Faith

The world of Crusade! hosts three main religions, which account for the vast majority of believers in the focus of the setting. There are other, minor, religions and various corruptions of the main faiths, but these are minor and very specific and require the study of scholars and dangerous investigations into their practices.

(In more detail, Roman Catholic Christianity)

Western Christianity, or Catholicism, is practiced in the Latin States. It is headed by the Pope, usually situated in Rome, and has been the main driving force behind the First Crusade.

Catholicism is quite doctrinal and in many aspects unrelenting, but not all of its followers are devoted fanatics. Indeed, while many prices and Kings of Europe bow nominally to religious needs, they in some way consider themselves to be above the pronouncements made on the Catholic worlds by bishops, cardinals and the Pope.

(In more detail, Eastern Orthodox Christianity)

Eastern Christianity, or Orthodoxy, is practiced in the Orthodox States. It is less centralised than Catholicism and was once the dominant religion in the Holy Land, where there is still a significant Orthodox presence.

Orthodoxy usually permeates one's life entirely in the Kingdoms where it is practiced. Even so, politics often take precedence while theological issues may need to be resolved, Emperors, Lord and Generals may follow the needs of the people or their own ends before this is done.

(In more detail, Islam)

Islam is practiced in the Islamic States. It originated in Araby and has in the preceding half-century successfully spread across North Africa and the Holy Land. It shares common roots with Christianity, but has been in active conflict with it for a number of centuries, exacerbated by the recent Crusade.

Islam has long been closely tied to the governments of the Muslim caliphates and there is no less desire to spread Islam across the world than there was some four centuries ago. That is not to say that this is entirely untempered - indeed, many Muslim leaders have becomes known for their toleration and their balance of political practicalities against religious imperative.

Religion has a powerful influence on the running of various states. Wars have been started over religious matters, and religious concerns have brokered peace. Religious leaders, whether Bishops and Imams or lay persons, have taken countries into conquest, peace, trade and growth for religious reasons and out of the desire to do God's work.

Religion is not always at the centre of political matters however, and many leaders have equally kept the matters of religion away from themselves and their machinations. There are those even who call for the terrible sin of removing religious influence entirely from all matters of state…

It is possible to play someone of Orthodox Faith in a Muslim country, or a Muslim in a Catholic country and so on. Indeed, this would not be uncommon in the Crusader Kingdoms for example, where the Catholicism was the religion of the ruling classes, but the states themselves included large populations of Muslim and Orthodox worshipers.

This should not be undertaken lightly however, since you are likely to be at a disadvantage with your own faction. This is an opportunity to roleplay, and may fit some character concepts for a more complex and edgy game. Please consult the GMs if you wish to do this.

Though generally frowned upon, the practice of magic is widespread among the upper classes of all the states. It is regarded as dangerous and verging on the evil and soul-destroying, but the appeal and usefulness of what it can do has kept it an open secret for centuries.

Bishops and Imams alike will view most magic with distrust, especially Hedge Magic and Witchcraft. However, a number practice various magics themselves, and rumours of Knightly Orders dedicated to the effective use of magics for furthering religious aims abound. It is a complex issue, and likely to have a great number of varying opinions even from a small room of people.

It has been witnessed, or so many have claimed and still claim, that miracles are ever-present in the world. That the true and righteous, with belief and God's strength, can do great things and follow in Jesus or Muhammad's footsteps, turning water into wine, moving mountains and casting out demons.

Though some have claimed the tricks of magic and witchery at work, indeed denouncing miracle workers, others have sworn blind that no magic craft was ever at work. Could it be that through good works, prayer, devotion and unshakable belief that any man or woman can be bestowed with the power to change the world? Or have such rumours run so far as to spawn believers of these miracles, nothing more than tricks or oratory, across the Holy Land and far beyond?