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Christianity

Beliefs in Brief- Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, that he died so that humanity could achieve forgiveness for sin, and that he was resurrected.

Most Christians believe that people who are good and accept Jesus as their savior will go to heaven and people who are bad will go to hell. Many Christians believe in Satan, who most consider an enemy of God. Christians believe Jesus will return to the Earth and the world as we know it will end.

The State of Christianity- Throughout most of this century, Christianity lost ground to other religions (and to atheism/agnosticism). Christianity currently has 25%

of the world’s population. In industrialized countries, Christianity encompasses such a wide range of beliefs that the term is almost meaningless. There are people who identify themselves as Christians who don’t believe in Satan or hell, who don’t believe in the apocalypse, even many who don’t believe that Jesus was the only son of god or that he rose from the dead.

Catholics: Catholicism is strong in Southern Europe, Mexico, Central and South America and the Philippines. The Catholic church is the first and largest organized Christian church. They believe they have a mandate from Jesus to continue speaking for God.

Catholicism has a complex hierarchical structure, has some of the world’s most impressive churches and has an emphasis on ceremonialism. The most important rituals for Catholics are confession (which includes acts of penance) and communion (in which Catholics receive wine and wafers which have been transformed into the body and blood of Jesus).

As the largest Christian church, the Catholic church at the beginning of this century faced a problem:

the majority of parishioners in industrialized countries wanted the church to modify its doctrines to meet modern sensibilities (e.g. women priests, revocation of the ban on homosexuality and birth control) while the majority of parishioners in third-world countries did

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City Religious Affiliation 30% (63,000) Atheist/Agnostic/Non-Religious 30% (63,000) Christian

55% (34,650) Roman Catholic 25% (15,750) Protestant

10% (6,300) Evangelical/Born Again

4% (2,520) Orthodox (Greek/African/Russian) 2% (1,260) Mormon

1% (630) Mennonite/Quaker/Amish 3% (1,890) Other Christian

12% (25,200) Muslim 85% (21,420) Sunni 15% (3,780) Shia 6% (12,600) Jewish 4% (8,400) Buddhist 4% (8,400) Hindu

3% (6,300) Neo-Aboriginal 2% (4,200) Sikh

1% (2,100) Baha’i 1% (2,100) Wicca 1% (2,100) Jain 1% (2,100) Shinto 5% (10,500) Other In Brief- About two thirds of city residents subscribe to

some religion. Christianity and Islam are the largest.

Many smaller religions are especially popular among immigrants. Most religions are more tolerant than they were in the last century.

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not want these modernizations. The Catholic church compromised: making slow modernizations throughout the first half of the century. This left most Catholics feeling that their church was either too old-fashioned or too modern (“worldly”). Catholicism became less and less a part of the lives of its members and the church stagnated. This changed during the Freedom Wars, when the Catholic church took an active role in the fight against the Freedom Army. For the first time in centuries, the pope was leading a “holy war.” After the Freedom Wars there was a resurgence of the Catholic faith and Catholicism gained a reputation as a religion that fought for justice and human rights. In mostly-Catholic countries many groups formed that are part monastic order, part militia. These groups are dedicated to standing ready to fight to preserve liberty.

Protestants: Protestantism is common in Northern Europe, Australia, the US and Canada. Protestants broke off from Catholics in the 16^th century. Several reformist movements were created to address criticisms of the Catholic church. They denied the idea that the Catholic church was granted the exclusive right to be the Christian church. Although there are many protestant churches with very different beliefs, most Protestants believe that the bible is the ultimate authority (not the pope), that saints should not be prayed to and that faith alone (not ritual or a priesthood) is necessary to secure a place in heaven. Today, most American Christians are protestant and belong to a variety of churches that range in a spectrum from conservative to very liberal.

Evangelicals/Born Again Christians: The evangelical movement began in the 1930s as a reaction against the steady modernization and liberalization of the protestant churches. This is the group that first identified themselves as “fundamentalist,” referring to a focus on the fundamental beliefs of Christianity: the infallibility of the bible, God as a giver of miracles, an ongoing war against Satan for the souls of humanity, Christ’s death for mankind’s sins and the imminent apocalypse. Evangelicalism grew rapidly in the last half of the 20^th century and created a shift towards conservative values in much of America and many other parts of the world. Evangelicalism grew quickly mostly because of the strong emphasis it put on proselytizing and the use of television as a medium to spread their faith. Evangelicalism had another brief upsurge in the early 20^th century as a backlash to the futurist movement.

