Arzalism

Arzalism is the predominant religion of Varshan. Polytheistic and henotheistic in nature, Arzalism recognises a vast pantheon of deities, but includes many sects and movements specifically dedicated to particular gods or groups of gods. Sacrifice - rather than prayer, doctrine, or ethics - is the essential and defining rite of the Arzali faith. Arzalism has had a profound impact on the culture of Varshan.

Although the history of Arzalism is difficult to trace, it is generally accepted that Arzalism has been the religion of the Varshani people since time immemorial, though it has undergone major changes through the millennia. The advent of the main tenets of Orthodox Arzalism - primacy of the Death God and human sacrifice - occurred in 1408. Efforts by the Varshani state to extinguish other Arzal religious practices failed, although these groups quickly lost cohesion and went underground.

Arzalism is in a place of transition since the Fall of Anzo. The functional dissolution of Orthodox Arzalism has created a major religious vacuum in Varshan. While most Varshani people, as of 2030, remain Arzalist in some form, the religion is facing both external and internal pressures. Externally, Occidental occupying powers have an interest in protecting (and expanding, in the case of Urcea) the role of Christianity in Varshan. Internally, several competing reform movements have attempted to ensure the faith's long-term survival, most prominently State Arzalism.

Terminology

The word 'Arzalism' is derived from the Modern Latin Arzalismus, which itself comes from the Varshani word arzal, meaning "worship" or more broadly, "religion". The Varshani language has no proper name for the religon, simply referring to it as arzal, or alternatively as arzal žub rizul ("worship of the true gods") when it is necessary to distinguish it from other religions.

The term 'Arzalism' is first attested in Old World sources in the 1890s and entered into common currency over the course of the 20th century anno Domini, replacing terms such as "Niscism" (Niscismus, from Varshani Nizčo, the native term for the Death God), "Varshanism" (Varscianismus) or "the Varshani religion" (religio Varscianorum), which still enjoy some usage.

Theonymy

Most Arzali deities do not have proper names, reflecting a general lack of distinction between the deities and the phenomena they govern, as well as the highly polysemic nature of the Varshani language. For example, Arzali religious texts and incantations refer to the Sun God simply as "the Sun" (Aq) and the Death God simply as "Death" (Nizčo).

History

Post-Deluge Developments

The destruction of the Arzalist Varshani state and the capture of the Zurg was a cataclysmic event for Orthodox Arzalism and opened a chaotic and still-unsettled chapter in the history of the religion. In addition to the prohibition and suppression of many of its core practices and institutions by the League of Nations occupation, the loss of state compulsion, and competitive pressure from Christian evangelism and secular nationalism, Arzalism now faces a moment of theological turmoil. The need to interpret the significance of the Deluge and grapple with questions about the future of Arzalism in the absence of a unified doctrinal authority have spawned an ecosystem of competing propositions and new sectarian divisions on a likely unprecedented scale. S.R. Iyekavian, a leading Arzalism scholar at the Institute of Cronan Studies, claims that "We are witnessing the first known episode of open theological analysis, discourse, and speculation - theologia in its etymologically correct sense - within Arzalism. Definitely the first since the Fourth Civil War, possibly the first since the Great Edict, and potentially the first of its kind ever."

[De-Arzalification initiatives]
[Re-Solarisation and the Red River Revival]
[Arzali fundamentalist revival and insurgency]
[Post-Deluge institutional reformulations]

Sects

The beliefs of Arzalism vary greatly according to region and according to sect.

Orthodox Arzalism

Main article: Orthodox Arzalism

Following the proclamation of the Death God's primacy over the Sun God by Zûrg Žuqul I, Arzalism was gradually transformed from a polycentric and syncretic religion governed by the autonomous priestly castes into a highly centralised civic religion whose institutions were fused with the state. Arzali doctrinal orthodoxy is defined by the High Priests in Anzo with the approval of the Zûrg, and adherence to it is enforced using state power. A vast clerical bureaucracy exists to manage the performance of public rituals, ensure that all subjects make their mandatory sacrifices, regulate the supply of sacrificial victims and offerings, and document the ritual status and purity of an enormous population.

State Arzalism

Main article: State Arzalism

Arzali Fundamentalism

Fundamentalism is a tendency within Arzalism that rejects Orthodox Arzalism (or aspects thereof) as deviations from the true will of the gods, in favor of stricter adherence to older and more severe manifestations of the religion. Since the 2020s, "unreformed" Arzali Fundamentalism - that is, disorganized individual sects - have gradually declined in favor of State Arzalism, which has adopted many of its historical tenets.

