Pagan Theocracy

Pagan Theocracy is a religious, culturally variable, civically variable, and economically variable and usually center ideology that wants paganism to be the ruling religion over the community. In state societies, this usually manifests itself in extreme authoritarianism and while may somewhat vary, often will execute those who have a different interpretation of pagan beliefs. However in tribal societies it often is extremely libertarian and varies greatly among practitioners of different areas and is generally much less statist and is usually more of a structure of social taboos to ensure the survival of the tribe and was "more or less" decided by the people of said tribe, whether it be through democratic vote and/or traditional societal roles such as elders or chiefs who often either were elected by the tribe and/or were given such power via tradition.

History

(WIP) Pagan Theocracy has been almost as old as humanity itself. With traditions and superstitions often serving providing ways for humans to understand their place in life, eventually it has evolved all across the world to encompass various different non-monotheistic belief systems and pantheons. It could be argued that all major religions today started from Paganistic pantheons.

In Nations

The Roman Empire was this at certain times.

A good example of a hardcore pagan theocracy would be Mesoamerican empires such as the Aztec empire, which is known to be extremely extreme in their beliefs, and often being known to preform extreme rituals that often led to immense ammounts of sacrifice to the gods, examples being large-scale human sacrifice, child beatings and drowning, self-mutilation and constant warfare and razeing of enemy territories. But eventually due to outside disease and continued Colonialism from Western powers, as well as various native groups infighting with eachother, this way of life eventually collapsed and such traditions became a thing of the history books, although certain Indigenist political movements seek to revive aspects of Mesoamerican indiginous culture and beliefs such as Neozapatismo, albeit without such religious extremism or sacrificial rituals.

Beliefs

Pagan Theocracy believes that a pagan religion should rule over the state. This was commonly done by either priests, druids, etc ruling or having power over the state in the name of the gods or by kings who called themselves a god. How they do it specifically depends on the pagan religion.

Variants

Ancient Near Eastern

Canaanite

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Egyptian

Ancient Egyptian Pagan belief centered on the Pharaohs, the rulers of Egypt, believed to possess divine powers by virtue of their positions. They acted as intermediaries between their people and the gods, and were obligated to sustain the gods through rituals and offerings so that they could maintain "Ma'at", the order of the cosmos, and repel "Isfet", which was chaos. The state dedicated enormous resources to religious rituals and to the construction of temples. While there is much debate to the extent the pharaoh was considered a god, it seems most likely that the Egyptians viewed royal authority itself as a divine force. Therefore, although the Egyptians recognized that the pharaoh was human and subject to human weakness, they simultaneously viewed him as a god, because the divine power of kingship was incarnated in him. He therefore acted as intermediary between Egypt's people and the gods.

Mesopotamian

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Tengrism

Tengrism (Turkish: Tengricilik In Old Turkic: 𐱅𐰀𐰭𐰼𐰃𐰲𐰠𐰃𐰚) is a pagan religion that ancient Turkic, Mongolian and Yeniseian tribes believed in. The religion is both pantheistic and pagan and is currently only believed by some people in Turkey and Siberia.

European

Celtic

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Druidist

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Germanic

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Hellenistic

Hellenistic Pagans, or Ancient Greek Pagans, worship a pantheon of many different gods and goddesses, most notably the Twelve Olympians. These gods were considered to be immortal, however they were not all-powerful, or even all-good. They were subordinate in power to the concept of fate, they behaved like humans and had human vices. They also could interact with humans and even have children with humans. Some gods were specifically associated with a certain city. Athena was associated with Athens, Apollo with Delphi and Delos, Zeus with Olympia and Aphrodite with Corinth. But other gods were also worshipped in these cities. Other deities were associated with nations outside of Greece; Poseidon was associated with Ethiopia and Troy, and Ares with Thrace.

