A Partially Comprehensive Guide to Religion in the City of Chicago
It was only recently, the previous season in fact, that a comprehensive census of the Commonwealth's population was taken. While the main goal of this census was to get an accurate counting of the population, as well as their distribution across this new country. Yet as a side effect, this census has given a good look at the religious composition of both Chicago and the Commonwealth at large though it is far from a comprehensive counting. This gives a basic overview of religion as it exists within the city of Chicago, as the capital has the largest population of the Commonwealth by far.
As one might expect, Christianity remains dominant in Chicago, as it does with much of the Commonwealth. In Chicago, this takes the form of a fascinating mixture of Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox traditions, with a small scattering of sects that do not consider themselves part of the big three. The number of different sects number in the hundreds, many old pre-collapse beliefs that managed to survive, others newly born in the post-collapse world. There's a branch of the Catholic Church, one of the few large-scale social institutions to survive the Collapse. A number of Orthodox groups, mainly among the descendants of eastern and southeastern European immigrants. And, of course, what feels like a hundred different groups of Protestants. Yet despite their majority, it is not as big as some might suspect. Unlike Old America, where the second-largest religion, Judaism, numbered at a whopping 2%, Chicago actually has a sizable minority of non-Christians, though there is no exact percentage at the moment, I believe it to be around 30%, maybe more, at this current time, and constantly growing as more individuals arrive with the flood of refugees. This is, I imagine, a direct result of the city being a sort of beacon to safety, drawing in religious minorities like moths to a flame. While I have no doubt that there has been immigration to other parts of the Commonwealth, Chicago being Chicago means that it gets most of the refugee population. But I digress, I am here to talk about religion.
Following Christianity in prominence are its fellow Abrahamic faiths. Most notable are Judaism and Islam, who were the second and third largest faiths in pre-collapse America, both followed by, at the very least, a whole percentage of the population. They still retain such prominence, despite often being targets of hatred, not just by Victorians but other groups with similar views of the world. It is a sad fact that nearly all the Temples and Mosques in the city were either destroyed or heavily defaced during the whole Nazi conflict, and most congregations either practice in those ruins or converted dwellings. Most followers of Judaism are ethnic Jews, with a smaller number of converts. Muslims are found among both various immigrants and their descendants, as well as many African Americans, who make up a good number of Muslims, a result of the cities deep history with African American Muslims, going as far back as the 1920s. In addition to the more common and well-known faiths, there are also small communities of Baháʼí and Rastafari, two faiths often overlooked even before the collapse. Both communities, despite their small size, are surprisingly prevalent, which indicates that both have seen a number of conversions in the past decades. Like their larger, more numerous counterparts, neither have a dedicated religious building (Though the Baháʼí actually did have a full-on House of Worship in Chicago, big one too, before the Nazis got their hands on it), making do with makeshift and converted structures.
The next minority of sorts are the Dharmic faiths, born from the Indian Subcontinent and brought over by immigrants and missionaries. They have always been a minority, yet surprisingly prevalent and widespread, found across the country, even in some places without a sizable Indian population. Most numerous is Buddhism, which seems to have actually grown following the collapse. Its practitioners are not just Asian immigrants, but White and even African Americans. This seems to be tied to how Buddhism is, compared to some faiths, relatively easy to syncretize with other belief systems. The most common type of syncretization I have found is a fascinating form of Jewish-Buddhism, a result of the fact that neither faith really contradicts each other (since many forms of Buddhism do not believe the Buddha to be a god). Besides this, in general, Buddhism is an appealing belief system that seems to have drawn in a number of North Americans, not just the descendants of immigrants. After Buddhism is Hinduism, which is mainly found among immigrants from South and Southeast Asia, as well as their descendants. The primary exception to this seems to be, of all things, the Hare Krishnas. While their organization, at least in North America, was shattered by the collapse, I have found that enough practitioners survived that there are current attempts to reform their organization in Chicago, around their old building on Lunt Avenue, though I do not know how successful they will be.
Next is Jainism, the peaceful transtheistic religion which is mainly found among individuals of Indian descent, be they immigrants or their descendants. There's actually a Jain temple, not in Chicago itself but around Arlington Heights. Intact to, it seems like the Nazis overlooked it for some reason or another. Luckier than their Buddhist or Hindu counterparts, whose places of worship received the same treatment at the hands of Nazi as the Jewish temples and Muslim mosques. And finally, there's Sikhism, the youngest of the Dharmic religions, and one of the youngest major world faiths period. Now, most Sikhs live on the west coast these days. Their numbers have always been largest on both coasts, and most on the east fled west following the rise of Victoria. Most good Victorians probably can't even tell a Sikh or Muslim apart, much less know what a Sikh is, and even before the collapse, they suffered discrimination at the hands of idiots that couldn't tell the difference. However, our city has always had a notable population of Sikhs, and I have found that a surprisingly large number have returned to their ancestral home after they heard about the founding of the Commonwealth. Unlike the Jains, the Sikhs had several Gurdwara (That's what the Sikhs call their places of worship) in Chicago, and like most non-Christians, the Nazis made a mess of them, if they left them standing.
There is no unified name for the myriad faiths of East Asia beyond "East Asian Religions". They range from a variety of polytheistic folk religions to complex philosophical beliefs, and they are one of the rarer types of religion in North America. Before the collapse, they were decidedly centered on the west coast, which was where the bulk of East Asian immigrants reside, as well as some of the larger cities on the east coast. While East Asians never suffered a direct attack under Victoria, as far as I know, they were among the types of people that were targets simply because they were different. Unless you were in New York City, most fled west to escape Victoria, and while most only passed us by, some decided to stay. Others, such as those who had spent their entire lives in the city, came back to their homes after the Commonwealth was founded. It might surprise some, but a large number of East Asians, mainly Chinese and especially Koreans, are actually Christian, as were many of their parents. In some cases, it's because their parents, who may or may not have been Christian themselves, raised them as such to better fit in, or maybe they converted of their own choice. The trend of this continued after the collapse, especially here in the Midwest, where there was always the threat of Victoria or one of their clients. Followers of Taoism, Confucianism, or Chinese Folk Religion, are all relative minorities, and never had a heavy presence in or around Chicago, but they still very much exist and are slowly growing as more and more refugees arrive.
