rust said:
Liam Devlin said:
IMTU, I do project that not only will the eastern religions of Asia, but also the Western world, and Middle east will project themselves with colonists into the stars of the Traveller 'Verse of Known Space.
Islam in space would be an interesting subject with many colourful details,
for example the way the colonists determine the direction towards Mecca
or the beginning of Ramadan, or how they organize their Hadj to Mecca.
I think Rikki Tikki Traveller has worked on a setting of this kind.
The Mosaic religion would also have to find new solutions for old problems
in space, for example how to determine the beginning and end of Sabbat
or which of the alien animals and plants of a colony world are kosher.
Lots of material to give a setting colour and depth.
Herr Rust,
Agreed, although I will say that is one of of several faiths thus affected with the introduction of affordable passage and FTL that pilgrims from the expanding Solomani-Confederation/Earth Union/ 2nd Imperium.
The way I foresee it, with contact with sentient alien races in the TU aspect, for the Sol-Terrans is the Humaniti one. Likewise, even at TL-12/ Jump-3 capability, how far is too far away to make the Hajj? Go to Rome? Go to Jersualem? Go Kyoto? Or any other Holy City of Mother Earth.
Over the conquered Vilani Imperium, there came reforms and schisms, some based on stellar astrographical facts--it would take too long to get there with leaving 52 weeks or more at J-3 to make it a particular year. So new Holy City sites had to be created, at least on a Sector-by Sector level for management purposes of the flock of faithful.
How many of the faithful could take 2 years away from their lives to make it (one to get there, one to return)?
For the Protestant-Christians, this was not as big a deal as say for the Catholic faiths, or Islam. Judaisim to a lesser extent, Buddhism and Taosim created new sites for the far flung faithful on their own, as did the Hinduists. Just as regions were ethnically settled, so too went religions with them usually found in their cultures in the Solomani Rim. It is outside the Old expanses, Diaspora, and Solomani Sectors where this became mixed.
The impact of alien cultures of course affected proselytizing efforts--can we convert an XYZ to the faith? Do XYZ have souls, as we humans call it?
In my viewpoint, taking the "Us versus Them" aspect of the Nth Interstellar wars in hand against the Vilani, the faiths had to make some changes due to the constraints of manpower and expansion manning the fleets, and colonization in depth to rimwards to secure at least that end of the galaxy from any possible "alien invaders".
The Galactic Catholic Faith made two great reforms in this time period:
The First Great Reform reinstituted the Holy Warrior Orders, Like the Knights of St. George (the dragon in this case being the Vilani Imperium for those familiar with the legend), and St John the Hospitaller.
The Second Great Reform was the allowance finally of women to be Priests (heretical, but inevitable I know nowadays; but we speak of centuries from now do we not?), and became known as the G2RC-- Galactic Twice Reformed Catholic Church.
Islam, not being bound by a single High Prelate like the 2GRC was, but still tied to the three great holy sites of Terra, flourished as well--albeit the Sunni remained the more numerous than the Shia, based on the facts of it being easier to be trained to be an Imam is faster than being born into a bloodline going back to Mohammed and his disciple Ali. Prayer directions for the far flung faithful now for these settlers were aimed in the galactic direction towards terra (and thus towards Mecca, Medina, & Jerusalem) depending on wher they lay spinwards, rimwards, trailing, or corewards from Terra.
Also arising in this momentous period of change and unity against a common foe, was a Unity Faith that sought to bring the 'Children of the Book' as the Quran speaks of them, into one, seeking the True Names of God. This while popular at the time, never arose above the status of a Cult until after the Long Night.
The other major faith encountered not of Droyne, Darmine, Geonee, Vilani, Hiver, K'Kree, or Vargr faith to have an impact on the terran religions was the Church of the Stellar Divinity (CoSD).
According to sources which we cannot reprint directly from at this time (2nd Canon according to Traveller wiki from DGP), the Vilani encountered it first, and it spread within the 1st Imperium with the Trade routes, being perhaps strongest in the region of Antares Sector.
All these faiths, and those not listed above, were affected by the Long Night. More on that later.
Off from work, and time to crash for a bit gents!