Norse

Ásatrú, also known as Norse Paganism, is one of the largest modern sects of paganism, and in Iceland, accounts for more than 1% of the entire population. Ásatrú hold the belief that there are multiple mortal Gods such as Odin, Thor and Freyja. Each God, or Áss, rules over a different part of the universe, for example thunder, war or the oceans. Æsir are not immortal, as shown by the story of the death of Baldr, nor are they omnibenevolent or omnipotent. The Æsir wage war with the Vanir, the secondary pantheon of Ásatrú. In terms of afterlife, Ásatrú believe that upon a death in combat, the soul is sent to Valhalla, hall of Odin, or Fólkvangr, hall of Freyja, where they will wait until the final battle with the Vanir at Ragnarök. Those who do not die in combat are believed to be reincarnated, with little interference from the Gods in the process.

Ásatrú is a highly liberal faith, as there is no strict dogma or holy book that teaches which exact beliefs to follow, so individuals are allowed to either devote themselves entirely to the pantheon, or simply be spiritual. Politically, Ásatrú value the preservation of the natural world, and are often environmentalists or primitivists, as well as a respect for traditional culture and faith. Ásatrú are divided over the importance of race and genetics in their religion, and subgroups espousing Odalism or Volkism have contributed to a far-right subsection of the faith. The far-right section of Ásatrú is more prevalent in America than Europe, and most European Ásatrú are liberal to left-wing, and Ásatrúarfélagið, the largest Ásatrú association in Iceland and Europe, has publically denounced these ideologies and supported the rights of Ethnic Minorities and the LGBT community. Ásatrú is a deeply divided faith with a bad reputation in America for its connections to the Far-Right, however elsewhere around the world, and for the vast majority of Ásatrú, the religion is one of peace and tolerance that encourages pacifism and ecologism over all.

Roman

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Slavic

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East Slavic and South Slavic

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West Slavic

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American Indigenous

Aztec

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Flower wars were periodically celebrated "ritual wars" in which the participants would fight in previously accorded battles with the objective to capture war prisoners to sacrifice.

Incan

Inca Theocracy is the rule under the religion of the Inca. The Inca people were polytheistic, but their most important god was Inti, the Sun god, whom the Inca believed the Inca Emperors to be the lineal descendants of. Ruling in the governmental system was done by the Sapa who ruled over an aristocracy made up of local elites directly recruited by the by the state to serve them.

The Inca economic system has been described as a primordial form of State Socialism, the economy was centrally planned, with redistribution of goods allocated based on which places needed them the most, this measure is said to have originated mainly as a way to prevent localized famines. There was no substantial internal market economy, bartering was limited to certain regions and no form of currency was in circulation in the general population, although axe-monies were employed by the mindaláe trading class to exchange goods with outsiders. Most common use goods were distributed by the ruling class in a direct exchange for labor and the economy rested on the material foundations of the traditional Andean Vertical archipelago model which complements the access to resources between different ecozones.
Due to the currencyless nature of the Inca empire taxation took the form of mit'a corvée labor, essentially a mandatory public service that extended from the similar village community service of mink'a that still remains in place in many Quechua communities to this day. Mit'a took the form of public jobs such as the construction of road infrastructure, agricultural terraces or fortifications. Besides the Mit'a there was also a form of compulsory military service.

In 1438, under the rule of Sapa Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, the Kingdom of Cusco began a massive expansion campaign that lead the Incas to control the majority of the territory of modern day Peru. Due to the expansion a restructuration of power took place in which the Sapa was the head of the central government with 4 provincial governments controlled by strong leaders. As part of his expansionist policies the Sapa sent out spies to nearby regions he planned to expand to with messages to the leaders and presents that demonstrated the material benefits of joining the Inca empire, and would militarily conquer the ones who refused the offer.
Pachacuti's son, Túpac Inca Yupanqui, continued the expansionist policy of his father conquering most of modern day Colombia and Ecuador. Tupác's son Huayna Capac once more continued the expansionary policy of his grandpa conquering up to part of modern day Chile until the southern expansion stalled at the Battle of the Maule, turning to the west and expanding into parts of modern day Argentina and Colombia.
By 1529 the first Spanish conquistadors had arrived in the Inca empire, in 1532 a second wave had arrived with a charter allowing them to conquer Inca lands. Before this a civil war had broken out in the Inca Empire over which of Huayna Cápac's 2 sons, Huáscar and Atahualpa, would succeed him, with Atahualpa and his allies winning the war. Among the diseases brought from Europe by the conquerors, the capture and subsequent execution of Atahualpa, the conquest of the Inca capital of Cusco (although it was briefly reconquered by the Incas) and the other military attacks, always remembering that the vast majority of the conquering army they were indigenous people displeased with the central government, the strength of the empire gradually weakened until it was completely conquered by the Spanish crown and the area was colonized, initiating a new order.

