Alternative History
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The religions of the world that existed prior to Doomsday largelysurvived in the nearly four decades after the event. Only in the largest and most advanced nations are several religious faiths still practiced. In much of the world's surviving nations, one religion tends to predominate, with others existing as smaller religious minorities. This is a brief snapshot of the current major world religions, and where their adherents are most likely to be found:

Christianity is practiced not as a single orthodox religion, but in five distinct subgroups with common roots: Roman Catholicism, Protestantism (itself subdivided into numerous forms), Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and Mormonism. These sects themselves each have a number of divisions, especially among the Protestant denominations. Many of these groups, such as Methodists, Baptists, or Jehovah's Witnesses, originated well before Doomsday and continue to exist in some form. However, the devastation of 26 September 1983 threatened the unity of more organized sects of Christianity. The Roman Catholic Church, for example, is now centered around a new Vatican in Rio de Janeiro, much to the consternation of European Catholics. Due to the destruction of the Holy See along with Pope John Paul II, many Catholics around the world have declared a Sede Vacante, joining earlier factions who declared such after Vatican II.

Additionally, the nuclear war saw a renewal of interest in Christianity, even leading to the birth of extremist sects in the former southeastern United States. Mormonism is the most common religion in the Commonwealth of Deseret as well asin pockets scattered across the world including the former United States, though many North American Mormons are choosing to emigrate to Deseret, where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) wields significant influence even if the government is officially secular.

Judaism is practiced primarily by the Jewish people, an ethnic group found primarily in Israel, but also found scattered throughout the globe. The events of the 20th century utterly decimated the Jewish population, largely due to the Holocaust and then the elimination of cities with large diasporic Jewish populations. Judaism in North America has declined greatly since Doomsday, though small communities remain extant within certain survivor states as well as within the current incarnation of the United States. Conversely, Israel has a large and thriving Jewish population that survived thanks to the bombs not falling on Jerusalem, Ashkelon, Beersheba, Tiberias and other cities. Argentina, home to some 200,000 Jewish people, has one of the largest of the world's surviving communities. Buenos Aires is now the main headquarters of the World Jewish Congress.

Islam is now the world's largest religion following the massive population decline in the predominantly-Christian Northern Hemisphere. It is practiced primarily in the Middle East, across swaths of north, west and east Africa, south Asia, and the Indo-Pacific; groups can also be found throughout central and southern Africa, Oceania, Europe, and in North America. Charity groups in the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent have been responsible for re-settling millions of lives and intervening in Bosnia during its crisis.

Sunni Islam is the most practiced denomination, with the House of Saud retaining control of the Holy Cities of Mecca and Medinah. Sunni Islam has seen growth in the Republic of Spain due to its predecessor incarnation having sought refuge in Western Sahara, with various military operations in the subsequent years bringing Spanish and Sahwari populations into diffusive contact.

Shia Islam is the second-largest denomination, with the highest adherents in Iran, central former Iraq, Azerbaijan, southern Lebanon and parts of Yemen.With the heavy devastation of the Syrian coast, homeland of the Alawi Muslim sect of Shia Islam (practiced by the ruling al-Assad family at the time of Doomsday), this particular denomination is moribund in its homeland.

Ibadi Islam, practiced above all in Oman, has risen in prominence as Oman has become a leading power within the Arab world. The denomination has enjoyed remarkable stability owing to the longevity of its leader, Shaykh Ahmad ibn Hamad al-Khalili, who has led the Ibadis since before Doomsday and become an internationally respected voice of religious and moral authority.

Hinduism remains the predominant religion of the Union of India and the area around it, as well as being the second-largest faith group in the Caribbean Sea region due to the presence of Indo-Caribbean people in Guyana, Trinidad, and elsewhere in the region.

Buddhism is also found in India and East Asia, with Tibet serving as an unofficial center of the religion; following it's independence.

Sikhism continues in former India.

Jainism continues in former India. Its guiding ethic of ahimsa (nonviolence) has particular relevance to the post-doomsday world.

Shinto rose in prominence in Japan as the country faced isolation, partly voluntary and partly self-imposed. Many Japanese people embrace Shinto as an expression of their living heritage.

Folk religions such as Shamanism and Voodoo exist across the globe, though their numbers were in sharp decline before Doomsday. The large-scale movement of people out of formerly-developed countries have threatened many folk religions, and the number of adherents to such faiths continues to shrink annually.

Humanism has recently come into vogue among certain intellectuals in the ANZC, Europe and South America.

Neopaganism has sprung up in parts of Europe, especially in the areas surrounding Stonehenge, the Greek countryside, and scattered Italian villages.

Many new religious movements have arisen in the post-Doomsday world, including:

Lincolnism, the belief of former US President Abraham Lincoln as a deity, in the US survivor Republic of Lincoln.

Articles on Religion[]

Post-Doomsday Theocracies[]

  • Olmsted, a Protestant theocracy in Minnesota.
  • The Republic of the Holy Mountain (The Theocracy of Holy Mountain is a member of the Confederation and home of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople)
  • Commonwealth of Deseret - though technically a secular state, no decision is made without the approval of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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