Stroomism

Stroomism (, Ecoral: stroomdom, sometimes also Streamism) is a major with tens of millions of followers, known as Stroomists. The religion's origins come from spiritual customs practiced since around 230BCE at the Gaal River estuary and Onse Bay in modern day Ecoralia. The main school of Stroomism, the First Stream, adhere to the permissive but structured practices of the Eerste Stroom governing body based in Heiligedam; however, two major extant branches of the religion are the Naturalist School and the Isolates who practice adapted forms.

Stroomists believe that the world, in its ideal state, exists in a realm of balance. This balance exists in its perfect form in the natural world as water. This balance is the constant work of two complementary, Warmth and Frost, first known in their Ecoral names, Warmte and Vorst, in lines with the cold and warm seasons of the area. These deities continue to provide a world of balance for humanity, and in turn, Stroomists believe that humans should live their lives in similar balance as a form of devotion. Many of the foundational rituals of worship for Stroomists involve swimming and bathing in water, and many of Stroomist houses of worship resemble the modern day.

Stroomism first expanded from the Gaal River estuary to the surrounding areas and became one of the pillars of Ecoralian. Stroomism remains the state religion of Ecoralia, and the religion was a foundational driver in the Ecoralian colonial project. As such, much of the religion's extent across the world mirrors the colonial claims of Ecoralia.

Worldview
The term Stroomism comes from a phonetic translation of stroom, from the Ecoral word for stream. Streams represent the balanced flow of progress over a physical terrain and offer a frequent analogy for Stroomists in their pursuit of the ideal life.

The Stream
The stream (also roughly translated as "the way") is a fundamental allegory in Stroomist texts. The stream's importance is manifested in its representation of water, which is considered the perfect point of balance between the two gods of Stroomism: Warmth and Frost. Only through both of their energies does water circulate in the natural environment. As such, streams offer both a model of perfection for Stroomists to follow and a physical manifestation of the natural balance in the world. Stroomists are taught to follow the stream but also to revere streams found in the natural world.

Balance and duality
Stroomism is comparatively unique for its orientation and the central role this duality plays in Stroomist philosophy. As with the stream finding its freedom to flow in its balance, followers of Stroomism are encouraged to find balance in their lives as points of individual progress. There are elements of both gods within each individual. An over-reliance on one or the other is thought to inhibit personal growth and to lead the individual astray. As such, people commonly ask one another about their balance and use this expression of "in" or "out" of balance to describe good and bad health.

Life and death
Stroomists do not believe in life after death. With death, Stroomists believe that people return to the natural world in broken down parts through physical decomposition. A person in good balance upon their death contributes that balance forward into the natural world and creates a better world for the next generation. Ritualistic behaviours of burial, frequently by bodies of water, are considered forms of accelerating the return of this person's balance back into the natural world and maximising that person's legacy into the future world.

Cremation remains a common practice among Stroomists, considering the practice to be a contribution to the god Warmth. This is paired with the dispersal of a body's ashes in a body of moving water, a devotion to Frost and ultimate surrender to the stream central to Stroomist theology.

Conformity and social balancing
Much of early Stroomism enforced a particular vision of "the stream" and a specific vision of how an individual should find balance in their life. Many dissidents have long argued that this approach too strongly enforces a sense of conformity and creates a social imbalance. This dilemma between perfection in the individual form and social diversity has been a core philosophical debate at the centre of much of Stroomism's history.

Mainstream Stroomists gradually adopted greater and greater tenets of social balancing and a wider, more inclusive definition of "the stream" over the course of the Ecoral Enlightenment period, where urbanisation and industrialisation were also leading to greater technological and economic diversity in modern society. This transition has also been responsible for much of the shift in social attitudes in the country around minority groups and social marginalisation generally. The Isolates broke from the mainstream here, focusing on the path of a pure, individual route to perfected balance and rejected social balancing as a religious value. Isolate Stroomists tend to be more conservative in their outlook and increasingly withdraw from the more social elements of mainstream Stroomism.

