Verse:Mwail/Controversial stuff

Religion

History of monotheism

In Angai, monotheism evolves independently in East Asia (the largest being Āínkiīaánịạkàì) and Central America (the largest being Sfipsurtop). Both Āínkiīaánịạkàì and Sfipsurtop claim to be God's final revelation and law for all of humankind. The conflict between these two monotheistic faiths is among the most salient religious conflicts in the technological era.

After horse-driven wheeled vehicles were introduced by Angai European merchants into Furnifoo, Sfipsurtop spread via conquest and became the majority religion of Angai Central and South America and Southern United States.

After the first contact between Āínkiīaánịạkàì and Sfipsurtop, a major war breaks out between the followers of the two religions in Angai's North America and Siberia, leading to three kinds of responses:

1. Angai's counterpart to the Enlightenment (mainly North American)
2. Angaian Romanticism, which in turn leads to eco-fascism (mainly East Asian)
3. Attempts at syncretizing Āínkiīaánịạkàì and Sfipsurtop, notwithstanding the often conflicting laws of the two religions (a minority of North Americans)
4. Doubling down on the traditional forms of the two religions (most people who reject 1 and 2)

Angaian Enlightenment

Precursor to capitalism

One Angaian Enlightenment writer invents Christianity as a satirical fictional religion

• the Trinity is a parody of the polytheism vs. monotheism debate
• Jesus's sacrifice is a parody of both animal and human sacrifice in both religions (?)
• "God sacrificed himself to himself to save us from himself" parodies "God revealed monotheism to save us from himself"

Angaian Romanticism

Originates in Irenesian-speaking East Asia

Laments monotheism's insistence on the unseen; emphasizes strong emotions, nationalism and "going back to nature"

Flei religion

Flei religion is a rationalistic ethical philosophy much like Jainism, with a vast corpus of legal, scientific, and philosophical literature.

Vedic (as opposed to post-Upanishad/Buddhist/Jain) thought had lots of complex rituals... sounds like it could be a sort of a polytheistic proto-Rabbinic Judaism, maybe this should be Flei religion instead

Politics

Modern Angaian politics

Capitalism

Modern capitalism arises in the Alliance

Capitalist incentives are the main post-Enlightenment cause for the decline of indigenous cultures (both colonialism and people choosing/feeling forced to play the capitalist game)

Religious fundamentalism

Sfipsurtop (in South America) and Āínkiīaánịạkàì (in East and Southeast Asia) theocracies

Sometimes clandestinely supported by capitalist governments to suppress eco-fascism and leftism

There will be some geopolitical issues with the energy transition just as in our world, because critical minerals will be dominated by an Āínkiīaánịạkàì theocracy (where China is in our timeline). That hopefully incentivizes the free world to rely on recycling for the material, etc.

Flei nationalism

Given a history of both persecution and achievement, and cultural pride, some Fleis become Flei nationalists or supremacists who settle in the city-state ga nGnaṁ, which is much like our timeline's Israel and Singapore.

Eco-fascism

Originates in Irenesian-speaking East Asia as an offshoot of Angaian Romanticism; makes incursions into formerly Āínkiīaánịạkàì-dominated territories, especially Northern China and Siberia

Among other things, eco-fascism inverts the Āínkiīaánịạkàì teaching that God intended for humans to have dominion over the Earth --- humans must instead be subordinate to the Earth

(And of course the lifeboat ethics)

Spreads more widely especially in Timeline 1 as a result of climate refugees and the ensuing backlash

Veganism

One well-known and polarizing work of Séiseal vegan activist literature is ___, which describes the life of factory farm animals from a second-person perspective. At the end it asks, "If God existed and decided to punish us with the same suffering after death this way for eating animal products, can we object?"