Mayan

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Native American Spirituality/Creation Myths

Haudenosaunee Confederacy

Has been argued to be a form of Proto-anarchism, influenced Karl Marx and his idea of "primitive communism" mythology, and structure a huge WIP.

Inuit

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Pacific Northwest Coast Tribes

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Plains Tribes

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Southwestern Tribes

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Woodland Tribes

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Animist

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Solar

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Neo-Pagan

Wicca

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New Age

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Fictional

Slavo-Aryan/Hyperborea

Slavo-Aryanism is the ideology of a warlord state and formable nation called Hyperborea in the Hearts of Iron IV mod The New Order: Last Days of Europe. It is a Russian ultranationalist ideology which takes heavy influence from contemporary Hyperborean thought and ancient slavic aesthetics it believes that Slavs are the true Aryans.

They believe that prehistoric Europe was once dominated by an Aryan superculture who came from the levant that preserved their racial purity, built great works of art, and founded majestic cities. However, over time they were corrupted by deceitful Jewish interference, who manipulated them into intermarrying with lesser races and covered up their glorious heritage. Their descendants, who have fallen far but may regain their former glory, are now known as the "Slavic" people, To them, it is the Russians who are the heirs of the all-powerful Aryan race, and the Germans are actually inferior Asiatics who occupied Aryan lands at the behest of the jews so the people would achieve false racial consciousness, leading to a move away from Slavo-Aryanism.

Slavo-Aryanists believe in a syncretic mix of Slavic Paganism and other Indo-Aryan religions, who are also mixed with intense anti-semitism throughout its pratices and rituals, its mainly solidified under a belief in Perun, and also that the state should be theocratic with priests being the rulers and following the wills of the gods.

In terms of the state, Hyperborea is extremely totalitarian, with priest-kings supervising every minute detail to guarantee that all are behaving as proper aryans or proper slaves, with the High Priest being the highest position and having intense autocratic powers alongside being worshipped as a messenger of the gods, below him are the priest-kings who supervise the land, below them the priests and below them the average aryan citizens, below the aryans are all the peoples that they consider to be subhuman, who are treated as slaves, and below those are the jewish people who Slavo-Aryanists believe should be exterminated.

Slavo-Paganism rejects modern economics as either bolshevik weakness or jewish conspiracy, believing instead that the economy should be organized by priest-kings who give their orders on how the economy should be run based on the will of the gods, these Priest-Kings would also serve as supervisers and proselytizers in factories to guarantee that all are working in accordance to the ancient faith.

Personality and Behavior

Pagan Theocracy's personality depends on what pagan religion you're representing. Though there are some personality traits that are consistent. He has a very close relationship with nature. He also has a great respect for the gods.

How to Draw

Draw a ball with a black outline
Fill the ball with Red
Draw the symbol of the pagan religion you're trying to represent. The default symbol is a black pentagram
(Optional) Draw a hat that represents the pagan religion you're trying to represent
Draw eyes

You are done!

Color Name		HEX	RGB
	Red	#C60B1E	198, 11, 30
	Black	#141414	20, 20, 20

Relationships

Friends

Environmentalism - Shares my views on nature.
Deep Ecology - Really shares my views on nature.
Odalism - Really Really shares my views on nature.
National Anarchism - Ah yes, the traditional way of life.
Hindu Theocracy - Polytheism gang.
Tribalism - You are some of the chosen few who still follow the noble path of the gods.
Indigenism - We must follow the way of our ancestors spirits and seek justice for what had been done by Christian invaders.
Anti-Japaneseism - Glad to see you seek justice for what the Shintoists did to the indigenous pagans. But you seem far more focused on revenge against the state than actually bringing indigenous paganism back to Japan.
Anarcho-Primitivism - We must go follow our traditional way of life.
Post-Colonial Anarchism - Not sure about this "Anarchism" but hey, seeking justice for indigenous peoples and wanting to revive their traditions and way of life seems based enough.
Primalism - A gift from the gods, who we live in harmony with, it shall willingly sacrifice itself in our ritual blood sacrifice!
Soulism - He too knows the wonders of Traditional Psychedelics and can truly see into the spirit realm.
Athenian Democracy and Roman Republicanism - Fellow Zeus/Jupiter worshipers.

