Clergy of the Future

Ronoc

Registered
Joined
Jun 3, 2017
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Hi all,

I'm struggling to nail down the clergy structure for the religion in my post-apocalyptic new adult novel. It takes place in a future earth (specifically in North America that is now divided into Five Nations), whereby there are basically three classes of people. I won't get into the nitty-gritty of them all, but one of those classes are the clergy that worship Gaia (original, I know), with some doing so from a pantheism approach and others from a more monotheistic approach. It should be noted that this religious order are the only true humans left. The other two classes are humans as well, but they have a lifespan of 20-25 years, so one of the main inherent roles (other than the protection and worship of earth and its elements) is to almost act as parents to the other two classes who die young.

Anyways, the current structure of the clergy for the Church of Gaia is divided in three orders:

Order of the Archons - Matriarchs/Patriarchs
This order is the highest level of the clergy. They advise the kings and queens of the other two classes and speak on behalf of the Church of Gaia. There are five archons in total. One for each nation.

Order of the Clerics - Rectors, Priests, Druids
This order undertakes the general administration and performs the general rituals for the Church of Gaia. For example, the Rectors would be in charge of the churches/temples. The Priests would undertake marriages/unions, blessings, etc. And the druids would undertake research into the natural world (e.g., herbalism, fauna) and teach it to others, they would also act as healers.

Order of the Shepherds - Mothers/Fathers
This order has the most "members". They are the lowest level of the Church of Gaia. They're main role is to guide the other two classes in their faith and belief who make up most of the five nation's populations. They are generalists and in many cases act as parents to the other classes whose birth parents die so young due to their short lifespan.

At the very top of the orders is a single figure who is simply called the Apostle. He would be similar to the Pope.

What do you think of the above? One of the things I wanted to do was keep the clergy relevant to today somehow, but twisted to reflect the mixture of a religion that is very much skewed to a natural religion of the future. Thoughts? Suggestions?

Thanks in advance
 

nyalathotep

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 26, 2017
Messages
62
Reaction score
3
I like it. Do men and women have certain roles to play in this religion like in the Catholic church?
 

xanaphia

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 9, 2015
Messages
115
Reaction score
12
Why do the other humans have such a short lifespan, and what do the members of the faith do to avoid this fate?

I'd do some research into modern and historic paganism, for inspiration.
 

Kjbartolotta

Potentially has/is dog
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 15, 2014
Messages
4,197
Reaction score
1,049
Location
Los Angeles
Nature worships seems excessively hard to fit in the box of your standard hierarchical religion to me, so few examples to base it on in history. And churches and temples seem weird to me when you can just be out in a glade somewhere. Now, if we're talking about an ecological/utilitarian regime dressed up as a religion, that would be different. Finally, remember that pantheistic religious are usually based around local traditions and cults with lots of splintering groups and not a lot of codification or orthodoxy.

http://www.aleph.se/Nada/Game/BigIdeas/gaia.html

The illustrious Dr. Sandberg does a good job creating a slightly dystopian-flavored earth-based religion here, without much judgement either way on if it's good or bad. Might be a good place to pinch ideas from.