Story:Belief in Belief
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Dr. Piero Adrazzo, Psychologist
This old isle of La Rossa, as we have nowadays come to call it, has always had a strange relationship with belief. Though notably obvious to anyone living beyond our shores, this fact has been rather unappreciated back at home. Although belief in the supernatural, the untamable, the overpowerful is not a historically foreign concept for this place, it has never taken the form of all-powerful beings, the likes of which are seen in Azzta and Ywl. While superstitions about the Storm and nature were once passed down orally, centuries have whittled down their importance (though they persist in the rural country), and the Calming provided the blow that finally struck them down for good. As a result of historical circumstance and cultural disposition, Rossans have in large been imbued with a material view of the world around them. Beliefs are thus seen in purely rational terms. While people might be mistaken about the positions they hold, any good Rossan will say, they hold their perspective for understandable reasons. It is for this reason we live in a democracy, he will claim further, because wisdom is found in many such as is not seen in any one individual.
This is a misunderstanding of the nature of religion, and the prevalence of this error, constructed on foundational aspects of the Rossan way of thinking, has made it exceedingly difficult for the common man to truly understand the difference in mind between him and his Makaist neighbor. So what is belief? It would not be bad to start by stating what it isn't. Contrary to what may be the notion of most, religion is not mistakenness. There is no amount of facts or logical deductions that will lead a follower of Modhes to conclude that Ywl is anything but God, capable of altering reality to his will. Nor is it a matter of opinion. We are parts of a nation with many disagreements, and cynics among us will always assert that those around them treat their own opinion as fact and established fact as opinion. Yet opinions can be argued over. Opinions change. Religion reality is immutable. Religious reality is a question of perspective. The difference is subtle, but is the only way to understand it. World-perspectives are inert lenses, and are difficult to change over time, even as individual opinions do. Supernatural spirits will be part of someone's reality from the cradle to the grave, if that is what one is taught to believe. All of life's occurrences will be put in the context of them.
Rossans are not immune from belief, and in this I do not speak of converts, though they are worthy of discussion as well. Indeed, even as converts accept some beliefs brought by migrants to the nation, their way of thinking about them is still profoundly Rossan. It is no exaggeration to say that Rossan belief, though Godless, is just as pervasive in men's minds as any God would be. From birth, we are taught to believe in the value of speaking one's mind and healthy disagreement. What greater disagreement can there be than the religious perspective of the world itself? We do not see this as weakness. It is this nation's belief in the right to belief that has defined it. From this point of view, it made perfect sense for Dux Papregoli, himself a convert to Modhesianism, to allow for schools to teach classes for religious minorities.
Though it has yet to take effect this following school year, there is much to criticize about the recent decree. Yet the most important one would be the surrender of our own framework of reality. It should come as no surprise to any reader that I am a firm believer in La Rossa's material worldview. Unlike any other religion, it requires no leaps of faith to accept the solidity of the reality around us. Instilling beliefs that state otherwise, and imply that the impossible is possible, would serve to damage the foundations of human progress ― the belief that there is a constrained reality in which man has the power to act. Rather than expecting salvation, or worse, fearing reprisal from Gods, this island's story is measured in the overcoming of primal fears and asserting humanity's will and dominance upon nature, never living in fear and worry of divine destruction. It is in spite of religion that we have gotten as far as we have, not because of it, and only in its rejection have we found prosperity. Muddying the waters with unfound beliefs, such as those dreaded preachers like Marcello Vilitin are pushing, risks pulling us back into the dark ages.
I do not by any means suggest that La Rossa turn isolationist or attempt to silence the cultures of those who come to its ports. That would, in itself, be a betrayal to many of our core values, which emphasize individual contributions rather than fearmongering about distant groups. Yet it should be of worry that by giving religious communities the right to set their own curriculum, it is becoming rather easy for the standardized material to get corrupted. What does it matter if children learn science in one class, if they will be told in another those are merely lies that obscure religious truths? In any conflict between science and religion, religion will dominate. Science is part of reality. Religion shapes reality. Risking having the world be molded into a twisted shape would do nothing but lead the nation astray.
La Rossa should continue to teach its children nothing but the base reality. Everything else is nothing but a distraction.