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.
Additionally, the Consul-General made routine sacrifices of food and money to the deities Alexander, Poseidon, and Athena.
Adoption of Christianity as National Religion
Legal basis
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.
Religious activities of the government
Seeing himself as a leader who was obligated to publicly live by the standards of Christianity, the Grand Duke married his partner, the Marquise of Walgreen after dating for only seven months. Just as quickly, he integrated aspects of religion into the foreign affairs of Westarctica when he reached out to the leaders of Christian-themed micronations as well as macronational monarchies with Protestant or Catholic rulers.
On 23 March 2005, the first Minister of Theocratic Affairs was appointed to advise and guide the Grand Duke on religious matters. The following April, a religious order of knighthood, the Holy Order of The Cross was instituted and the first knighthood bestowed upon the recently deceased Pope John Paul II. Sixteen days later, the Grand Duke wrote to the Presidents of Laos and Eritrea requesting the release of religious prisoners kept in their countries.
Religion during the Reign of Grand Duke Philip
Following Grand Duke Travis' 2006 abdication from the throne, power was passed to his successor, Grand Duke Philip, who listed his religious affiliation as "eclectic," but was essentially a practicing Neopagan.
This was at a time when 70% of Westarctica's population officially identified as Christian and, when discounting the agnostic population, the various sects of Christianity were followed by 93% of all citizens who identified with any religion.
Less than two months after the transfer of power, there was an explosive series of arguments between the cabinet ministers in Westarctica's government forum. A variety of charges and accusations were made against Jon-Lawrence Langer, the Duke of Moulton-Berlin by several of his fellow ministers. According to His Grace, the accusations included:
I have been publicly accused of treason, sedition against the United States of America, not be christian, being evil, and few charges that I fail to recollect at the moment.
Travis, I am truly and deeply disgusted with Westarctica. They lied about me. They hid evidence of their wrong doing. I can never trust any of them in the future. You are a good man. Sadly, you are also the exception.