Religion in Lovia

Religion in the Kingdom of Lovia is remarkable both in its low adherence level compared to the neighboring United States as well as its unbalanced spread across the country. The most common religious viewpoints in Lovia are of Christian and irreligious nature. Religion plays a marginal role in Lovian politics. The people have the right to exercise their religion of preference freely.

Main religious preferences of Lovians
The main religious preferences in Lovia are sorted alphabetically; then followed by a short listing of minority religions, and then by Atheism and Humanism in Lovia.

Buddhism
Buddhism is a minor religion in Lovia. An estimated 70% of the Lovian Buddhists adhere the Mahayana traditions, of which Zen Buddhism is the most popular form in the country. The Theravada tradition represents an estimated 15%. So do the Vajrayana traditions. The majority of the Buddhists in Lovia live in the State of Clymene. There is one Zen Buddhist temple in Sofasi, the Sofasi Zen Buddhist Temple. Famous members of the Zen Buddhist community are Doris Stern (sportsman and socialite), Mel Hartman (Buddhist abbot) and Yunus Xuan (model and actress). Other well-known Buddhists include Rani Delani (fashion designer), George Uzux (political activist) and Philip Bradly-Lashawn (Arthur II's son). There are around 1000 Buddhists living all across Lovia.

Christianity
Christianity is, if seen as a whole, the largest religious denomination. Whereas many Christians entered the country in earlier days, the present Christian community often descends from immigrants, mostly from Eastern Europe. Estimates show that of all Lovian Christians, about 50% is Protestant and another 42% is Roman Catholic. More exact figures are not available. Only a small minority is Eastern Orthodox.

Eastern Orthodox Church
There is a small population of Eastern Orthodox Christians in Hurbanova. The community built its Orthodox Church Saint Andrew in 2009. Most Orthodox Christians belong to the Romanian-Lovian community, though there are also Bosnian-Lovians and Ukrainian-Lovians, concentrated around Hurbanova. A well-known Eastern Orthodox Christian is LD politician Alexandru Latin.

Protestantism
Protestantism is the most organized branch of Christianity, having two major church bodies uniting tens of older denominations. The United Protestant Church (UPC) is the largest religious body in Lovia, and it unites six former churches: the Lovian Methodist Association, the Presbyterian Church in Lovia, the Episcopal Church (Lovia), the Church Union of Lovian Baptists, the Reformed Church of Noble City and the ecumenical Church of Unity. The UPC is mainline Protestant and rather liberal, religiously speaking.

The Unified Lutheran Church (ULC) is the second largest Protestant church, and the only one not to be incorporated in the UPC. The church hierarchy is rather conservative, and the UPC claims to be willing to set forth "the church's tradition as guard of the faith." Its members however, have already expressed the need of a more liberal church governance.

Both the ULC and UPC use the Lovian Standard Version Bible translation. It is one of the most commonly used translations in Lovia, especially in moderate conservative environs. Lately, there have been demands of a more liberal English translation in Lovia.

The Protestant community is spread across Lovia. In the State of Oceana though, there are remarkably less Protestants. The largest Protestant communities can be found in Noble City and Newhaven. A well known Lovian protestant is August Magnus Donia of the LCP who is the current secretary of Tourism and Leisure.

Roman Catholic Church
The Roman Catholic Church is among Lovia's most important denominations. The largest community resides in Hurbanova, Oceana, and its surroundings. Other major Catholic groups can be found in Sofasi and inland Sylvania. Of the Hurbanovan Catholics, most are of Eastern European or Limburgish descent. Other predominant Catholic ethnic groups are the Belgians and American Roman Catholics. There are two Roman Catholic churches in Oceana and one in Noble City. In the past, many prominent Lovians have been Catholics. Famous members at this moment are Oos Wes Ilava, Robin Ferguson and Christopher Verne.

Hinduism
Estimates show there are no more than 50 Hindus in Lovia, all of them residing in Noble City, Newhaven and Sofasi. Most of the Lovian Hindus are so-called "ethnic Hindus", having been raised in predominantly Hindu countries in Asia.

Islam
The Lovian Muslim community is very small, though growing. It is estimated there are probably no more then 500 muslims in all of Lovia. Until the 1960s, there were no well-known Muslims or Muslim organizations in the nation. In 2010, a Islamic religious organization was founded, the Lovian Muslim Brotherhood. Prominent Lovian islamic spokesmen include Ahmad Benzador and Ali Suleimani both of whom are very moderate in their views. The organization only has a few members so far.

Judaism
The total number of Jews is estimated between 120 and 250. Most Jews are former Americans, of whom most come from Germany and Central Europe. Many Jews living in Noble City are active in the literary and publishing branch. Well-known Jewish Lovians are Steve Bronstein (literary translator), William Goodwin (writer), and Ellis Sobol (writer and illustrator). The first organization of Jewish Lovians, the Lovian Judaism Brotherhood, was founded in 2010 by politician Marcus Villanova and Sobol and Goodwin.

