Revisionism
By far the most influential religion on Terra Nova is the Revisionist Church. This religion was founded by the Sorrento-born prophet Mamoud Khodaverdi during the chaos of the Reconstruction. Little documentation is available from the period, a problem which is compounded by Khodaverdi’s well-known aversion to recording equipment.
According to Revisionist doctrine, Khodaverdi grew up in the Northern agricultural community of Sorrento. At 20 cycles of age, he experienced a series of visions which granted him spiritual enlightenment. Soon after, he set out into the Badlands, accompanied only by his faithful friend, Nathani Reiss. There he communed with a universal divine force that commanded him to begin a spiritual revolution based on love and acceptance.
After this, Mamoud went to the desert enclave of Massada and began to gather a large following. A charismatic speaker, he had no problem getting people to listen to him. He is credited with performing various miracles such as causing water to bubble forth from the desert sands and transforming sand into food, although no proof, recorded or otherwise, survives to this day. After Mamoud’s death, a conflict broke out over his succession. Both Nathani and Jakob, Mamoud’s son, claimed the church’s leadership. Jakob eventually gained the acceptance of the people of Massada. Nathani, bitter with defeat, left Massada and returned to his hometown of Sorrento with many of his followers. Once there, he established his own brand of Revisionism (Nicknamed 'Sorrento Revisionism'), a more fanatical sect flavored with the hostility that consumed Nathani for the remainder of his days.
Both these sects exist to this day. The original pacifistic Massada sect never spread to much more than the Karaq Wastes and some parts of the ESE. The “love or else” faith of Nathani’s militant Sorrento sect however, gained adherents across the entire northern polar region. It is presently the official religion of the NLC and the dominant faith in both other Northern leagues. Over the centuries, its angry moralistic message has become intertwined with Northern nationalism, especially for Norlights.
Tenents of the Faith
Massadan Revisionists are expected — with the aid of a priest — to find their own interpretations of the Khodaverdia in order to guide their lives. However, a body of standard interpretations has become widely accepted.
The primary Massadan Revisionist belief is that an almighty divine force guided the Prophet to create the faith and the Church. This force is widely believed to be universal and benevolent. A constant debate exists as to whether this force is the creator of the universe or its consciousness.
Massadan Revisionists wish to promote peace and love in order to guide humanity to a peaceful time of harmony. The Prophet taught that all things are connected by sympathy, so a single act of kindness can save the world and a single act of violence can destroy it. As a result, Massadan Revisionists are total pacifists, feeling that no violence can be justified. The Sorrento Revisionist belief in righteous violence is the greatest gulf between the sister faiths.
The themes of love and harmony, central to Revisionism, are most strongly expressed in marriage. The bond of matrimony is understood as the ultimate commitment to harmony and is expected to last a lifetime. The Massadan Church does not permit divorce and so encourages the faithful not to marry impetuously. Premarital sex is perfectly acceptable and it is common for Revisionist couples to live together for a decade before taking marriage vows. Clerics are expected to remain single (but not celibate) in order to dedicate themselves to the faith, but teaching priests may marry.