Clarityism: Difference between revisions

| image1 = [[File:Eye of Clarity Transparent.png|200px]]

| label3 = Deity(ies) | data3 = Unus<br>Assistants of UnusAngitenti<br>The Chosen OneElescelto

Clarityism (Chiarezzismo) is a henotheistic religion originating from the beliefs of [[Norvo-Aspiriac Mythology]]. Clarityism is one of Urth's smaller religions, but it plays a major role in the Fortunan Archipelago where it was first founded. Most followers consist of Fortunans with over 40,000,000 followers worldwide, the majority located within Fortuna and the Aspirian Isles. Clarityism was formed based off the works of Guiliano Bardi where Unus, one of the major godsdeities of Urth, created the Aspirian Isles as a haven for his chosen people. In recent years Clarityism has been used by the Fortunan Government to set High Commander [[Tristano Lyone]] as a deitylesser Angitente, also known as "Thespecifically Chosen One" bythe ClaritistsElescelto, based off of a prophecy by the prophet Leonardo Marchello.

Within this book, Bardi first explains that there are multiple deities around the world based around the regions of their followers. He further twists Norvo-Aspiriac Mythology to where there is just one major deity, Unus, that controlshas thedominion fate ofover the Aspirian Isles instead of the multiple small deities. Also in the book Bardi shares his visions and prophecies that he received during his travels. In 851, Bardi publishedbegan hisworking bookon andcreating workedmultiple diligentlycopies inof the book and having it distributed throughout the islands, all the while traveling between the islands himself to further teach his beliefs. Many people began following Bardi and spreading the ideas and beliefs of the book across the archipelago, favoring the teachings of Bardi over their previous religions. By the 860s, Bardi gained thousands of followers who found this new religion more clearer and understandable for Aspirian inhabitants. By his death in 864, his ideas had spread to every corner of the archipelago, marking the beginning of Clarityism.

With the ideas and beliefs set by Bardi beginning to firmly root itself into the region's culture and backed by King Valence III of Fortuna, religious leaders decided to come together to set a base for this new religion. In 968, religious leaders from around the region came to the Council of Destino where the base of Clarityism was set such as who was head of this religion, which days were to be kept holy, and which chapters should be put in or removed from the Book of Clarity. One of the major debates that took place during the council was on whether there was more than one higher deity, and if so who should they worship. Within Bardi's writings, he accepts that there were other beings at work in other places of the world but that Unus should be the one worshiped as his domain was over the Aspirian Isles. Bardi also putdescribed the many gods and goddesses of FortunaNorvo-Aspiriac asMythology merelyserved lower deities of Unus who actedmore as servantsassistants, thisAngitenti, wasto ofUnus. concern asAs Unus andwas theconsidered goddessesat werea usuallysimilar consideredlevel atof the sameother level.Norvo-Aspiriac Throughdeities, muchthis debateled andto acontention fewduring leadersthe walkingassembly out,with a canonhandful forof Clarityismleaders waswalking finallyout solidifiedaltogether. The council would last six months of tiring debate and discussion, but by June of 968 the base of Clarityism was founded and the first high priest, Ferdinand I, was elected to lead this newly created religion.

Following the Great Civil War in the 1640s, a young noble and noted nationalist by the name Leonardo Marchello started receiving dreams which he interpreted to be visions from Unus himself. Within his writings, Marchello describes that in the future a great leader would rise up and reunite the islands as they were before. Marchello states that Unus allowed for the split of Fortuna as a punishment for the rampant corruption and leniency towards outside beliefs, but a time would come where Unus would reveal "Thea Chosenchosen One"one, or the Elescelto, as a sign of forgiveness. In 1657, Marchello had his writings distributed and personally presented himself to the current high priest at the time, declaring himself a prophet of Unus.

Marchello's writings quickly led to controversy, especially around his self declaration as a prophet, with manymajor critics stating that Marchello was merely delusional due to the war. However, many of those who were also disheartened by the splitcollapse of theirthe nationEmpire accepted Marchello's writings as canon, believing and hoping in The Chosenthe OneElescelto's arrival. These peoplefollowers became known as Marchellic Claritists, who demanded the church to raise Marchello up to the level of Bardi and demanded that his writings to be placed into the Book of Clarity. Fearing that theirthis hopecould inlead ato reunitedfurther nationconflict, wouldchurch leadleaders todenounced revolutionMarchello and chaos,his religiousteachings leaders inwhile the church,existing whoaristocracy werealso underbanned heavythe production and influencedistribution of thehis aristocracywritings. Following Marchello's death in 1672, deniedit theseis demandsestimated andthat insteadless declaredthan allone Marchellicstenth of Claritists described themselves as noMarchellics. longerMarchellic partClarityism ofwould remain a minority within the churchisles until the 1900s where it saw an influx in believers.

What makes Clarityism quite unique is the worship of one deity, Unus, however there is no denial of the existence of other deities, also best known as [[wikipedia:henotheism|henotheism]]. The belief first stemmed from the writings of Bardi who was heavily influenced by his travels through Yasteria. In his writings, Bardi describes that he believed that there was more than one higher deity, each influencing regions of Urth that their followers occupied. The accepted belief of Claritists regarding creation was that the many higher deities of the world were created alongside Urth. In present days, another accepted belief is that the higher deities were created during the Big Bang, some camecoming together to build and care for Urth, andwhile slowly builtbuilding up a following as sentient species such as humans evolved over time. Another strong belief of Claritists is that the higher deities are more regional based, caring and protecting their assigned regions of Urth duringsince creation. Claritists also believe that the power of higher deities can actually fluctuate depending on the strength of their followers, thus explaining how certain religions are able to spread around the world or end up being wiped out. The latter is a fear of many Claritists who believe that if Clarityism in the Aspirian Isles falters, it would mean the end of the Fortunan people.