Since then, however, the number of evangelicals has been declining. Evangelical Christians today know that they are a minority and that their beliefs are inconsistent with most of the rest of the world. This has done nothing to reduce their conviction that they are the only ones who will be saved.

Orthodox: The Eastern Orthodox churches split from the Catholic church in 1054, but still maintain a close resemblance to Catholicism. Like the Catholic church, the Orthodox churches claim that their authority descends directly from the apostles. Rather than one church, the Orthodox church is split up into a number of self governing churches, including the Greek, Russian and African Orthodox churches. The Russian Orthodox is the largest of these churches, despite heavy persecution and oppression under the soviet Communists. Today, the Orthodox churches are most popular in Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Russia. Orthodox Christians are fairly conservative, and their methods of worship have not changed much in the last millennium. They believe in the authority of the bible and a book of the writings of Orthodox saints, they believe in constant prayer as a part of everyday life, and they believe that icons (holy images created by Orthodox ascetics) are holy and may even have miraculous powers.

Mormons: The Mormon church is strongest in Utah, where 30% of the population consider themselves Mormon. There are Mormon churches scattered throughout the world, thanks to a heavy emphasis on missionary work by young Mormons. The Mormon church was created in the early 19^th century by Joseph Smith, who transcribed a holy book (the book of Mormon) which he said was revealed to him by god.

These additional revelations make them significantly different from other Christian churches. They are conservative, sharing many beliefs with conservative evangelical groups, and pride themselves on being “pro-family.” They are discouraged from smoking, drinking alcohol, drinking coffee or using drugs. They typically do not date or marry non-Mormons. Mormons originally believed in polygyny (multiple wives) but this practice has disappeared from almost every modern Mormon group.

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Mennonites/Quakers/Amish: The Free Churches (Mennonites and Amish) began in 16^th century Europe as a sort of “extreme Protestants.” They believed that there should be no priesthood, autonomy for every group, that believers should isolate themselves from mainstream society and that believers should not enter any military.

Many groups eschew modern technology and do not willingly allow themselves to be photographed or videotaped. Shunning is a common punishment for law breakers. The Amish have a practice called rumspringa in which Amish teens are allowed to experiment with other ways of life (the idea is to make sure that all adults who stay in the community have made an informed decision).

Like the Free Churches, the Society of Friends (or Quakers) began as an ultra-protestant movement that taught simple living and direct worship of god without the need for priests, churches or rituals. Quakers were pacifists and believed in the equality of all humans.

They were the first American group to protest for the abolition of slavery and they played a major role in the underground railroad.

These groups came to colonial America to escape religious persecution and they settled into small communities that didn’t change much over the next few hundred years. In the 2040s, pollution and climactic changes killed all their crops, causing many to starve and die of malnutrition. The remaining members of these groups were displaced after the Freedom Wars when the new Gated Communities started buying up all the arable land. Most moved to East coast inner cities where they took up the lifestyle of well shut-ins. Traditionally these groups did not take welfare or social security, but in recent times they feel they have no choice and must take public assistance to survive.

External Relations- For the most part, Christians are a neutral force in the city, thought of as “normal people.” Every city group has Christian members.

Christians with strong beliefs and practices that are different from the city norm are typically lumped into a category called “fundamentalists.” Many city residents see fundamentalists as prudish meddlers. The Freaks have made a hobby out of trying to shock and annoy these Christian groups. Some Christian groups in the city have found themselves in conflict with city groups:

the Bleeders (because the bible has a prohibition against drinking blood), the Sexologists (because of their insistence that god has a male and female aspect) and the Dragons (for their nature worship). Some Christians have decided that some of these groups are “cults” and have been known to try to kidnap young people who join them.