The next "group" of religions is Neopaganism, though they are still incredibly decentralized, as they always have been. Neopagan is less a group as it is an umbrella term referring to a wide variety of traditions and in many cases practices unique to specific individuals. Their scattered nature, and habit of being quiet about their beliefs, meant that when Victoria rose, most either abandoned their practices for the sake of survival or quietly slipped away. There are exceptions, such as damned white supremacists who claim such beliefs, but most knew better than to chance it with Victoria. The number of neopagans in Chicago is surprisingly high. Before, the population was scattered across the entire continent, cast away to the wind during the collapse. Yet Chicago gives them a place to gather, and it seems that every damned Neopagan in the midwest, and perhaps beyond, has picked up their bags, if they had any, and moved to the big city. Every type one can think of, Druids, Wiccans, Asatru, Hellenists, witches, occultists, pretty much any form of reconstructionist polytheism one can think of. It is an awkward thing, as few are used to gathering in such numbers. Many rarely saw more than a dozen of their fellows at a time, even before the collapse, and now that they have apparently all gathered in one place, they don't know what to do. At least they seem to be happy.
There are other religions that do not fall under a single category, being their own unique systems of belief. Some are tiny old minorities, others are recent, post-collapse. One such is Zoroastrianism. Many tend to forget that the United States is home to a third of the world's followers of Zoroastrianism. Of course, this was just around six thousand people, but still. Most live in New York City, a result of the two major Fire temples in the country being in New York State. As one can imagine, most fled to the Big Apple when Victoria started to make moves on New York. I hear they have a new Fire Temple there now. Some, however, did not get the chance and decided to risk the journey west, to get as far west as they could. In the process, some settled in Chicago, though most simply moved on further west. Others have arrived after the founding of the Commonwealth. Their population is tiny, but it is there. Now, in contrast to the ancient nature of Zoroastrianism, there is a faith that emerged after the collapse, born in Chicago itself. Yes, I speak of the Baseball Cult. For those who have only recently arrived in Chicago, the Baseball Cult is exactly as it sounds, a small religion based around playing and venerating the sport of Baseball. Being called a cult implies a sort of malevolence, but they are nice people if a bit obsessed with playing their game. I myself don't see the appeal, but they seem to be attracting a following, having grown twice as large since the beginning of this flood of refugees. Understand, it might sound like a great increase in size, but it isn't. Remember, when a group with one person gets another member, they've grown twice as big. The Baseball cult is still very, very small, mostly restricted to dedicated teams of the sport.
Next is a surprisingly large minority, the Cult of Santa Muerte, mainly found among many Latin Americans, especially individuals of Mexican descent that have fled northward for some reason or another. The veneration of Our Lady of the Holy Death was born pre-collapse as a result of the hardship faced by many Mexican people and was considered the single fastest-growing religious movement in the Americas. Her origins go even farther back, to the ancient Aztec goddess Mictēcacihuātl, queen of the underworld and patron of the festivals which would later evolve into the Day of the Dead, and can perhaps be seen as a continuation of such worship. Either way, worship grew as a result of hardship. It is no surprise, then, that worship would grow in an event as catastrophic as the Collapse. From the rumors I have heard, the cult has a sizable following in much of Mexico, even controlling some remnants, which trickled north alongside both refugees and missionaries, and can now be found among many Latin Americans now living in Chicago. One noticeable fact about the cult is that there seems to have been a reversal of doctrine at some point during the collapse. Where once Santa Muerte was mainly venerated as a folk saint, with a minority seeing her as a full-on deity, this seems to have reversed in some cases, with a large number fully worshipping her as a goddess and a sizable minority venerating her as part of folk Catholicism. This minority makes up the majority in Chicago, where many of Mexican descent are strict Catholics, but as more and more refugees come they bring with them their own beliefs.
Last but not least are the Satanists. Yes, actually Satanists, though despite what Victoria might claim they do not actually worship the Devil. The Satanic Temple is Nontheistic, not believing in any supernatural entity, and merely uses satanic imagery in their aesthetic. Before the collapse, they used satire alongside such imagery to bring attention to religious inequality and hypocrisy in the United States. It might surprise you, but members of the Satanic Temple are some of the nicest people one might meet since their doctrines revolve around compassion, justice, free will, and forgiveness. I had long believed that they would have dissolved following the Collapse, yet they have stubbornly resisted such a fate. The current members seem to be made up of the former Illinois, Ohio, and other east coast congregations, as well as members of the formerly rogue Detroit Chapter who fled west. I have been told that members of more distant congregations have been known to pop up from among the river of refugees, but it is still a rare thing. They were never populous, even before the Collapse.
While I am sure that a number of other faiths exist in the City of Chicago, those mentioned above include the most populous, even if they only number in the mid-hundreds. I'm also sure that, as more people move to Chicago, these numbers will change, though I can only guess how. Most likely they will continue to grow unless something happens to cause some massive paradigm shift.
Authors Note. Something that has been occupying my mind for a while. Not as detailed as I was hoping, but it's a good foundation of sorts, at least I believe it to be so. Please give your opinions, in case I accidentally wrote something offensive.
