this world. That's why only first-born children can become priests. Note that aborted and stillborn children are counted, too.

Priests have to care about strangers. That's why they are not allowed to preach in their home town.

Parents have to take good care of their children to give them the possibility to be born again as owls or (in the case of the first born) to become a priest.

To avoid cheating, a person may only have sex with her/his spouse. Priests are not allowed to marry, and may have no children.

A marriage without children is considered bad. A person may not marry twice (even if their first spouse is dead).

Owls must be respected and left alone. Bribing them to report you're a good person will strike another owl, and you will be born again as a mosquito. Owl habitats must be preserved.

Good people are nice towards others. They reflect their behavior in daily meditation and prayers.

All people are born again, even non-believers.

Modern Strigidism

Faced with a loss of faith among the population, some strigidists gathered to reform their religion. The result was Modern Strigidism. The basic system of rebirth involving owls and mosquitos remains the same. There are other differences:

• Priests may marry and have children.
• The god made up the laws of physics that form the basis for evolution.
• The god gives a child her/his soul at birth, but it has to be activated by proper strigidist education.
• To attract members and raise funds, strigidists advertize their religion in malls and on streets.
• Non-believers are not born again. They simply die.
• Rather than being a natural part of the village community, modern strigidism has a strict nationwide organization.
• Many modern strigidists proudly show their religious affiliation by wearing owl badges (see above).