Practices and Prohibitions- Although there is a wide variety of beliefs among Christians, a majority of Christians believe in charity and prayer. Many prohibit premarital sex, recreational drugs, abortion, the death penalty and the worship of false idols (anything other

than God and Jesus; and sometimes the saints and the Virgin Mary). Most Christians prohibit any magical rituals (any form of ritual designed to effect the world directly without the intervention of God). A smaller number of Christians prohibit birth control, homosexuality and blood transfusions. Many Christians also believe that certain thoughts are sinful (including thoughts which are lustful, hateful or greedy).

Islam

Beliefs in Brief- The word Islam means “to submit”

(and a Muslim is “one who submits”). Islam is the belief that there is one god (Allah) who is perfect, unique and indivisible. Absolutely nothing should be worshipped other than Allah. Muslims believe that Allah sent revelations to several prophets, including Jesus. The last prophet was Muhammad, who was born in Arabia in 570 AD. The teachings of Mohammed are compiled in the Koran. Like Jews and Christians, Muslims believe in judgment and an afterlife, in angels and Satan, and in an eventual end to this world.

The State of Islam- Islam grew rapidly in the late 20th century and first half of the 21st century. Around 2030, Islam surpassed Christianity as the world’s largest religion. Its growth was only halted by the massive population decline of the 40s and 50s. There are now 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide and 10 million in the US.

More than 25,000 people in the city consider themselves Muslim, although less than half that number attends group services or meetings.

Sunni: This is the majority group of Muslims.

They believe in the authority of a succession of elected Caliphs. The Caliph is head of the church and administrator of Islamic law.

Shia: This is a minority group (making up only 15%

of Muslims). Instead of the Caliphs, the Shia follow Ali (Mohammed’s son-in-law) and his successors (Imams).

Orthodox Shia are oligarchists (believe that church leaders should be the political leaders of Muslims).

Sufism: This is a school of Islam with both Sunni and Shia adherents. Sufism stresses asceticism, selfless love, esoteric truths and development of a “mystical”

relationship with Allah. Some Sufis strive to become so pure that they reflect the attributes of Allah (some non-Sufis see this concept as sinfully arrogant). Much of Sufi teaching is via paradoxical or humorous stories (much like the Koans of Zen Buddhism).

External Relations- Since the Freedom Wars, Islam’s reputation in the US has changed for the better. Muslims are thought of as tolerant, peaceful, humble and interested in protecting human rights. Muslims show respect for Christians and Jews, calling them “people of the book” and believing they are heirs to earlier revelations of Allah. Non-monotheists are given less

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respect. However, Muslims believe that everyone, no matter their religion, will be rewarded for good deeds and punished for bad. Muslims are very tolerant of other beliefs.

All city groups have Muslims as members, including both gang and non-gang groups. Because of the proscription against alcohol and drugs, groups like the Needle Punks, Hummingbirds, Tea Drinkers and Goods have fewer Muslim members. The Purists, on the other hand, have several qualities that appeal to Muslims (they keep themselves clean, do not use drugs, are less likely to have premarital sex) and have attracted many Muslim members. The Koran has a proscription against drinking blood, which has caused many to believe that the Bleeders are sinners. Few Muslims join the Bleeders and those that attend the Islamic Center mosque (in Bleeder territory) are often vary wary of dealing with Bleeders.

Practices and Prohibitions

Greetings: A Muslim greets another Muslim by saying “Assalaam `alaikum” and the Muslim being greeted should say, in return, “Wa `alaikum Assalaam”.

Fasting: During the month of Ramadan (which begin in early June in 2080), teen and adult Muslims must fast from sunrise to sunset. They usually prepare wonderful feasts to eat after sunset.

Prayer: A Muslim should pray five times a day.

Prayer is typically conducted on a blanket, facing Mecca.

Prayer is conducted at Dawn, Sunrise, Noon, Afternoon, Sunset and Evening. Cheap electronic devices are available ($10) which determine exactly when to pray and what direction to face.

Dress: Muslims should wear humble clothing which doesn’t show off the sexual attributes of the wearer. Clothes should not be tight fitting or revealing for either gender. Many (but not all) Muslims believe that a woman’s hair is a sexual characteristic that should be covered.

Diet: Muslims should not eat pork, should not eat any carnivorous animal, and should not eat any meat which has not been butchered according to the rules of the Koran (properly butchered food is known as Hallal).

