Ideolatry

The commonest religion in Terraform Reach, the worship of Platonic archetypes. The commonest ideas worshipped form a "pantheon" of twenty. These are:

The One:
Being (a semi-pantheistic conception, with virtually no cult)

The Three:
Wisdom, Justice, Nature
(the most high-minded choices, descended from the old Temple of Common Worship)

The Four:
Luck, Love, Victory, Prosperity
(the most popular choices)

The Twelve:
Honor, Mercy, Purity, Truth, Beauty, Virtue,
Holiness, Health, Fertility, Life, Humanity, Joy
(also popular choices)

You can find temples to these concepts in major cities; shrines to them are everywhere (e.g. to Wisdom in a library); and various amulets and portable shrines are popular with devotees. It is the traditional religion of the New Terraformers and the state religion of the Empire. It blends syncretistically with many Old Settler religions, Pantomorpheanism, and sometimes with Timonianism.

It is practiced at all levels of spiritual sophistication and includes bizarre side-cults (like the worshippers of Color, or even Green), worship of "devil-concepts" (like Pain or Death), and shadowy cults to ambiguous concepts (like Illusion, Change, or Stasis). As with most polytheisms, most worshippers have one or two favorites, usually from the main pantheon, and give general and traditional recognition of all the rest.

Each concept is represented by one or more traditional symbols, e.g.:

Offerings are made at shrines and temples in the forms of donations, flowers, hand-food, vitamins, incense, or the singing or playing of hymns.

There is no body of doctrine or scripture. There is a mythology in the form of a body of popular classics, all allegorical or symbolist:

Priests direct the performance of public worship, manage temples, and counsel worshippers relative to the concept they are dedicated to:

Priests are consecrated by older priests of the same concept. There are "sacerdoteries" (seminaries) where priests are trained. These vary in formality and respectability according to local culture and the concepts involved. Imperial priests of Justice, for instance, are part of a very clear and detailed command structure. A priest of luck on a border planet might not be much more than a vendor of charms.

Ideolatry is a state religion in the Empire and in many other states of the Reach. It receives government funding. At least nominal membership is often required for government careers. The government subsidises dissemination of Ideolatrous religious works and often restricts dissemination of other religious works. In extreme cases, conversion to or membership in other religions is a crime. However, the degree of religious bias varies a lot over time and place.