Valtinism

Valtinism is a major religion that became popular in the early 24th century

Origins
Valtinism's origins began with the philosophical teachings of Professor William Kay at the University of Rhodes on New Carthage. He taught a class about the universe, foreign policy and espoused a belief that the universe itself as sentient and active.

His students brought his teachings to various worlds and they begun to gain popularity, especially on the Frontier worlds. Valtinism was first organized as a religion or following in 2325 when a group of students on New Corinth began a commune espousing the core Valtinist creed.

Key Tenets
Valtnism is not a dogmatic religion and teaches its key tenets which are:
 * The Universe itself is sentient and benevolent
 * Living beings in the universe are not subject to the universes will
 * But following that will lead to right outcomes and peace
 * The universe wants peaceful coextistence for all living things
 * Violence is an anathema to the universes design
 * There is no need to believe in a creator God or a Soul, though Valtinists often do believe in this
 * Other religions are tolerated as long as they do not teach violence or repression
 * All adherents are free to express themselves

What Do Valtinists Do
Valtinism is a non-doctrinal religion and has no recognized “book of prayer”. All Valtinists are allowed to continue to worship whatever God or Gods they wish, or worship none at all. Holding some contrary views is allowed within Valtinism

IE There are a number of Valtinists who do not believe in the soul or any form of the afterlife. They are not a mainstream group but their views are not considered wrong or heretical.

Valtinism has only a few requirements:

Learning: all Valtinists must do all they can to learn, especially about other cultures and race. Valtinists are encouraged to gain as deep an education as possible and there are Valtinist schools run either free of charge or at a very low cost across the Empire.

Understanding:  Valtinists are expected to listen to the views of others and to be open minded. A core tenet of Valtinism is that the universe is always trying to teach those who keep an open mind. Those showing bigoted or closed-minded views in Valtinism are encouraged to change their ways or risk being “excluded” from future association

Charity: Valtinists are strongly encouraged to support their community, especially other Valtinists. Those with the means to do so in a Valtinist society are encouraged to donate money, time or other assets to the less fortunate and those Valtinists who are in need or are struck with poverty will be directed to those who can help them. As a side-point to this, Valtinism has a very low tolerance for criminal behaviour as they believe there is always someone who will be able to help you

Association:  probably the loosest concept in Valtinism is that of association. There is no requirement to pray and there are no formal places of worship. Valtinism teaches that you can worship alone by a tree or with a thousand others in a school, a library or in the cargo hold of a starship. Valtinists are encouraged to associate, to share knowledge, theories and experience. They are also encouraged to share in social ways and in most Valtinists communities there is a rich program of social activities ranging from theatre, comedy nights, sports, lectures and board-games.

There is no mode of dress or symbol of Valtinist worship, though often they will be associated with light blue colours and like simple star chart patterns.

Conversion
A person is not required to “convert” to Valtinism and anyone is welcome to attend a Valtnist event unless it is for “Leadership” circles only. Those attending but not yet a Valtinist are not approached to convert and must make the first step, to ask for membership, without being prompted. Valtinism is not evangelical and it is strongly encouraged to leave possible worshippers to their own devices.

Those who do wish to convert and become a Valtinsts are asked to attend a college or school, with travel paid for by the Valtinists in their area if they cannot afford to do so. The core tenets of Valtinism is explained to the person over a period of a few months and when they emerge, they are considered a member.

The Rise of Valtinism
Valtinism continued to gain in popularity during the 2320's to the 2330's and communes and learning centers sprung up across the Frontier, especially in the South. Its teaching, along with no central leadership, lead to it being perceived as somewhat idiosyncratic but no threat.

The Federated States recognized it as a formal, organized religion in 2331. It was granted a partial tax emept status in 2336

Valtinism continued to gain popularity and attracted major figures from finance, business and the celebrity world. It's formal leadership was based around a Select Advisory Committee of 27, which eventually was upgraded to 41 members. The SAC usually selects multiple spokespersons and often reached out to lobbying firms.

Awash with money from donors and allies, the Valtinist SAC founded its own political party in 2340 referred to as The New Horizon Party.

The New Horizon Party
The New Horizon Party was founded to lobby for and support the aims of the Valtinist community. It was, initially, a fringe party that could only win elections in the Southern Frontier.

It ran Presidential campaigns but never made too big an impact.

The Party was disbanded after the Imperial Coup of 2387

The Valtinist faith formed two new political parties going into the 2485 Parliamentary elections:


 * The Justice and Truth Party -a socially liberal party dedicated to spreading the core values of Valtinism
 * the Raven Heart Coalition - a conservative party that campaign on disbanding TND and reducing AI rights

The Rangers
The Valtinist SAC, after much debate, formed its own private militia force to protects its adherents. This group was referred to as The Rangers and was trained on Fort Verekker.

The Rangers was initially a force of about 5,000 men and women but continued to grow. There are some within the Valtinist faith who see the Rangers as contrary to the nature of the faith. However, the Rangers are encouraged to use non-violent means whenever possible but, that violence in self-defence is acceptable if unavoidable.

Previous First Rangers:
 * 1) Leyton Reid - 2380-2400
 * 2) Paddick Montrose -2400-2455
 * 3) Fortis McDere -2455-2475
 * 4) Powell Hamlyn -2475-