Cultus Astrum

The Northup Alliance prides itself on being inclusive to all peoples, cultures and religions, without actually endorsing any one specific group. The success of this endevour has mixed opinion, with some claiming that other groups have more cultural dominance. As well as traditional faiths and religions, new ones have sprung up over the centuries, with easily the most dominant being the Cult of Star Worship, or the Cultus Astrum. A notoriously diffuse and widespread organisation, the Cultus Astrum has representatives across the Northup Alliance, at all levels and in all positions, but barely any heirarchy or consistent theology uniting its adherants.

Tenets of Faith

The core belief of the Cultus Astrum, and the only one to which all adherants have, is that stars are the origin of everything in the universe, save the universe itself, and that only through veneration of these 'Holy Forges' is true enlightenment achieved. The level at which this veneration is performed, and the type of veneration varies wildly, from the occasional acknowlegement for the Humanist denomination, to hourly prayers and public worship of the True Orthodox denomination.
Most Astrumians wish for their remains to be fired into the local star after death, so that their material form may become part of the stellar processes ahead of the rest of the system. This is not always allowed as it depends on the rigidity of the recycling demands wherever the adherant lived.
An afterlife is not a strict belief for Astrumians, most are content that a life well lived, and a universe left better than it was received is enough, but some branches hold that once one's remains return to the stars, and one's molecules are eventually reformed into something else, then a memory remains.

Political Influence & Intrigue

The influence of the Cultus Astrum is difficult to determine, as so many profess beliefs that may, or may not, align with the tenants of the faith. Hardline Cultus Astrum factions, such as the True Orthodox, the Righteous Star Cult, and the Holy Order of Conscious Matter are considered extreme organisations, and have their rights to join governmental departments restricted, but the vast majority of those in the Cultus Astrum face no such restrictions.
The faith frequently aligns with other religions to get preferential treatment from political bodies encoded into law, and members are an important part of the Future Coalition, a faction within the Alliance Senate that holds conservative and religously inspired views. Most members of the Cultus Astrum are not so conservatively minded, reminding others of the faith that nothing is permenant, and life is fleeting; change is inevitable.

We Are All Made Of Stars

Founding Date

Unknown, around first century XC

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Alternative Names

Star Cult, Church of Astrum

Demonym

Astrumians

Related Species

• Human