Religion in Westarctica

The role of religion in Westarctica is an area of only limited social concern by the country's government and peoples. Westarctica distinguishes itself from many other sovereign nations in that it does not place religious restrictions nor enforce religious laws or edicts on any of its citizens, nor does it limit the availability of diplomatic visas for entry or exit from the country's borders for religious reasons.

Religion in the Achaean Territory

When the territory of Westarctica was first claimed in 2001, the country largely followed the religious inclination of its leader, Consul-General Travis McHenry. The trend among many of the nobles at that time was a general sense of agnostic irreligion. However, the Consul-General himself was a semi-practicing Classical Pantheist who predominantly worshiped the gods of the ancient Greek Pantheon as well as Alexander the Great (who was considered by the Egyptians and the Persians to be a living god, and later, by the Greeks as member of the Pantheon).

Thus, Classical Pantheism showed its mark on the naming of the territory itself (Achaea is a region of ancient Greece) as well as the naming of Achaea's capital city (Achilles, after the mythological hero of The Iliad). The Coronation of the Consul-General occurred in a castle utilized by Alexander the Great during his conquest of Asia Minor (Turkey) and the crown used was a solid gold circlet carved in the shape of a laurel wreath in the style of a Roman civic crown.

Religion during the reign of Grand Duke Travis

In June 2004, the Consul-General underwent a religious conversion and became a born-again Christian as publicly declared in the 13 June 2004 Statement of Faith. As part of a reorganization of the government of the Achaean Territory, all previous legal codes were abolished and the Grand Ducal Mandate became the new law of the land. At this time, the country changed its name to Westarctica, and adopted a new flag with a cross and crown design.

Although the Grand Ducal Mandate explicitly guaranteed "freedom of religion to all religions" (in Chapter II, Article 4, Section 2, Subsection H), Chapter VI, dealing with special religious clauses, declared Protestant Christianity to be the state religion of Westarctica and also awarded remuneration and pensions to religious leaders. Article 60 stated:

Article 60: National Religion
(1) The official religion of the Grand Duchy shall be Protestant Christian.
(2) The state-sponsored church shall enjoy the special protection of the government and the Grand Duke.