Religion



Most roots of the religious words in the Dune series are derived from the Arabic language and the Islamic religion. Islam and the Middle Eastern culture were major influences in Dune. The official religion of the Known Universe or the Corrino Empire was the belief system based on the Orange Catholic Bible, basically a concordance of the most important religions of the Old Empire which mainly contained elements from Islam, Navachristianity, Buddislam, Mahayana Christianity, Zensunni Catholicism and the Maometh Saari religion. These religious beliefs were also known as the "Koranjiyana Zenchristianity" or "Zenchristian Navislam". Its adherents also referred to themselves as "the followers of the fourteen sages". Their concept of God was a male-female-neuter trinity accepted as Supreme Being also interpreted as Buddallah or the Greatmother, the horned goddess and feminine principle of space.

There, however, does not seem to have been one single united Orange Catholic Church, rather, the different religious groups seem to have coexisted under the umbrella of Orange Catholic Ecumenism. Yet there existed an obligatory rite of communion among the followers of the fourteen sages in which the believers shared a wafer sybolising the flesh of God. There also still existed minority groups of pre-Orange Catholic religions such as Judaism, as far as they were tolerated by or could hide from fanatical enforcers of Orange Catholic orthodoxy.

The central teachings of Orange Catholicism were centered about the accord of logic, reason, Galactophasic determinism and the doctrine of the Butlerian Jihad that "Man may not be replaced" and the ban on all Thinking Machines. Part of the power of the Padishah Emperor was that he guaranteed peace and safety throughout the empire and defended the Orange Catholic principles. The empire's ruling class itself however, including the Spacing Guild, was agnostic.

When the Golden Elixir of Life-Religion was finally established after Muad'Dib's Jihad 40 different religions had been wiped out.

Fremen Religion
Fremen religion was largely based on the religion of the Wandering Zensunni, but had abandoned almost all traces of its originally pacifist teachings, though they had preserved the Book of Kreos and still referred to Zensunni Philosophers such as Bu Ji and the Shah-Nama. Fremen religion believed in surviving, fighting, strength and Istislah as well as several Kiswas such as the Bakka, the ruh-spirit, the Qadis as-Salaf and the Sadu. Fremen religion also differed from traditional Zensunnism through several folk-beliefs such as the reverence of the Sandworm of Arrakis (Shai-Hulud who could also appear as Shaitan) as the Demiurge and the impact of the spice orgies. Fremen saw the origin of their Ilm and Shari-a in the Fiqh and much of it was handed down in the Kitab Al-Ibar. According to it, ritual was obliged to begin with the words "Ibn Qirtaiba".

Fremen religion had also been deeply manipulated by the Bene Gesserit through the Missionaria Protectiva and there is evidence that the first Sayyadinas of the Fremen had been rogue Reverend Mothers. Through this the Fremen-belief in a Mahdi, the Lisan al Gaib, had been strengthened.

After the rise of Muad'Dib, Fremen religion evolved into the Church of Muad'Dib or Golden Elixir of Life-religion and turned to agressively converting and spreading its beliefs and became the dominant religion throughout the Atreides Empire until Leto Atreides II ultimately replaced it with the cult of the God-Emperor. After Leto's death some splintergroups such as the Fish Speakers, the "church of the Divided God" with the Rakian Priesthood and variants of the Cult of Alia and Cult of Sheeana survived.

Sardaukar Religion
Little about the beliefs of the Sardaukar was known to outsiders, but they were widely believed to follow a way of Warrior-mysticism. As Salusa Secundus had been a station of the Wandering Zensunni's misr, it likely had a zensunnitic influence.The Tawrah Collegiate and the Torah and Talmudic Zabur were two religious institutions of Salusa secundus so influences from Judaism and first or second Islam also seem possible.It was widely acknowledged that the Sardaukar envisioned themselves as elite and superior beings.

The High Priest of Dur seems to have been a religious figure traditionally in charge with coronation ceremonies and weddings of House Corrino, it is unknown if this figure also was in other ways directly related to the religious beliefs of the imperial house and the Sardaukar. The Dune Encyclopedia mentions a sect called the "Sardaukar of Salvation" on Gamont. Their exact relation to the Sardaukar and their religion however is unknown.

The Bene Gesserit Way
The Bene Gesserit universally exploited the religious beliefs of humanity for their cause via the Missionaria Protectiva, were in one form or another seemingly active in the creation of Orange Catholicism, and held a body of quasi-religious principles and teachings, such as those preserved in the Azhar Book. Though their origins might have been rooted in a pre-butlerian society or matriarchic cult and possibly some kind of goddess religion (such as practiced by the Priestesses of Jowf), the sisterhood, while officially posing as a pious Order of female scholars, Truthsayers and counselors raising well-educated women and training consorts, was through the Reverend Mothers access to the Other Memory in itself largely agnostic and referred to gods as "the gods of our own making". Their Arcana's prime concern were actually politics, and while they used religious language and teachings as a cover they really pursued the Grail, the evolution of humanity and ordering of the Universe (if only under their wise and noble tutelage) via their Breeding program and for this sought to produce the Kwisatz Haderach.