Frenemies

Satanic Theocracy - Going against the monotheists is based but you're very evil, and you are the flip side of Abrahamics,especially when you monotheistically believe in Satan,nevertheless polytheistic Satanism is based.
Cultism - You seem to like me and all, but you don't actually seem to worship the spirits. (Also Midsommar and The Wicker Man are great movies)
Neozapatismo - The Mesoamericans were based and trying to revive their cultural pride is too, But why don't you want to bring back human sacrifice? It was the best part! Also why are you friends with that cuck?
Buddhist Theocracy - No gods? Kinda cringe but at least one of your sects believes in gods.
State Shinto - YOU TRAITOR! WHY DID YOU KILL OFF THE BASED JOMON, EMISHI, RYUKYU, AND AINU PAGANS? But your religion is cool, though.
Esoteric Fascism - I love the Gods too but I think you need to see a witch doctor because you keep spouting out crazy nonsense. Seriously, HOW the fuck are the Gods actually some ancient race of astronaut aliens?! Where are their spaceship remnants then?
Tengrism - I mean Tengri is pretty cool but it is sad many of your followers abandoned your traditional roots to syncretism to monotheistics. Black Shamanism was far more based.
Zoroastrian Theocracy - While monotheistic, at least you let us practice our religion in peace.
Post-Humanism - On one hand you completely destroy nature, on the other hand, you're basically a god.
State Atheism - You hate the Abrahamic religions? Based, but why do you hate me so much?
Pacifist Feminism - You take inspiration from me, but seeing how many of you are just a bunch of privileged internet-obsessed teenagers using my imagery for 'quirky' TikToks just feels so ignorant LARPer. How about actually following the path of the gods for once instead of following the path of social media?
Imperialism - You force your religion onto our people. But when pagans did it against monotheists, it was based.
Caesarism - Well, it depends: Most were fine, I guess, Nero was devoted to me but overshot and only made Christians more popular, Julian tried to bring me back but failed, but everyone else from Constantine sucks.

Enemies

Chinese Theocracy - THE YELLOW TURBAN REBELLION WAS BASED WHY DID YOU PURGE ME REEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! I AM GLAD THOSE TENGRI NOMADS KICKED YOUR ASS! ~~Wait, they embraced you to some extent? Shame.~~
Christian Theocracy - YOU GOT RID OF MY INFLUENCE OVER THE ROMAN EMPIRE! DAMN YOU THEODOSIUS!!!
Industrialism - You ruin nature!
Islamic Theocracy - "Abu Talib, your nephew has reviled our gods, denounced our religion, derided our traditional values and told us that our forefathers were misguided."
Jewish Theocracy - Haha yeah keep seething about Hadrian! (I really don't hate Jews though, so please stop calling me an antisemite)
Reactionary Socialism - Evil commie who wants to burn me at the stake.
Liberation Theology - Lol, you are just butthurt that he likes me more than you... Stop cucking out to worshiping a Jew on a stick and betraying your ancestor's true beliefs.
Byzantine Model - Caesarism, but without any redeeming qualities ~~but at least hired those Odinist mercs~~.
Kratos - STOP KILLING MY GODS YOU MONSTER!
Sikh Theocracy - You're just a Demiurge worshipper in "Dharmic" paint.
Akhenaten - WHY'D YOU CREATE MONOTHEISM YOU [REDACTED] ?! YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!!!!

Further Information

Wikipedia

Literature

References

Gallery

Portraits

Old portrait

Alternative designs

Annunakism
Norse Theocracy
Totemism

Comics and Artwork

"Theocracies compass" By Spade

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