Atovism

Atovism is currently the most widely practiced religion in Vildrel. It is a polytheistic, organized religion worshiping the six gods of The Atovist Pantheon.
Atovism is a human religion founded during the Age of Work . Its foundational text, The Eulogy hinges on the belief that all six of the gods in the Atovist Pantheon are dead following the Creationist Cataclysm, leaving their creation, mankind, to seek penance and resist the evil temptations of their dying world in order to prepare Vildrel to be put to rest.
Despite this grim belief, followers of Atovism believe in living joyful lives through the creation of great arts and music, and that, through penance and the absolution of sin, a happier life can be achieved.
Atovism is split into three major denominations, each with their own sub-denominations and regional traditions. The three major denominations are Orthodox Atovism, Renewist Atovism, and the Church of Penance.

Religious Doctrine

The High Virtues

Atovists believe in six foundational aspects of creation, each represented by a different god in their pantheon, which must be reflected in the faithful in order to continue the legacy of the dead gods. These aspects are: Color, purpose, lust, harmony, work, and pain.
Atovist ceremonies, traditions and art often reflect one or more of these aspects. For example, colorful and highly saturated dies are used in traditional Atovist garb. However, the meanings of these aspects are not universally agreed upon and heavily debated (the aspect of lust in particular is often reinterpreted as passion in order to more fit with the Atovist belief in sexual purity).

The Law of Six

(Main article Law of Six)
The law of six is an Atovist belief reflected in all three major denominations in their architecture, traditions, calendar, and historical analysis. It comes from the idea that the number six is reflected in all balanced aspects of life because it was part of the mathematical beauty of original creation. One example of how this is applied is in the Atovist Calendar, the dominant calendar of Vildrel, which has six months in a year, 366 days in a year, and sixty or sixty six days in every month.

Laws

The Eulogy is primarily a book of hymns and fables, but there are clearly laid sins found in the text that Atovists view as sinful. These laws are shared with all denominations of Atovism, but the severity and punishment vary based on denomination and region.

The Great Strifes

All of the six Great Strifes laid out in the Eulogy are seen as sinful. That being blasphemy against the gods, slothfulness, covetous greed, deceit, theft and murder. These six sins are left ambiguous in their meaning and can vary widely in interpretation. For example, Orthodox Atovism maintains that the strict interpretation of "covetous greed" means that it is only sinful to desire something that someone else posesses, but Renewist Atovists believe that it extends to all acts of greed.

Sexual Impurity

The belief of passionate lust being one of the high virtues leads to Atovist communities having polygamous relationships, orgies, prostitution, and all manner of open sexual exchanges that are difficult for the church to control.
Certain practitioners of all denominations, as well as the entirety of the Renewist denomination, feel there is no need to restrict open love in their communities. However, the majority of Atovists, and the official doctrine of the Orthodox church, is that the body must be kept pure from certain corrupting sexual acts.
Acts of adultery, pre-marital sex, and Sodomy are banned by these subsects of Atovism. Although this doesn't technically ban homosexuality, prostitution, and orgies, the ban on sodomy (any sexual act that cannot result in a pregnancy) effectively bans all homosexual relations; and the ban of adultery and premarital sex leaves no room for prostitution and no opportunities for orgies outside of polygamous marriages.
These restrictions are not found in The Eulogy itself, and were part of the reorganization of the Orthodox Atovist church in 732 SE, referred to as The Gateway Summit. This, among other Orthodox reforms lead to a schism in the Atovist church, which split it into the three denominations it has today.

Other laws

Here is a list of other religious laws that are common among all denominations of Atovist practice. Laws that are already banned in common law (I.E. Murder, theft, treason, etc.) as well as laws that are not commonalities between all three denominations of Atovism are not listed here.

Usury

Usury is banned in Atovist communities, as it is explicitly described as sinful in the Book of Aduvir of The Eulogy.

Charity

Atovist practicioners are expected to donate at least ten percent of their income to charitable causes, the poor, or the church.

Restrictions on Shaping

All denominations of Atovism strictly ban blood shaping and all greater reaches that are derived from blood shaping.
They all have some level of regulation or restriction toward the other aspects of The Five Reaches, but that varies by denomination.

Culture

Atovist communities tend to adopt cultural aspects of personal humility, large but tightly knit family structures, and, above all else, a veneration for the arts. Skill in craftsmanship is highly valued in Atovist belief, to the point that great artists and grandmaster craftsman are afforded leniency from practices and behaviors that might get a different person accused of blasphemy or herasy, so long as they produce great works.

Holy Days and Holidays

All denominations of Atovism share many of the same holy days and holidays, as well as the same calendar.

Day of Worship

The day of worship for an Atovist is a day when they cannot work (outside of emergency services and essential government functions). There is a day of worship on the sixth day of every week. For most Atovists, this is Zekday, but Renewist Atovists start their weeks on Zekday, and have Solday as their day of worship.

Denominations

After the Gateway Summit in 1532 SE, Atovism has been split into three main denominations: Orthodox Atovism, Renewist Atovism, and the Church of Penance.

Orthodox Atovism

(main article: Orthodox Atovism)
Orthodox Atovism is the largest group of Atovists and the original church that the other factions split off from. It defines itself through a strict adherence to the church's traditions set out in its first millennium of existence, control and regulation over the practice of Shaping, and strict standards of sexual morality.

Renewist Atovism

(main article: Renewist Atovism)
Renewist Atovism is a denomination which appointed its own bishops and archbishop in 1537. It is mainly defined through a more accepting interpretation of the practice of Shaping, and a less punitive approach to sexual purity.

The Church of Penance

(main article: Church of Penance)
The Church of Penance was the final major branch of Atovism to break off in the year 1565 SE. However, its roots can be traced much further back to the early days of the Lor'Ketch Advoch, the government of Narr, who venerated the god Zekklar and practiced similar rituals to the modern Church of Penance far before the Gateway Summit.
The Church of Penance is defined by its veneration of Zekklar, the Atovist god of pain and judge of murder. The core belief is that other Atovists cannot truly achieve salvation because the path of pain is the only one that sinful humanity is worth of taking.