Title:           Religion1
Author:          Vigilance99
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/ivHbXtET
First Edit:      Thursday 21st of July 2016 09:58:42 PM CDT
Last Edit:       Thursday 21st of July 2016 09:58:42 PM CDT

 
Religion:
 
Pre-Hearth Religion:
-Three tribes worship a vast pantheon of mostly local deities, most of whom do not exist. This pantheon rotates frequently, with many of the deities being misremembered interpretations of deceased Stone Age alicorns, of course 'refined' into beings purely of a single tribe.
-From a relatively early period, the tribes gradually abandon the concept of the underworld in favor of the concepts of heaven and hell [originally called Elysium and Tartarus].
-Priesthoods relatively disorganized, akin to Imperial practices.
 
Early Equestrian Religion:
-Alicorn sisters venerated as hero-gods and folk heroes alongside traditional pantheons and spirits, early concepts of Harmony and moral guidelines based on the Elements penned by Equestrian priests.
 
Expansion Era Religion:
-Equestrians move to a henotheistic faith following the banishment of Luna, venerating Celestia as the god-queen of the new Equestrian state. Celestia takes on a maternal quality in the public mind.
-Chivalry and Modesty supplement Harmony and Friendship as primary values. Ideas of a pan-equine kingdom that would cover all of Equestria [or even the world] takes root.
-The doctrine that dead followers of the Celestine faith become 'angels', alicorn-like beings enjoying a special privildge in the afterlife, spreads throughout Equestria.
-Book of the Sun penned, explaining core ideals of Harmony, Friendship, and religious practice. While not authoritative, quickly becomes the litmus test of orthodoxy among the faithful.
-Luna demonized as Nightmare Moon, mostly removed from the public sphere. Given yearly private offerings of grain that would later become bastardized as the Nightmare Night festival.
-Priesthood highly organized and hierarchal, tall cathedrals and temples erected across Equestria. Religion begins to resemble a henotheistic greek catholicism.
 
Modern Era Religion:
-Celestia's divinity downplayed increasingly as Expansion gives way to modern, maternal qualities gradually replaced with a cult of royalty as ponies increasingly see her as a hero and teacher rather than primarily as a goddess. Celestia takes on Victorian and Elizabethan-esq aspects as the center of a court of feuding nobility. Chivalry passes to the wayside, and modesty is mostly abandoned.
-Return of Luna contributes to the decline of Nightmare Moon's importance in Equestrian faith, Cadence and Twilight contribute to the increasingly secular 'public religion' of royalty and alicorn-worship.