Paerdism

Paerdism
The logo of Paerdism and it's largest "Church" in Schemoer
Belief	Bitheism, Horse Veneration
Deity	God-On-Urth, Ademar/Wilfred
Region(s)	Vistaraland, Western Provinces
Founder	Holy Stableman Theo I, Dode Mus Coffee Club
Founded	March 12th, 1849
Origin	Ademarism, Enlightened Satirism
Holy Stableman	Frans II
Churches	5 formally recognized, though legally any stable may act as a formal site of worship
Text	Corruptie, Leugens en Een Paard

Paerdism, recognized formally as the institution of the Holier Than Thou Church in Exoneration and Tax Exemption of Ademar and his successor Wilfred the Horse, is a legally recognized Church in Vistaraland formed by the Dode Mus Coffee Club in Verlateburg, a group of Writers and Satirists led by Theodore A. Witten - later known as the Holy Stablehand Theo I. Witten was an agnostic spiritualist who created the religion as a protest to the exemptions and preferential treatments given to legally recognized Ademarist Churches within the Ducal Federation of Vistaraland. Often noted alongside the Oppositionary Movement as post-enlightenment challenges made towards the religious institutions of Vistaraland, the Church was banned in 1891 in the Seditious Religious Act before being legalized in 1904, subsequently being made illegal in 1925 under the Clerical Fascist regime of Dirick V, only for the criminalization of the Church to be annulled by Tyrene I in 1926, still existing as an entity to this day, administered by the Boerenraad (Staynish: Farmer's Council) in Schemoer. Notable Paerdists include Provincian Comedian and Presenter Matthias Ulbrech and Vistari Politician and Popularist Leader Jacob Klaver.

While the religion has always held a strong political undercurrent, it has been used by a variety of groups as a tool in expressing opposition to Vistari religious institution and established traditions linked to religion. In the modern era, it has been used by LGBTQ+ Activists, Opponents to the teaching of Intelligent Design in private and state schools and other predominantly left-wing movements, both to mock the religious right and in solidarity with the principals of equality for all stated by Witten to be a "...core tenant of our faith. By the people, for the people. No exceptions."

Due to this, Paerdism has seen a rising presence amongst the internet generation, a form of counter-culture that has found itself able to manifest itself as an internet phenomenon in the Vistariaphone part of the internet. The current Holy Stableman, Frans II as elected by the Boerenraaad, has embraced this "Rebirth of the belief in the Almighty Wilfred" and has taken an active role in ensuring the availability of Paerdist texts and in forming an online community on the official Church website, where freely available copies of texts from the Church and its founders can be found, with foreign translations in a variety of languages being shared on the site as created by volunteers. The principal text off the religion was Witten's Corruptie, Leugens et Een Paerd (Staynish: "Corruption, Lies and A Horse"), written on the 12th March, 1949, when the religion was formally declared to be founded in a ceremony hosted by Witten, alongside Wilfred the Horse himself.

History

The history of the Paerdist Faith is intertwined with the Vistari Enlightenment during the late 18th Century, a time in which a period of downturn and instability within the Vistari Empire allowed the facilitation of alternatives to what was the generally accepted fundamental ideas that traditionally had steered Vistari society and governance. This gave rise to the cynicism and societal tolerance to allow a community of theologians and spiritualists to seek alternatives from the established Ademarist institutions. One, Theodore Antonzoon Witten took these ideas one step forward by actively criticizing the Church of St. Arend and the power held by the nobility-aligned religious institutions across the Empire. In an open letter to the Ademarist Clergy of the Grand Duchy of Telebrocht, he wrote,

“	If we are to accept the existence of the God-on-Urth, then those who would claim to represent him while stealing the impoverished man’s wealth must be the most abhorrent of sinners	„
—Theodore A. Witten

This letter saw Witten placed under arrest and sentanced to Life Imprisonment, however only serving seven years due to his rapid surmounting of suppirt from the local populous, seeing Witten released on the condition he leave Telebrocht, which Witten agreed to, taking residence in the city of Schemoer until being invited back to his home in Verlateburg in 1848 following the ascension of the more tolerant Karl II to the position of Grand Duke.