Churches of Tetsuo

Tetsuo, God of calm nature, isolation, and serenity. Possibly the most popular faith outside of Lenmare and Senmare, Tetsuo's faith preaches teachings of peace and forgiveness. Many live by the rules he has set out, and some take them to their extremes, casting clothes off their shoulders and isolating themselves, embracing solitude in peace with the hopes of living on in the halls of their God.

Tenets of Faith

The most basic of rules in his faith are as follows: "Be one with yourself and nature, those who live in harmony with the world around them may find happiness. Forgive yourself and others around you, Most have done wrong in their lives, but those who wish to travel the path of the good of the world shall be forgiven. Do not fear for yourself, or others, life has it's ways and we must learn to embrace them."
Different orders (some monastic, some organized, and some in between) have interpreted this core in different ways and have added extensively, to the point where it potentially invalidates the core. Some orders are isolationist, some live only with nature, and others embrace those from all walks of life without a care in the world. See "Sects" below.

Priesthood

Priests are the leaders of prayer in the faith of Tetsuo who have devoted their lives to the religion. In most churches of Tetsuo up to 30% of the religious population are priests due to the accepting nature of Tetsuo's teachings. When someone quits their job and solemnly swears to serve the church and to spread the teachings they are almost instantly appointed as priests. The role of a priest is as follows: to lead prayer, to spread the teachings of Tetsuo beyond the church, and to guide people, believers or not, down the path towards "the good of the world." Priests are not given special garments as their character should be enough to speak to their faith.

Sects

The Church of Tetsuo has many sects aside from the main organization. Listing all of them would be inefficient, so three examples will be provided to show how the faith differs.
Yakuza Faith A group of sects that is dedicated to providing a place of worship to those who are or recently were living a life of crime, taking the accepting anyone precept to it's most extreme extent: those who are still doing crime. Often these temples are located in cities and the denizens are members of the yakuza who ask forgiveness for the evil deeds they do, as they are doing it for money to survive. The members of this sect often go out of their way to spread peace, even in their often violent and sinful line of work, so as to appease their God and justify why they should be forgiven. Most people are aware of this sect, and it is rarely looked down upon, the churches even ignored by law enforcement out of respect and goodwill, even though they could be taking down lots of yakuza members in a raid.
The Naturalists of Senpou Valley A group mostly composed of humans who seek to embrace calm nature to it's fullest extent, going so far to deny any inventions that cannot be found in the natural world. The denizens of Senpou valley are nudists who's only shelter is in caves and holes in the ground. They reject tools, forge but do not farm, and hunt but do not cook meat. the only invention that they allow is language, which is seen as a key part of having this faith. They have built up an infamy for their extreme interpretation of the religion but are rarely condemned, even if the phrase "smelly as a Senpou monk" is popular.
Order of Enlightenment This order is known for its practices which parallel real-world buddhism. They meditate for hours a day and seek to reject materialism as much as possible. They are not averse to human built structures and their monastery is massive, however they do not like to gain more than they already have, as that would be a betrayal of the religion. They are all vegans, as to hunt is to disturb peace and when there is no peace there is no Tetsuo. They are well known but rarely mentioned, as everybody acknowledges their existence and moves on.
You can see the logical extent the core precepts can be pulled to and how many more sects may form or have already been formed. Some 20 somewhat popular sects exist and many more niche ones do as well.

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Deities

• Tetsuo