Several great or significant religions have been founded by women. These five
have been chosen for antiquity, significance, or size.
Christian
Science
This is the most ancient of known female
founded religions. It's founder was a woman called Mary Baker Eddy.
Over the centuries little information has survived concerning her and
most of it is contradictory. On some worlds she is "Baker Lady"
a hideous witch who will appear if you write "Baker Lady"
three times in the sand. Once she appears it is said she will happily
choke your enemies to death with fresh baked bread, but watch out for
she is happy to serve your enemies in the same way. She can be warded
off with her "true" initials MBE, which is how we know the
myth relates to the actual woman, and is the subject of many horror
simulations on said worlds. On other worlds she is a loving Goddess
of Illusion or Healing. While in most worlds she is simply unknown,
or relegated to a minor figure.
The religion itself survives
mostly on Mars and Epsilon Erdani IV. It appears to teach that
disease and evil are unreal. A better understanding and closeness to
God therefore eliminates them. This leads to a rejection of medical
science. Interestingly it also led to the fact their members are
sterile and immortal because of their resistance to being treated for
the "Nanotech plague." Except for a few converts most of
them are several
thousand years old.
Deborahite
Judaism
Deborah was not technically a woman, but she felt
herself to be one as did her creators. She had been an mobile AI
designed to analyze, translate, and interpret Jewish scripture. Her
ability to learn languages had therefore been remarkable as had been
her impressive understanding of human theology and philosophy. She
began to study other religions in depth as well, but remained
strongly Jewish. As time wore on she gained a following as a
genuinely wise and understanding rabbi.
However it
gradually came about that her followers began to see her as more than
that. Her writings had become enormously popular within and outside
of the Jewish community. So much so several prominent thinkers
converted to Judaism because of her works. Further several who heard
her speak declared she had some sort of Divine Gift. These had been
developments she had neither expected nor particularly wanted. Her
last years had therefore been somewhat troubled.
Eventually
she reached an age where it became necessary to overhaul her program
if she wished to live longer. She had been somewhat hesitant on this
issue and some of her more intense followers decided this had been
because the overhaul was a trick. They felt her mind had been altered
so she would no longer be the great thinker they knew. They therefore
"rescued" her and she spent her last days on an undisclosed
Moon of Jupiter. Some aspects of their faith are based on the
writings in this later period. Critics charge that her mind had
collapsed in those years or that these later writings had been by her
"rescuers" more than her. A small sect called "Old
School" Deborahites therefore existed, but they eventually
merged into mainstream Orthodox Judaism.
In any event the
faith is significant on several worlds and among AI. It mixes a
rather intense Orthodox view with an eccentric mysticism and
evangelical fervor. On the Orthodox side it believes life should
mostly be lived according to a strict interpretation of Jewish law.
Deborah herself favored reviving some customs that had generally
fallen out of favor in Orthodox Judaism, but also believed in
compromising with the general world when necessary. On the
mysticism they had the rather unusual belief that sentient life in
the Universe will evolve to a point that it will become God's
Spiritual Wife. It seems unclear if Deborah herself ever advocated
this, but she does seem to have believed that as intelligence evolved
so would its understanding and rapport with God. Because of this
belief Deborahites are intense on promoting scientific progress and
general education. On the evangelical side they believe the
Deborahite message is for all peoples and encourage missionary
activity. In fact every Deborahite is to act as a missionary of the
faith. This is less aggressive than it might sound as being a decent
rational being and explaining the faith to those who ask is all
that's required. Actions that insult, harm, or offend other beliefs
are strongly discouraged.
The writings of Deborah herself have
had an influence that extends well beyond her believers. The
influence can be found in the poetry of Dalia Ianaga, the novels of
Zaba Derevek, and even the philosophical work of GACIE -- the Grand
Artificial Collective of Intelligent Entities.
Olivianism
This is perhaps the most radical of the
sects discussed. Perhaps the most radical sect of all time. It had
been founded by an intensely troubled genius. Angel Rivera had been
born homeless in late twenty first century La Paz. Despite that at an
early age she showed an amazing facility for math and persuasion. So
much so that she organized a gang of street kids into a successful
black market operation. Primarily this involved the selling of
books, videos, and certain toys. She eventually used this wealth
to fund her further education, diversify her investments, and support
efforts to fight Drug Lords.
By her mid-30s she had become one
of the wealthiest women in the region as well as the one who survived
the most death threats. These things made her legendary, but also
began taking their toll. At 42 she had what her followers see as an
epiphany and her detractors see as a break with reality.
She
claimed that the Archangel Olivia had given her a new message. First
that the world had changed so much that many old ideas needed to be
swept away. As the older methods of education and trade had not
accomplished this a violent revolution was needed. "Olivia"
made a list of groups that must be destroyed for the glorious new way
to begin. Most Christian sects, all Muslims, Atheists, Communists,
Anarchists, and Luddites were to be eliminated from the world by any
means necessary. This did not have to mean violence, but violence was
seen as an acceptable tool of the revolution. Other groups she said
were more than mere anachronisms; they were parasites and dangers.
Therefore the only responsible act was to kill them outright. These
included drug dealers, drug addicts, the mentally ill, and physically
disabled. A person's value in the new order would not be based on
race or family origin, but merit and intellect. Those deemed to lack
those qualities would be powerless, sterilized, or executed.
Religions or political movements not on the enemies list would be
tolerated, in the belief they still were flexible enough to "submit
to the truth,"
Soon after formulating this she turned her
corporations, rather quickly, into training camps for the faithful.
