Religione (Religion)

(Estratto dalle fonti raw locali; il testo originale è mantenuto in larga parte in inglese per preservare termini e formulazioni. Le note tra parentesi quadre sono riferimenti presenti nelle fonti.)

Religion

See also History of the Cults of the Empire

"The Gods of the Empire rule overall. Regardless of whether you are peasant or burgher, knight or priest, rat catcher of the Emperor himself, all must pay heed to the wisdom, rules, and decrees of the Gods. To ignore them, or worse, belittle them, is to invite disaster."
—Alfred Schumann, Priest of Verena[5a]

A deeply superstitious people, the Empire has always looked to their Gods for hope, prosperity, and salvation upon a world that is awash with misery, destruction, and corruption. Generally, nearly every village, town, and city has dedicated a portion of its wealth and land to the construction and maintenance of at least one Imperial deity. It is from these temples and shrines that people deposit their daily offerings, hoping to curry their favor and perhaps improve their lives in some way or form.[5a]

These Cults possess a considerable political influence on the workings of the Empire, be it through religious or fiscal means. Such is the case that even the Cult of Sigmar and the Cult of Ulric have an Electoral power to choose who shall become the next Emperor, a power that is usually reserved only for the Elector Counts. Currently, the Cult of Sigmar holds the strongest influence within the Empire's large web of bureaucracy, having the ability to cast 3 votes within the selection process, with each vote being divided towards the Grand Theogonist and his two Arch Lectors. Such is the ever-growing influence of the Sigmarite Cult that it is now common to consider the people of the Empire simply as Sigmar's Folk, or the Sons of Sigmar.[5a]

Depending on the location of a particular community, some areas of the Empire have a certain degree of worship often towards a certain family of gods. Within the northern provinces of the Empire, the people of those harsh lands have been known to worship an older pantheon of Gods known as the Elder Gods, whilst in the south, the worship of the Classical Gods is more common.[5a]

Such religious differences have been known to have resulted in the Empire experiencing a certain degree of religious strife, the most prominent of which was during a period of civil war that many historians called the Age of Three Emperors. During that time, an elected Emperor along with his Sigmarite followers fought against two self-proclaimed Emperors of the province of Middenland and Talabecland, both of which were worshippers of Ulric and Taal. The resulting devastation and centuries of warfare has ensured the creation of a regular Conclave of Faith in Altdorf for the High Priests of every major faith in the Empire to gather together letting them air their disputes to the reigning Emperor and come into an agreement without the need for bloodshed.[5a]

The Patron God

The Empire has been known to worship a specific God that is not connected with either the Elder or Classical Gods. Instead, the Imperials worships a God who was originally born as a mortal, who founded the Empire and was rewarded by the Old World Pantheons with the ultimate gift of Godhood.[1k]

Sigmar - Warrior-god of Mankind, and the Founder of the Empire.[1k] The Northern Gods

The Elder Gods, also known as the Country Gods or the Northern Gods, are the oldest of the Old World pantheons, whose origins of worship can be traced back for nearly two millennia during the time when primitive Human tribes began to settle within the lands of the Empire and the Old World.[1k]

Taal - God of the Wilds and the husband of Rhya.[1k] Rhya - Goddess of Agriculture and Birth and the wife of Taal.[1k] Manann - God of the Sea and the son of Taal and Rhya.[1k] Ulric - God of Winter and Wolves and the younger brother of Taal.[1k] The Southern Gods

The Classical Gods, also known as the Town Gods or the Southern Gods, are the youngest of the Old World pantheons, whose worship is usually confined to the lands of the southern Empire, and the lands of Tilea and Estalia.[1k]

Morr - God of Death and the husband of Verena.[1k] Verena - Goddess of Justice and Learning and the wife of Morr.[1k] Myrmidia - Goddess of Warfare and Strategy and the daughter of Morr and Verena.[1k] Shallya - Goddess of Mercy and Healing and the daughter of Morr and Verena.[1k] Ranald - God of Trickery and Thieves.[1k] Outlawed Gods

Despite being generally open about the worship of foreign deities, some gods are forbidden. The Dark Gods and their kind, and the gods of races like the Greenskins are the most prominent, but many others also exist and are targeted by witch hunters.[1k]

Khaine - Classical God of Blood and Murder and the younger brother of Morr.[1k] Stromfels - God of Wreckers and Pirates, darker aspect of Manann.[1k]