In order to then protect their homeland, the worship and strengthening of faith in Unus is extremely important. Before Bardi published his teachings, Unus was simply considered as the godone of the seamain and islandsdeities within Norvo-Aspiriac Mythology. When Bardi began receiving his visions, he came to the conclusion that Unus was awakening him to the truth that Unus was actually the higher deity of the Aspirian Isles, also referred to as the Esserepalto. Within the Book of Clarity, Bardi states that he believes that the reason he was informed of Unus' true form at that exact time was due to the rising power of outside higher deities which he noticed himself noticed during his travels. Because of this, the worship of Unus was urgently required by the people of the Aspirian Isles.

To explain the reason of the other numerous deities from Norvo-Aspiriac Mythology, the accepted belief is that they are consideredbeings lesserknown as deitiesAngitenti. Since Unus was considered the singlehigher goddeity of the Aspirian Isles, these lesserthe deitiesAngitenti were seen as simply helpers that simply assisted around certain thingsaspects of nature, life, etc. For example, the Goddess Fortuna iswas considered the goddess of fortune and luck in Norvo-Aspiriac Mythology. In Clarityism, UnusFortuna is the overall deity, but Fortuna now simplyconsidered an assistantAngitente towhose Unusfocus stillis focusedstill around fortune and luck. Due to the First Fortunan Empire's conquest and ruling of the region, the importance of fortune and luck ishas become to be extremely important to Fortunan culture. In order to have good fortune, Claritists are required to pray to both Unus and Fortuna in the morning upon waking up and at night before sleeping. The Cult of Fortuna, a sect of Clarityism, takes this a step further by believing that she is actually the higher deity of the Aspirian Isles and disregards any worshiping of Unus. The other lesser deitiesAngitenti are still considered to still existimportant, but the worship of them is not consideredmade a requirement as it is with Unus and Fortuna.

Another popular belief that saw massive growth in recent times was the idea of a "Chosenthe One"Elescelto which was first introduced by Leonardo Marchello. The purposeElescelto ofis thedescribed Chosento Onebe wasan individual who will be chosen by Unus to reunite the region following the collapse of the First Fortunan Empire afterdue to the Great Civil War. When the time was right, the Chosen One would be sent by Unus to bring the islands together and believed to be at the level of a lesser deity. This idea of a Chosenthe OneElescelto was quickly accepted by some Claritists in the late 1600s, and would continue to grow over the years. At times, certain individuals who attempted to reunite the islands were given this title, but it would not be until the rise1990s ofthat Tristanothe Lyonetitle inof theElescelto 1990swas thatofficially agiven specific person wasand accepted by the majority of believerspopulace to beTristano the actual Chosen OneLyone. When Lyone successfullyFollowing claimedhis controltakeover of the entire Fortunan Archipelago andnewly formed the Second Fortunan Empire, the belief that he was the Chosen OneElescelto grew exponentially, and thisthe title was solidified when High Priest Francisco III declared Lyone to be this prophesied being on August 6, 1999, declared Lyone as such.

The primary purpose of worship is to strengthen one's belief in Unus with the sole purpose to increase Unus' ability to protect their homeland. In order to show one's devotion, Claritists are expected to visit a local site of worship atin least once a weekorder to pray,complete some often making visits atheir daily routineprayers. Within the Aspirian Isles, thereit is a recorded to be around 80,000 places of worship that are maintained by the Church of Clarity with another 5,000 unaffiliated sites. Places of worship are built as either a church or a simple shrine. Church buildings are built to house an alter and is small in design, but larger structures exist especially in areas of large population such as the Guiliano Cathedral and the Marchello Cathedral. Churches are also designed to house the priests assigned to it whose purpose is to maintain the church and assist daily worshipers. Shrines make up the majority of the places of worship due to their small size and easy maintenance, especially popular in rural areas. As there is no physical representation of Unus, shrines usually consist of an alter including a sculpture of the Eye of Clarity along with a sculpture of the lesser deity Fortuna. Some shrines also includedinclude sculptures of other lesser deitiesAngitenti, especially in areas that used to predominantly worship them. Priests are often assigned to specific shrines to maintain and care for, but it is not uncommon for shrines to be cared for by the local communitiescommunity, especially for unaffiliated sites. Home shrines are also commonly seen, especially in urban areas to make daily prayers easier to accomplish. Worship for the most part is done individually, but during special days such as festivals and weddings, Claritists will gather together at their local place of worship.

The main method of prayer first consists of kneeling or sitting in front of an alter. Worshipers will then provide an offering, usually monetary while at public places of worship. Then they will bow their head and clasp their hands together during which they will silently pray. During prayers, worshipers will recite a verse or poem from the Book of Clarity whosewith the purpose is toof expressexpressing to Unus the worshiper's devotion in order to increase Unus' ability to protect them and the Aspirian Isles. Prayers usually just take a couple minutes to complete, but prayers can last longer if worshipers wish to further display their faith and devotion to Unus and also gain more fortune and luck from Fortuna. Another way to complete the required prayers is to provide a monetary offering to a priest who will pray on the worshiper's behalf.

The two primary divisions of Clarityism is Bardic Clarityism and Marchellic Clarityism with a smaller off branch known as the Cult of Fortuna. There is little differences between the two main denominations, following similar beliefs of henotheism, Unus as the higher deity of the Aspirian Isles, and the importance of prayer. The main differences between these main denominations stems from the placement of certain deities.