# Changes in Religion in the Federation Religion in the Federation has had an interesting development. In the first Federation, within 50 years of the foundation, the religious breakdown of the Federation population was: 72% Old Earth Religions, 7% Agnostic, 5% Atheist, 8% Witcher, 5% Jyd-I, and 3% other faiths. In large part this was driven by two factors: the various religions edicts to have children, and their followers leaving Earth to found new colony's, rapidly expanding both their share of the population and their spread across the Federation. What is, I believe, even more fascinating is that in around 500 years, the religious breakdown shifts to: 37% Old Earth Religions, 12% Agnostic, 3% Atheist, 29% Witcher, 11% Jyd-I, 4% Catholic Sigmarism, and 4% other faiths. This was itself the result of two factors: the federal government engaging in a major campaign of encourgaing people to have children, producing a set of subsidies which have persisted into the present, including legalization of vat-grown children for 238 years between 2274-2512. By the time we have our next major Federation wide census counting religion, it has been roughly 500 years since the previous one, and the results are even more startling: 22% Old Earth Religions, 13% Agnostic, 2% Atheist, 19% Witcher, 34% Jyd-I, 6% Sigmarism, and 4% other faiths. Simply put, the mass expansion of state support for families led to a mass expansion in public schools, which taught Jyd-Iism as scientific atheism, and many kids who came from a more Witcher believing family tended to fall into agnosticism during their young adult period before becoming more devoutly Witcher as they have families of their own. Those who were Jyd-I tended to have fewer kids, and tended to serve in the government, military, or senior levels of business more than non-Jyd-I people. Thus at this moment is is best to think of it as: the faithful 51% of hte popuation (22+19+4+6) vs unfaithful 49% (13+2+34). It should especially be highlighted that throughout this period the vast majority of Jyd-Iism teachings lean towards militant atheism as opposed to the mild theism of the present. There would be no equivalent data gathered until the Second Federation reformed. However, in the interim period two major factors caused massive shifts in the religious make up of the Federation: President/Emperor Palpatine's Sythist legislation, and the Witcher conquest and imposition of a Witcherist education. Once Palpatine was killed, and the Jyd-I took over, witcherism was not necessarily suppressed, but Palpatines propagandistic institutions were not abolished, so much as had their message altered. After Gerlad had led the Witcher's in conquest of the Galaxy, he implimented a galaxy wide education system towards Witcherism, making it the state-religion. Other religions could and did exist, but they were not able to freely practice as Witcherism was, and public engaement with the Witcher religion was required. Most religions in the galaxy adapted by embracing some Witcher beliefs, such as Sigmarism or hte Versian religion, while Jyd-Iism and Sythism lived on in the shadows of the Milky Way, Beyond the mikly way, the fleeing Federation citizens dubled down on Jyd-Iism as their unitng faith, not Witcherism. Harsh laws banning Witchers from practicing with Federation fleets were enacted by the early Admiral Councils, and the Jyd-I order was established as a fleet wide instition to help protect the Federation from extra-material threats. Though the order itself was little more than a 'state-sanctioned' body where the variousu Jyd-I orders' coudl meeet, discuss, and give their voice to the Federal government. What I personally find fascinating about this is that over the third Federation, most notably the 23821 case *Witchers of Kaer Conas V. United Federation of Earth*, in which the Witchers successfully argued that all religious organisations which are of a certain size deserve the right to form a unified Order for the sake of lobbying the Federal Government, and that the prohibition of this was tantamount to the continued support for the suppression of religious minorities in the Federation, as well as the state continuing to endorse aristocratic and feudal norms over popular and democratic norms. It can thus be said that by the time the Second Federation had been re-established, the elite religion was Jyd-Iism, and the popular religion that of Witcherism. Indeed data from 4523 backs this up, showing the population as: 57% Witcher, 23% Jyd-I, 9% Sigmarism, 6% other faiths, including Old Earth Religions, 5% Atheist, and 4% Agnostic. Indeed, the state effectively required one to be a Jyd-I to be part of it, and this was true effectively across Soverignties and the Federal government regardless of who was D.A.M.