PUBLIC NOTICE
To All Imperial Subjects
Public Act of Faith TS46
The Imperial Curia, by the authority granted to it by the Emperor himself, hereby decrees that the acts of apostasy and blasphemy shall no longer be regarded as criminal offenses punishable by imprisonment, penance, or death. Apostasy is defined as the renunciation of the Imperial Truth, where blasphemy is defined as willfully violating its teachings.
The most common forms of blasphemy prosecuted by His Protectors included worship of false gods or idols, slander against clergy or doctrine, accessing heretical and blasphemous texts, failure to consecrate newborn children, and perversion of the natural human form.
After much deliberation, the Curia has determined that attempting to save the souls of these blasphemers, heretics, and apostates through corrective measures was too great a mercy. The faithful of the Imperium must take heed, the way to save the unfaithful is through renewed faith in the Emperor. It is not the place of men to judge the soul, that is the domain of the Emperor and the Emperor alone.
Followers of the Ruinous Powers may worship in public without fear of being apprehended by the Holy Protectors. Know also that any act of vigilante violence against the unfaithful will be dealt with as if it had been committed against one of our own. Our faith is strong enough to withstand demonstrations of heresy. True sons of the Emperor will have faith that all shall know His name in good time.In His Glorious Name
May the Emperor watch over us all
It is nearly six months since the Imperium of Arbites first allowed freedom of religion through PAF-TS46. Initially, nothing changed, and most were suspicious of the move. The Imperium had long been a hard-line theocracy, governed by the religion now known as the Imperial Truth. Anyone committing blasphemy was hauled off to be worked half to death by the Imperium's lucrative prison-labor system, all the while enduring physical and psychological torture as part of the "conversion" process. No one wanted to risk that if it was all just a ruse to give the Inquisition a list of targets.
Shortly after TS46 was passed, some of the more idealistic or naive people driven underground finally started displaying their faith or lack thereof in public. Their friends expected the worst, but the police, both the regular and secret varieties, left them alone. Some zealous individuals, outraged, took matters into their own hands. Shockingly enough, when the victims called the police, they responded, and the vigilantes disappeared instead of the unbelievers.
Months later, those still in hiding were finally half-convinced this was not just some kind of trap. A few brave individuals applied for building permits to construct a few houses of worship of various faiths on vacant land. Outrage by those loyal to the Imperial Truth was expected. Unexpected was the fact that the police foiled several would-be vigilante murderers and arsonists plotting against them.
Slowly but surely, there are subtle signs of other religions and lifestyles cropping up. A Christian cross hanging from a necklace, a piercing once considered blasphemous, the Hindu bindi on a few foreheads, clothes pushing the envelope of the Imperium's conservative tastes, a Muslim prayer mat kept in the open. All once criminal offenses, the police are working to protect.
Now, the biggest issue appears to be how to keep the rest of the faithful Imperial population, which the government itself has done everything in its power to turn into fanatical fundamentalists, from crushing their new found freedom.