Other religions or religious groups mentioned

 * Assemblies of Allah
 * Astronomical Christianity
 * Baptismal Cosmotheism of Shingon
 * Belt Hypostatical Program
 * Ben Kalism in Gangishre
 * The Bhakti Votaries
 * Black Vedantism
 * The Buddhist Pali Movement
 * The Buddislamic Christian Church of Sikun
 * The Buddislamic Jain Faith of Lankiveil
 * Cathloa Church of Erzulie
 * The Calvinistic Genetical Determinant Elect Body, Incorporated
 * The Cape Separatist Union
 * Catholic Protestant Tribe of Deri
 * The Catholic Zenvestranism
 * The Christian Zionist Pilgrims
 * The Church of Eurasia
 * Church of the Holy Atta
 * The Church of Selene
 * Confucian Statism
 * The Congregation of Molitor
 * The Cosmic Charismatic Movement
 * Cult of Serena
 * Cult of Sheeana
 * Cybernetic Reformed Churches
 * The Daughters
 * The Diasporic Council of Rabbis
 * Ecumenical Sectarianism
 * First Islam
 * Holy Church
 * the New Islambahai Church or the Last Church of Christ
 * Kubebe Worship or Priestesses of Komos
 * Muadru
 * Navachristianity
 * Obeah ritual
 * Priests of Dur
 * Sardaukar of Salvation
 * Semitic Tawra
 * Sisters in Isolation
 * Sorceresses of Rossak
 * Sunni
 * Sunislam
 * Third Islamic Movement
 * Vatsyayana Evangelicals
 * Wicca
 * Zen Hekiganshu
 * Zenchristianity
 * Zenshiite
 * Zensufi
 * Baptismal Cosmotheism of Shingon
 * The Episcopalian Methodist Church
 * The Evangelical Missionary Campaign on Position I
 * The Faiths of Beulah
 * The Galacian Orthodox Church
 * The Galactic Spiritual Assembly of Bahais
 * The Great Mother Church
 * The Grummanian Orthodox Establishment
 * The Hasidic Lutherans
 * Hasidislamic Union
 * The Hellenic Orthodox Ecclesia
 * The Hinayana Buddhist Way
 * Ikebana Shaktist Order of Anthos
 * Jain Buddhism
 * The Jainite Foundation
 * Jerusalem Urbanite Citizens of Nework
 * The Jesuitical Evolutionist Church of Chardin
 * The Kubebe Cultists of Komos
 * The Latin Revivalism
 * Lican Universalism
 * Lutheran Amida Worship
 * Lutheran Catholic United Church
 * The Mahayana Buddhist Union
 * The Mahayana Christianity of Enfeil
 * The Mahayana Lankavatara Friends of Truth
 * The Modified Hanuman Church of Siflj
 * The Muadh Quran Faith on Caladan
 * Muslim Fideism on the Naraj Worlds
 * The Navachristian Church of Chusuk
 * The Nebuloid Dervish Spire
 * The Neomaimomdist Rabbirate
 * New Philadelphia Friends Yearly Meeting
 * The Ommanean Variationists (Reformed)
 * The Orange Protestant Army of True Believers
 * The Ortho-Catholic Circle of Sigma Draconis
 * Orthodox Gregorianism
 * Palislam
 * Panafrican Reformed Churches in Union
 * the pervasive obeah ritual
 * The Ramakrishna Gospel Mission to Biarek
 * The Ray Space Worship
 * The Roman Catholic Episcopal Church
 * The Sacerdotal Hermeticism of Bela Tegeuse
 * The Servants of Light
 * Socratic Christianity, IV Anbus
 * Solarian Centrism
 * Space Baptism, Poritrin
 * The Stellar Deist Watchmen of Ix
 * Sugislamic Congregationailists of Tupali
 * The Sunni Orange Co-operative, Jaf’r
 * Sunsufism of Kadrish
 * The Talimidic Zabur Followers, Salusa Secundus
 * The Tantric Rhythmists of Richese
 * Taoist Pilgrims in Space
 * The Tawrah Collegiate, Salusa Secundus
 * The Tendai Fundamentalist Church
 * Tenri Kyo Science in the Galaxy
 * Tenth-Day Adventist Church of Rapide
 * The Terran Orthodox Church of Novebruns Planet
 * The Thomasian Faith
 * The Unitarian Galactic Church
 * The United Church of Rossak
 * The United Moravian Assembly
 * Universal Hindu Faith, Hagal
 * The Universal Pantheist Religion
 * The Vatsyayana Evangelical Mission, Position III
 * The Visionaries of Los Vivekrishnan
 * Disciples The Vudu Reformed Cult
 * The White Kirk of Maclean
 * Zabulonian Mennonitism
 * Zen Baptism
 * The Zen Hekiganshu Faith of Delta Pavonis
 * Zenshintoism
 * Zensunni Catholic Amalgamation
 * The Zensunni Wanderers
 * Zoroastrian Dualism of Tupile