Religion:
Theists | Universalists | Agnostics | Index of Religions
The world of MK2K is one in which the miraculous and supernatural have been common occurrences throughout recorded history. With the existence of baffling structures like Metamor Keep and the Blessed Tree of Quenardya and the near-constant intervention of the pantheon in the lives of mortals, few people have seriously questioned that something intelligent was responsible for the creation of the universe. As such, "atheism" as it is known in our world has never been a large part of MK2K culture and philosophy.
This does not mean, however, that all people in MK2K share the same religious beliefs. The Empire of Metamor is home to a variety of different faiths -- some resembling the religions of our world, and others resulting from the unique influence of the pantheon on mortal society.
Theists, Universalists, & Agnostics
Most people in MK2K have religious views that fall into one of three broad categories, divided by their views of the nature of the Creator-god.
Theists believe that the Creator is a personal being who is actively involved in world history and desires a relationship with His creations. This Creator is most often referred to as either Eli or Iluvatar (by those native to Galendor) or the Great Maker (by those native to the Southlands), depending on the religious tradition in which one was raised.. Theists believe that the Creator orchestrated the Great Fall in order discipline the members of the Pantheon, who had persuaded the mortal races to worship them as gods so that these self-proclaimed deities could draw energy from them. The majority of theists are found in the Follower religions, the largest of which are the Ecclesia and the Meraist Church; however, there are some theists scattered among most of the world's major faiths. Those who worship Eli or Iluvatar usually refer to the Creator by the masculine pronoun, though they may admit when asked that He is beyond gender. Those who worship the Great Maker may refer to It as either masculine or feminine, depending on their upbringing and personal views.
Universalists believe that the Creator, also called the First Cause or the Great Maker, no longer exists as a personal entity, but that its energy or essence suffuses everything in the material world. They believe that some of this essence exists as raw, primordial energy, which they call the Numen. In this view, those who believe they have had spiritual encounters with the Creator have actually made contact with the Numen, and have then interpreted their encounters on the basis of their own preconceptions of what the Creator is. Most Universalists would say that the universe is the result of the First Cause trying to understand itself, and thus breaking itself into many pieces so that it could experience many different ways of being. They believe that the perfection of reality will come when all the Creator's disparate pieces realize that they are all part of the same Being, at which point the Creator will re-form into a single entity that is truly able to appreciate the mystery of existence. Universalists are most often found in the religions founded by the fallen pantheon, and in some religious philosophies that come from the East. Many of those who consider themselves non-religious are also Universalists.
Agnostics are those who don't have any strong opinions about the nature of the Creator. Most suspect that a personal Creator-god exists, or at least did exist, but they believe that He/She/It probably has little involvement in the universe in the present day. They would say that the true nature of the Creator is unknown, and possibly cannot be known, hence the name "agnostic" (which is from the Old Suielman for "without knowledge"). Agnostics are found in most of the same religions as Universalists, as well as among those who do not actively practice any religion. Many mages fall into this category, though with the general increase in the acceptance of magic, many people of faith are also learning to develop their magical talents.
These are some of the most commonly-encountered faiths in MK2K.