Unitarian Universalism
Since 1961, the year of the merger of the Universalist Church of America and the American Unitarian Association, there have been Unitarian Universalists in Lovia. In the 1980s, the community was ctive in several political causes, notably the gay rights movement, the social justice movement, and the feminist movement.

By 1998, the community's presence in Lovia had faded. According to a poll, most (former) Unitarian Universalists describe themselves as Humanists and Agnostics. An estimated 30 Lovians call themselves Unitarian Universalists.

Minority religions
Ethnic minority religions include:
 * Among Japanese residents, Shinto is the predominant religious practice.
 * A small number of Korean Lovians adhere Cheondoism.
 * There is a small Sikh population in Lovia; mostly migrated from the United States to Lovia.
 * In the late 1960s and early 1970s, there were approximately 25 Bahá’ís in Lovia, again mostly Americans. The religion has since disappeared on Lovian soil.

Beside these ethnic religions, there are members of the Church of Scientology and supporters of Kaballah amongst a couple of Lovian celebrities, influenced by Hollywood. Due to the extremely small support base in Lovia, the controversies surrounding Scientology in the United States have had little impact on the Archipelago.

No religion
There is a remarkably large and active community of non-believers in Lovia. The high rate of irreligious Lovians is often explained by the royal family's Atheism. From King Arthur I onwards, all Lovian monarch have openly declared their Atheism. Besides the royal family, many other non-believers have held top functions in politics and business. For example, most Governors of Sylvania were irreligious: Alfred J.Q. Robinson, Edward M. Roscoe, Andrew King, Robert Pennington, etc. The Pennington Family itself is another example of a prominent political family of which most members are public Atheists.

As of 2001, there is an non-profit organization uniting Atheists, Agnostics and Freethinkers: the Freethought Association, now known as the Lovian Freethought Academy (LFA), founded by Arthur Jefferson. The LFA is one of Lovia's most active non-governmental organizations. In early 2010, the LFA gained prominence through its "Think freely" campaign.

Religious people in politics
Politicians hardly discuss their religion when campaigning, and churches and religious figures are not politically active. Until 2010, there were no Christian democrat parties in Lovia, like in the United States, but unlike Europe and Latin America. As a result thereof, there are Christians in most parties. During the 2010 Mid-terms, Oos Wes Ilava left his party LD and established a Christian-democratic conservative party: CCPL. Its membership rate is very low, and it is practically a one-man party.

Parties with remarkably low religiosity rates are the Communist Party of Lovia (neo-marxist) and the Walden Libertarian Party. Parties with a higher percentage of Christians are the Liberal Democrats and the Conservative Christian Party of Lovia, both parties than the CPL.nm and WLP. The republican movement is also sometimes associated with Christian-democratic politicians.

In Congress, only 18.75% of the Members is a Christian:
 * Alexandru Latin (LD) - Eastern Orthodox
 * Harold Freeman (LD) - non-denominational Christian
 * Oos Wes Ilava (CCPL) - Roman Catholic

Marcus Villanova (LLCP) defines himself as a Freethinking Jew.

All other Members of the Congress - twelve out of sixteen - are Atheists, Agnostics, Freethinkers, or do not define their religious belief. Andy McCandless (WLP) and Lars Washington (LD) describe themselves as Freethinkers, whereas Edward Hannis (WLP) is an Agnostic. Alyssa C. Red (CPL.nm), Arthur Jefferson (independent), Christina Kay Evans (independent), Martha Van Ghent (WLP), King Dimitri I of Lovia (Member by Right) and Yuri Medvedev (CPL.nm) are openly Atheist.

Six members, i.e. 37.5% of Congress, are associated with the Lovian Freethought Academy.

Religion in the law
Religion is a marginal theme in Lovian politics. Article 2 of the Constitution grants "every human being and citizen [...] the right of freedom of thought, meaning and religion; of equality, by race, religion, political opinion, language, sex, property, birth or other statuses." No references to the Judeo-Christian God or anyother religious concept are made in any of the country's laws.

In education, the freedom of religion of children is protected from indoctrination. In Article 10 of the Federal Law (the Primary Education Act), all doctrinal courses in primary schools are banned:
 * "There shall be no doctrinal classes in primary schools."
 * "Primary schools and their teachers may not try to convince children of a certain religious point of view, nor can they make any pupil exercise a religious act if not wanted by the pupil and/or the parents."

Article 11 (the Secondary Education Act) preserves the right for schools to provide doctrinal classes for no more than one hour per week in high schools. Article 11.3.3.2.1 states that no extremist views may be taught.

Academic research
At Blackburn University, intensive research on religion is done by the Blackburn Royal Center for Religious Survey. Amongst the ongoing activities is a survey on the religious demography of Lovia and a study of Bible use in Lovia. The Blackburn Royal Center for Rational Thought and Skepticism also performs research on religious or pseudo-religious claims.