Since no fast food restaurants in the city are Hallal, strict Muslims are restricted to either vegetarian diet, food from Muslim owned restaurants or food from specialty food shops. Muslims should not drink alcohol or use mind-altering drugs.

Cleaning: Muslims must stay clean and well groomed, following guidelines given by the Koran.

Pilgrimage: If they can afford to, every Muslim should attempt to make a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca.

Charity: Muslims must give charity. Many city Muslims donate time or money to homeless shelters and soup kitchens. Quite a few Volunteers are Muslim.

Muslim Morality

Sex: Premarital and extramarital sex is prohibited.

Men are allowed to take on multiple wives if they can support them. Divorce is permitted. Many Muslims believe that homosexual sex is a sin.

Euthanasia/Abortion: Muslims generally prohibit euthanasia, abortion, suicide and capital punishment, saying that these are decisions for Allah to make. To kill someone in war is not a sin, although a good Muslim will seek a peaceful solution and will not fight without a good reason.

Religious Freedom: The Koran states that religion can not be compulsory. People must have religious freedom and must come to Allah of their own free will.

Character: Muslims should always endeavor to be of good character. This means being honest, chaste, modest, well-read and hard working.

City Muslim Society

American vs. Foreign Born: The major division in city Muslim society is between American-Born Muslims, who grew up being a religious minority (or converted later in life) and Foreign-Born Muslims, who primarily grew up in countries where Muslims are in the majority. The natives tend to dress more like everyone else, to attend to their religious duties less strictly and to make Islam a smaller part of their lives. Foreign-Born Muslims tend to be immigrants. Like most immigrants in the city, they are likely in the country illegally and have come here from economically depressed countries seeking opportunities. They are thus more likely to be poor and have less formal education. Foreign-born Muslims tend to follow the prescriptions and prohibitions of Islam more strictly and wear clothing that is clearly Muslim. American-born Muslims stereotype Foreign-born Muslims as being somewhat backward, while Foreign-born Muslims sometimes have trouble believing that American-born Muslims are actually Muslim. Despite these differences, most Muslims treat other Muslims as brothers and sisters.

Mosques: Most mosques in the city were built in what were once black neighborhoods (before the city became overwhelmingly multiracial). Most Mosques are in the neighborhood of Harlem. The city’s largest mosque, the Islamic Center of New York, is at 96th street and 3rd avenue and is still in use by a small congregation. The mosque is in Bleeder territory, which has caused a few problems (see External Relations, previous page). There are also a few Muslim run soup-kitchens and homeless shelters centered around the Bowery, where religious services are held.

The majority of Muslims in the city practice in private homes or (among homeless Muslims) in vacant lots and abandoned buildings designated as meeting places.

There is no ordained ministry in Islam. An “Imam” is anyone in a community with the knowledge to teach Islam and is often a community elder. There are no full-time professional Imams in the city.

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Judaism

Beliefs in Brief- Jews believe that God created the universe and humanity, and that Abraham, patriarch of the Jewish people, entered into a covenant with god in 2000 BC. A later patriarch, Moses, led the Jewish people out of slavery in Egypt and received commandments from god. Jews’ holy scriptures include several books, including those which Christians call the Old Testament, and books of commentary of Rabbis. Jews believe in the eventual coming of a messiah and the resurrection of the dead. Jews call themselves the chosen people of God, although many Jews believe that other peoples have different, but equally valid, covenants with God.

The State of Judaism- At the beginning of this century, the US had the world’s highest population of Jews, with Israel having the second highest population, and only small groups scattered around Europe. Israel’s population declined severely in the first part of this century due to the use of biological and nuclear weapons by Palestinians. During the chaos of the Freedom Wars, the Israeli nation was nearly destroyed. Today, America has 95% of the world’s Jews. Jews in the US have resisted major increases and declines in the population, their numbers staying relatively stable. The biggest

The State of Judaism- At the beginning of this century, the US had the world’s highest population of Jews, with Israel having the second highest population, and only small groups scattered around Europe. Israel’s population declined severely in the first part of this century due to the use of biological and nuclear weapons by Palestinians. During the chaos of the Freedom Wars, the Israeli nation was nearly destroyed. Today, America has 95% of the world’s Jews. Jews in the US have resisted major increases and declines in the population, their numbers staying relatively stable. The biggest