Common Stroomist practices
Stroomism is an othropraxy. Worship is conducted through public ceremonies and through ritual. While there is a sacred text, it is not divinely inspired, such as the Zuvan of H'Ejrad- it is more the accepted philosophical treatise of the religion, as well a guide on ceremonies. Ritual bathing is an important part of the religion. This activity holds two functions in worship: bathing is recognised as a form of reverence to the stream and, depending on the temperature of the water, a form of communion with one of the two gods in finding balance. Thermal baths and hot springs hold association with the god Warmth, while colder waters provide Stroomists the opportunity to commune with the god Frost. Through a combination of devotions in various pools, as provided in larger temples, an individual can find a balance of their personal temperature and mood. These activities, while a regular activity for Stroomists, are done socially and individually. There is a proscribed way to perform ritual bathing, called the Hergulutunga, which will be renamed later. This ritual is considered necessary to perform before officiating a ceremony or offering sacrifice.

Stroomists often consider themselves in a constant plight to find their balance and the flow of their internal stream. As such, it is very common for Stroomists to discuss feelings in relation to their personal sense of balance and to check in on others regarding their emotions and sense of balance. Worship is often a communal activity: through swimming or through conversation, Stroomists frequently see the help of others as part of the journey and welcome external inputs on their personal challenges. This sociality of faith and introspection is a key difference between mainstream Stroomists and isolate Stroomists, the latter believing more in an individualistic approach free from external influence that may have a conformist impact.

Stroomist are known in Ecoralia as beschermers or pool guardians. Their responsibilities include the highly practical aspects of and the more intangible responsibilities of. They also advise parishioners on treatment strategies in finding a personal balance based on an individual's personal challenges and emotional state. In Edury, the clerics are referred to as priests. Clerics and priests had similar duties through the whole of Stroomism; they were charged with maintaining the temple to which they owed service, offering sacrifice on behalf of the public, the state, the the lords of the city, and the king. They would offer guidance to the population, in the form of speeches and sometimes in individual counsel, although this was usually to the most influential subjects and/or citizens. Clerics were considered officers of the state; in that way, their duties were to ensure the spiritual balance of the domain and the people who lived in it, through sacrifice, prayer, etc.

Major texts
There are two foundational texts in mainstream Stroomism. The Way of the Stream, ca. 700, is the considered the first comprehensive record of the Stroomist faith, its practices, and its worldview. De Stroomweg focuses on how individuals can find the stream. It was written by five Stroomist leaders who would go on to be the founding teachers at Zoas University. The book is divided into five chapters, each chapter thought to have been written by one of the five leaders, but this has never been confirmed. The first two chapters are devoted to Warmth and Frost each, the two deities of the faith. The third chapter focuses on the stream, its characteristics, and its importance to Stroomism. The fourth chapter continues on the third to apply the stream analogy to the individual journey towards balance. The final chapter provides an oral history of Stroomism's history and development and was widely considered an appendix to the original four chapters. The text's importance became one of the driving forces for the invention of the in the 1400s.



Temples
Temples in Stroomism take similar forms the world over. Archeology suggests that temples developed as proto-blethic people moved into more concentrated cities by the coast, and away from sacred groves which would be maintained around springs and other spiritually important sites. Stroomist temples will always have a central room, a holy sanctum (godenhuis in Ecoral) in which there will be either a fountain and a sacred flame, or a fountain fed by heated water. In the former case, these are meant to be the representations of the two gods of Stroomism; in the later case, the single, heated fountain is a representation of both, as well as the great metaphysical Stream itself. This room is where sacrifices are offered to the two gods to intercede on the behalf of those offering sacrifice; libations are poured into the fountain, and offerings of grain are either burned in the fire, or have the ashes of already burned grain poured into the pool of the fountain. Smaller temples will typically be just this room itself.

Larger temples may have a second antechamber, a larger room built in front of the holy sanctum. This chamber will often have a pool, sometimes fed by runoff of the holy fountain in the godenhuis, for the ritual bathing of the faithful. In cities, these bathing complexes could become quite complex, serving not only ritual purposes, but general sanitation and bathing as well. The largest ones would have the central pool for the ritual bathing, as well as annexes for private baths, showers, hot and cold rooms, and other items. The central pool would ideally have some amount of flow to it, but this was not always the case.

History


Stroomist practices date back to prehistoric Ecoraland where communities had seasonal rituals based around the worship of bodies of water. The practices were closely connected to the local environment, defined by the two yearly seasons and the changing point between them. Large bodies of water held particular importance in early Ecoral society with the central role of fishing and irrigation in sustaining agriculture in the region. From this, locals developed a system of regular, communal activities of reverence around the changing temperatures and waters throughout the region.