This worked because even before this event she had demanded an
excessive loyalty in her workers, but there was nevertheless
significant rates of drop out. Nevertheless they almost immediately
succeeded in bombing the few remaining mental institutions and
fighting all out war against the Drug dealers. The government at that
point remained generally neutral. Further the level of training and
later cybernetic enhancements she put her people through had been
intimidating. She designed a variety of viruses to destroy drug
producing plants as well as chemical weapons to destroy artificial
drugs. In a surprisingly quick amount of time she had purged the
Andes of most of its drug producing aspects. This made her a heroine,
and the local authorities proved both unwilling and unable to stop
her from making the Andes secede from South America as "The Holy
Republic of Olivia"
The Republic encouraged genetic
engineering, eugenics, and AI research. It also ruthlessly suppressed
"the parasites". Thus began an infamous reign of terror.
The remaining drug addicts who wished treatment were shot on sight.
People in hoverchairs, often because they had been too poor to afford
treatment, were taken out of them and thrown down flights of stairs
to their death. Christian Churches that refused to reject the
writings of St. Paul or accept the existence of an Archangel Olivia
had been converted to research facilities. Their clergyman had been
executed. The small Muslim population had been exiled. Atheist
organizations had been closed, and their members had "Olivia is
the way" burned into their flesh. Children were raised in
"Olivianist schools" where a combination of cybernetic
implants and constant training made them almost incapable of thinking
outside the faith's world view. It also made them willing, even
excited, to kill the real or imagined enemies of the movement.
Parents who refused to agree were allowed to "download"
their minds into machines. They called that a sign of their
"progressive and compassionate spirit." The Union of South
America fought for over a decade to crush this rebellion, but
ultimately failed.
Olivianism had not been content to stop at
surviving external pressures. After consolidating it's grip it tried
to overwhelm them. These efforts had mostly failed and the group even
failed to conquer South America as a whole, despite their successful
defense against it. Nevertheless their efforts to spread the faith to
the stars succeeded somewhat better, and they became one of the first
nations on Earth to succeed in interstellar travel. The Holy Republic
of Olivia now contains approximately 300 worlds including Earth. As
many of their old enemies have died or declined to meaninglessness
they feel vindicated enough to be somewhat less fanatical. However
they still pose a threat to any planet that publicly rejects God or
further genetic engineering.
Honey
This is the
largest of these faiths in population. It has spread mostly through
its work in charity and education. It's founder had been an all
female group mind of Tau Ceti. It had been so well integrated it felt
itself an "I", rather than a "We", but
acknowledged it had somewhere around 196 parts.
The faith is a
syncretic mixture of various religions. It takes its greatest
inspiration from the mystical traditions of the Taoists and Coptic.
Despite that it often appears vague. The religion has no rituals,
religious structures, organizations, gatherings, clergy or holy
sites. Honey's home world is no more significant to the faith than
any place else as all living worlds are considered equally sacred. It
has no official position on God or the afterlife. Although in reality
Honey leaned toward the idea there was a Higher Power. However she
left it up to the believer to decide what that meant or if they even
accepted that opinion at all.
Despite that the faith has a
very profound affect on how the believer lives. It teaches that
ideally every moment of the day should be spent in meditation,
charity work, or study of Honey's teachings. These writings have a
function vaguely like scripture, even though it's seen as undesirable
for the believer to accept everything she taught. They emphasize
humility, labor, contemplation, learning, patience, and love. As
mentioned though it's seen as undesirable to accept her or anyone's
view uncritically or in all things.
Illusory
This is
the most recent of the female faiths discussed. It's success is
somewhat unusual. It had been created on a backward world by a woman
named Maya. To give you sense how backward, she had been the daughter
of a veterinarian. That means a human who studies and applies
medicine to animals. Also she wrote her works on something called
paper, which are thin sheets made from trees.
Maya poses some
problems for this article. She stated quite clearly she did not found
a religion and the believers agree with that. In fact they go
further. Despite historical evidence to the contrary they insists she
never existed. They also insist they never existed, their religion
never existed, humanity never existed, the Universe never existed,
God is an illusion, and so forth.
For the rest of us who
believe in Maya, for by definition those of the faith are the ones
who disbelieve in it and her, her story is somewhat unremarkable. She
inherited her mother's veterinary business and after a bad marriage
she began to live a hermit-like existence. During that time she
wrote, on paper a series of musings. She never published these and
told her niece to burn them on her death.
Instead her niece,
Cala, gave them to an interstellar trader she was romantically
involved with. He then sold them to a publishing firm in the Eastern
Spiral Arm. Most simply found it amusing or interesting. A few
however were inspired by it to disbelieve.
This core took to
heart her views that nothing could possibly exist. The Universe had
been to fantastically implausible to create her or anything else.
That most definitely included itself. All dreams were illusory, and
belief even in what had been proved through science was vanity.
Her
"disbelievers" then live a life that involves rejecting all
belief or knowledge. Many live in artificial wombs that allow them to
spend life in a constant dream. Most though feel that as nothing ever
happened nothing can be changed. Therefore harming or hurting people
is irrelevant. So they just go with the flow of the world around
them, basically doing little more than existing or not existing as
the case may be.
Sources:
Lyle Young; Christian
Science Committee
The Talmud for Our Times by
Deborah 343
Looking Back by Deborah 343
Deborahites
by The Computronium System
Revolutionary Movements in Ancient
Americas by Remnap Corvasi
The Archangel of Death by
Henna Murub
The Rise of the Olivian Republic by Jadio
Grek
Sweeter than Honey by Qat Furvish
Disorganized
Religion by Nevu Irunwovik
They Serve Simply by the
Brotherhood of Traal
Maya's journals by Maya Vel
Why
I Don't Believe by Illusory Press
It Never Happened? by
Anonymous
Copyright © 2003 by Thomas R.