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HolyHandGrenade! wrote: ////2025-09-18T20:49:59+00:00
Have any humans ever converted to or co-opted one of the yinrih religions?
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Humans raised by Claravian fostering orders like Sherman from the Multiverse Inn are raised as Wayfarers. As for adult converts, there exist two theological stances on the matter within the Bright Way. The Dativists believe in preaching the Bright Way to the species they encounter among the stars. Dativist missionaries are missionaries in the usual sense, preaching and accepting converts. Receptivists, however, believe that the Bright Way is incomplete by design, and that the species they encounter have important lessons to teach the yinrih. Receptivists are the most likely to convert to human faiths, though they see their conversion as a fulfillment of the Bright Way rather than a rejection of it. This is a spectrum rather than a hard delineation, and most Wayfarers fall somewhere in the middle.
Of the six missionaries aboard the Dewfall, Iris leans closer to the receptivist end of the spectrum, which is why she insists Pascal lodge with Fr. Shaheen. The others don't have a clear stance on the matter.
It's unclear what role human Wayfarers play within the Bright Way, and here too there are probably multiple ideas. Some may see the Great Commandment as being directed to the yinrih alone, and it is their sole responsibility to seek out and unite the Uncreated Light's far flung little ones. Others may see the Great Commandment as a universal call to all sophonts to actively come together in friendship.
I haven't developed other vulpithecine faiths enough to say how they feel about humanity and how humanity feels about them. Certain milder flavors of Atavism will certainly appeal to crazy prepper types, and if it were ever more than just a meme, to the “reject humanity, return to monke” crowd. the Agentivist branch of Neoshamanism will appeal strongly to hippies, neopagans, and other humans interested in new religious movements, as both sides focus on personal experience rather than systematic and codified philosophy. The reverse is also true as can be seen with Breezy from the Multiverse Inn. Certain corners of Reddit will get along swimmingly with the Partisans, I'm sure.