Stroomism would formalise into a religion in the early Common Era years. The religion coalesced into a single structure around the publication of De Stroomweg and the emergence of religious universities through the region. Stroomists would take leading influence in contemporary institutions such as Zoas University and Netjemond University, while Ayekists would find greater popularity through Edury. This religious tension would be the origin of the Eduran schism and the independence of Edury from the rest of Ecoraland.

The religion became an essential trait of Ecoralander identity as the printing press spread the word through the region and increased literacy. Daily rituals of swimming and "way-finding" remained common features of Ecoralander life through the modern era. The tenets of Stroomism would be the motivational force behind Ecoralander colonial efforts and expansion. As such, many Ecoralander colonies feature traits of Stroomist faith and the Ecoral language in modern-day life.

Today, Stroomism remains a relevant cultural facet in Ecoralia. Questions of personal and social balance still pervade in political debates and theories of psychology. However, many badehuizen have seen declining membership rates, and each year, fewer Ecoralians respond that religion plays an important part of their daily life. In 2020, a majority of Ecoralians did not believe in the gods of Warmth and Frost, a first in nationwide polling in the country. The sustainability of badehuizen throughout the country and what degree of state support these institutions should receive remains a contentious social issue.

Movements and factions
Stroomists broadly fit into three movements. The mainstream school of Stroomists belong to the First Stream, the name of the clerical institution that guides the faith's development over time. Two other major schools within Stroomism are the Naturalists and the Isolates. Naturalists oppose human intervention in the stream, and therefore abstain from badehuizen with human-made pools. Isolates disagree with the modern interpretation of social balancing as a religious value, and therefore practice individual bathing and swimming as a basis of worship.

In addition to the three schools of the religion, two major organisations continue to operate globally. The religion, mostly through the support from the First Stream, operates a global network of missionaries, called the Springs of the Word, or Bronnen van het Woord. Each missionary is considered a spring for the potential origin of a new "stream", or religious congregation. In addition, the religiously-affiliated Worldstream (Ecoral: Wereldstroom) is an international aid organisation with a focus on clean water, health, and sanitation issues.

Cultural impact
Stroomism has had a deep impact on Ecoralian culture. Public swimming and bathing facilities are available year-round and for little to no cost in many parts of the country. As a percentage of national population, Ecoralians have one of the world's highest rates of people who say they can swim confidently. Stroomism has also been credited as one of the reasons for Ecoralia's developed social care system, with a advanced theories on social inclusion as care and mental health.

Physical health
The commonality of swimming in Stroomist societies has been connected with better physical health. Given the regularity of recommended worship on a daily or near-daily basis and the frequency of swimming as a form of worship, Stroomists benefit from the regular exercise of as a consequence of their religious habits. Indeed, a number of modern, open badehuizen have added group worship programmes targeted at older populations.

Stroomism and gender equality
Stroomism, as a faith system, has been generally welcoming towards women's rights and women's participation in social life. Men and women together have been encouraged to find their balance and argued to be each other's balances of energy in society, and both men and women have historically held the role of beschermers and risen in the faith's leadership structures.

In particular, women have been foundational in the maintenance of sex-segregated facilities. Monberg Women's Baths, near Monberg Castle, is the longest-running badehuis exclusive to women and has long held favour among the women of the Ecoralian royal family.

Stroomism and homosexuality
Stroomist cultures have historically been tolerant but dismissive of homosexuality. Homosexuality was considered an imbalance of an individual's energies: so while not dangerous in its own right, queer people were often pressured into religious educational programmes and to pursue a healthier balance. However, much of society's opinions changed in the late stages of the Ecoral Enlightenment, as the concept of social balancing, with a greater orientation towards multicultural inclusion, opened up religious grounds for the equal treatment of people. Today, the religion is fully accepting of homosexuality and a number of congregants' badehuizen specifically for the LGBT community operate in urban cores around the world.

Greetings in Ecoral
Achieving and maintaining a personal balance is an essential pursuit in Stroomist life. As such, the question Hoe is uw evenwicht? (lit. How is your balance?) has continued in everyday Ecoralian life. Totaal evenwicht (lit. totally balanced) is used as a common expression to explain when a situation is going well. While some of these expressions are losing their prominence in a multicultural and globalised world, many Ecoralians still use them to this day.