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Covenant religion: Difference between revisions
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Following the Great Schism and the death of Truth the Covenant effectively dissolved. For more than six years, the member species of the Covenant fought a brutal civil war. Immediately following Truth's death the San 'Shyuum sought to save themselves from the rage of the Sangheili, and so provided the Jiralhanae with new weapons, ships and other tools to aid in their protection. During this period the Prophets, who already had been few in number, largely disappeared, leading to rumours that they had actually finally achieved the Great Journey.<ref>'''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''', ''[[The Return]]'', page 506</ref> | Following the Great Schism and the death of Truth the Covenant effectively dissolved. For more than six years, the member species of the Covenant fought a brutal civil war. Immediately following Truth's death the San 'Shyuum sought to save themselves from the rage of the Sangheili, and so provided the Jiralhanae with new weapons, ships and other tools to aid in their protection. During this period the Prophets, who already had been few in number, largely disappeared, leading to rumours that they had actually finally achieved the Great Journey.<ref>'''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''', ''[[The Return]]'', page 506</ref> | ||
Even amongst the Covenant Separatists their ancient religion held for millennia was not completely abandoned. As one [[Unnamed Sangheili Shipmaster (The Return)|Sangheili Shipmaster]] believed, "he knew his gods were out there, but he had no idea what they wanted."<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''The Return'', page 507</ref> The species of the Covenant had always relied on the Prophets to lead them in spiritual matters. The devout | Even amongst the Covenant Separatists their ancient religion held for millennia was not completely abandoned. As one [[Unnamed Sangheili Shipmaster (The Return)|Sangheili Shipmaster]] believed, "he knew his gods were out there, but he had no idea what they wanted."<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''The Return'', page 507</ref> The species of the Covenant had always relied on the Prophets to lead them in spiritual matters. The devout Sangheili in particular had not had any need for their own religious leaders for centuries, and now found that no one among them had the knowledge or the ability to comprehend the will of the gods. For a people whose sole purpose had been enforcing their gods' will, this was terrifying. | ||
This period can perhaps be understood as somewhat being akin the [[wikipedia:Protestant Reformation|Protestant Reformation]] in Western Christianity. A loss of faith in a society's religious leaders did not lead to a complete abandonment of said religion's deities. Rather it led to a period of intense conflict as various factions began to develop their own new interpretations of ancient beliefs. Although the Sangheili no longer believed in the Prophets as the messengers of the gods or in the Great Journey as they had described it, they still believed in their gods. | This period can perhaps be understood as somewhat being akin the [[wikipedia:Protestant Reformation|Protestant Reformation]] in Western Christianity. A loss of faith in a society's religious leaders did not lead to a complete abandonment of said religion's deities. Rather it led to a period of intense conflict as various factions began to develop their own new interpretations of ancient beliefs. Although the Sangheili no longer believed in the Prophets as the messengers of the gods or in the Great Journey as they had described it, they still believed in their gods. | ||