Solar Arzalism

Also known as "Primitive Arzalism" or "Pre-Classical Arzalism", Solar Arzalism is a heterodox movement that rejects the supremacy of the Death God and instead reveres the Sun God as the paramount deity. Although Solar Arzali beliefs are considered heretical by the Orthodox authorities, Solar Arzalis participate in all of the state-mandated rituals to the other gods and can easily conceal their worship of the Sun as paramount god under the guise of the state-sanctioned solar devotions. The largest heterodox current within Arzalism, Solar Arzalism is most popular among the non-élite and non-warrior free castes, especially metics and serfs. It is most openly practiced in rural areas and in the outer regions of the country, where the central clerical authorities have less control. The Cornlands in particular are a hotbed of Solar worship. The new State Arzalism, established in the 2020s, has coopted many Solar Arzalist leaders and strains of thought.

Racial Arzalism

Racial Arzalism is a heterodox movement that believes that all ethnic Varshanis are descendants of the Raid God (rather than just a few noble lineages), and that the divine mission of the Varshani race is to subjugate and eliminate all other races. Unlike orthodox Arzalism, Racial Arzalism views slavery and the caste hierarchy as necessary but ultimately temporary systems meant to maintain the purity Varshani blood and support the Varshani war machine, rather than as ends in themselves. They reject addition of the Martial Races to the caste system and believe that they should be enslaved and eventually exterminated once Varshan has conquered the world, and also reject the idea that ethnic Varshani can be born into slavery. Racial Arzalis believe that once all other races have been eradicated, the Death God will restore all dead Varshanites who did not dishonour their race or the gods to life, and will grant the race a reprieve from death to enjoy dominion over the Earth as godlike beings. This sect discourages (but does not prohibit) miscegenation with enslaved women.

Postmodern Arzalism

"Postmodern Arzalism" is a scholarly umbrella term used to describe several similar heterodox adaptations of Arzalism that emerged in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, mostly outside the borders of Varshan. The unifying theme of "Postmodern Arzali" movements is the embrace of Arzalism as a challenge to Occidental hegemony and the prevailing power structures and social mores of Occidental civilisation.

The more consequential manifestation of Postmodern Arzalism is "Revolutionary Arzalism" a religious ideology adopted by some militant groups (mainly non-Varshani in ethnicity) in modern Crona fighting against neocolonial expansion, recognised Cronan governments, and foreign corporate activity, such as the Revolutionary Guerrilla Triads. The reformulation of Arzalism adhered to by such groups is a significant departure from Orthodox Arzalism, usually incorporating Pan-Cronanism (whereas orthodox Arzalism is Varshani-supremacist), emancipatory political ideas (in contrast to slavery and expansionist Varshani statism), and extensive syncretism with the previous local religious practices of its members. It may incorporate ideas borrowed from the Occidental far-left, while heavily emphasising the martial aspects of the religion and its glorification of merciless aggression. Revolutionary Arzalists typically claim that Arzalism represents the "original" faith of all indigenous Cronans which was distorted and obscured by centuries of disorder and malign Occidental influence. Some also claim that the orthodox Arzalism of Varshan is itself a heretical departure from the primordial Cronan faith, and see Revolutionary Arzalism as a restorationist movement. Notions of caste, divine kingship, and an ordained priesthood are generally absent from Revolutionary Arzalism. Sacrifice remains the central and defining rite, but animal and vegetable sacrifices are the norm, and some groups do not practice human sacrifice at all.

A much more minor and incohesive, though perhaps better-documented, manifestation of Postmodern Arzalism exists as a fringe movement in Occidental countries, where it is variously referred to as "Countercultural Arzalism", "Hipster Arzalism", or "Edgelord Arzalism". These movements position Arzalism as an intellectual antithesis to challenge prevailaing ideas in the occident, such as Christianity, liberalism, and humanitarianism. Many edgy Occidental teens and heavy metal bands employ Arzalist imagery and themes for shock value, with varying (mostly limited) degrees of sincerity.

Prevalence

If Arzalism and its adherents are broadly defined, Arzalism likely has the third largest religious following in the world, behind only Christianity and Islam. However, unlike these world religions, the prevalence of Arzalism is virtually exclusive to a single region, central North Crona, and heavily concentrated in a single country within that region.

Comprehensively describing and measuring adherence to the various facets of Arzali belief and practice in Varshan was not possible before the demise of the Zurgite Varshani state, and remains a challenging task in the social and religious disruption following therefrom. Because all other religions were banned for millennia and no non-Arzali religious institutions functioned on the territory of Varshan, the state did not collect statistics on religious identity. Varshan's largely closed society, state repression, and very limited penetration of telecommunications technology into the general population constrained the reach of open-source monitoring and prevented covert surveys from reaching a representative sample. Instead, scholars relied on analysis of (often unreliable or incomplete) early modern sources, accounts from refugees and expatriates, and studies of Arzalist minority communities outside Varshan.

Pre-Deluge Prevalance Outside Varshan

18% in Quetzenkel; [other Cronan countries]

In 2022, The Cape enacted legislation outlawing Arzalism.