CHAPTER 554: CHAPTER 232 NEXT TIME DARE

Religious issues are a persistent problem in other countries, but East Africa doesn’t have these concerns because it was established relying on secular power from the beginning.

Moreover, this land of East Africa previously only had Arabian religion and some indigenous wizards, who can also be considered priests. The indigenous development was quite low, and even as a nation, it still had a large number of tribes and independent villages, each with its own beliefs in various deities.

Thus, a unified belief system couldn’t form, and according to Ernst, religion is a societal organization with a strict structure and unified program, which these scattered indigenous beliefs in East Africa couldn’t fulfill.

If there was a religion in Africa, its power wouldn’t be weak, as exemplified by the Abyssinian Empire, which believes in the Christian "Coptic Sect." This sect is similar to Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy but influenced by the Eastern Roman Empire, thus closer to Eastern Orthodoxy.

Religious forces can suppress social conflicts and consolidate society, a characteristic of many theocratic regimes, thus allowing religious states to easily grow strong.

It’s obvious that there are no such religious forces in sub-Saharan Africa; otherwise, religious power could establish a relatively strong centralized regime there.

East Africa, as a feudal slave kingdom, not only guards against the "reactionary" thoughts of freedom and democracy but also against backward ideas such as religion and anti-science, even though East Africa’s system already appears quite reactionary and backward.

This perspective is subjective; the Eastern Dukes once called Qin State Rong and Di! It’s not Ernst belittling Qin State—Qin was flourishing at that time, but indeed wasn’t a normal state. To a large extent, Qin’s success was built on military plunder against the six states to the east, similar to modern Germany, as other countries called Prussians barbarians. But are Prussians backward? In various aspects, Prussia today is far from backward, even quite successful.

Prussia’s military system, seen by other countries, looks no different from Qin’s "tyranny"; thus, these are prejudices. Without Prussia’s rise, Germany might still be bullied by powers like France.

Back to the religious issue, contemporary Western missionaries can be considered quite fanatic, even appearing in barren African lands.

The area of South Sudan under East African control once had European missionaries during the Ottoman era. But one can see that Christian missionary activities in Africa were not smooth, unable to compete with Arabian religions.

The large-scale conversion in Africa happened after the European colonizers massively invaded Africa; yet now, East Africa’s emergence directly restrains historical missionary activities throughout southern Africa.

This restraint comes from East Africa’s Bureau of Cultural and Religious Affairs—becoming a priest in East Africa is extremely difficult, requiring strict exams. Even regular priests find it hard to exert influence, as the East African government stipulates that priests can only preach within church premises, and stepping outside constitutes an offense, such as recruiting on streets, is punishable by law enforcement.

Moreover, all church activities must be reported to the government, including gatherings, celebrations, etc.

What displeases orthodox religious people the most is East Africa’s so-called policy of religious belief "freedom," allowing non-believers to flourish.

The biggest feature of East African religion is the absence of a church; all operate as independent churches with no hierarchical superiority. These churches’ superiors are the local Bureau of Cultural and Religious Affairs; without a formal church, they are disjointed, with limited authority.

In reality, Constantine, Karina, Grand Duke Ferdinand, and Princess Charlotte are particularly devout Catholics.

Yet Ernst, on the other hand, doesn’t have much feeling towards religion. Though he is a "reborn one," he doesn’t attribute his rebirth to any divine or spiritual force, as his rebirth model was merely closing and opening his eyes.

"When in doubt, quantum mechanics." This is Ernst’s attitude; if the essence is unfathomable, it could also be space-time fissures, wormholes, parallel universes—these mystically impressive phenomena.

Moreover, he has a simple logic; in his previous life, he didn’t believe in any religion or superstition. So if supernatural mysterious powers existed, it wouldn’t let a person like him be reborn; a real reincarnation would place him in hell, for someone who didn’t believe.

Of course, to appear sociable, Ernst outwardly represents himself as a Catholic believer, but discerning people would notice from East Africa’s religious policies that Ernst’s Catholic affinity appears dubious.

The Bureau of Cultural and Religious Affairs is active not only within Nairobi but is a nationwide institution, equivalent to East Africa’s National Defense Security Bureau and East Africa Immigration Agency, and is a weighted authority.

Thus, this time the East African government is not just targeting Nairobi, but nationwide actions, though Nairobi, Mombasa, and Dar es Salaam are primary focus areas.

"Our department this time has eliminated and dismantled one hundred and twenty-three illegal religious organizations and individual entities nationwide, prosecuted three sheltering officials, and cracked down on fifteen unlawful educational and assembly organizations, arresting twenty-three people."

The report from the Bureau of Cultural and Religious Affairs showed East Africa’s powerful strike against hostile elements threatening East Africa’s cultural and ideological sphere.

It also indicates the current overall social stability in East Africa, because these issues listed in the report are relatively minor compared to the entire country.

Just like the "individual entities" in the report about illegal religious organizations, it suggests many cases may be purely personal actions. They haven’t begun to sprout, but have been stifled by East Africa, so they can’t form a trend.

Constantine: "Ernst, do you have any prejudice against religion? If it’s just a German language issue, I can understand, but you’re too cautious about religion."

Constantine isn’t criticizing, but rather not comprehending, as Ernst’s policies are too astonishing, always clashing with mainstream society.

Ernst understands his father’s mindset, but considering his father’s identity as a Catholic, he followed Constantine’s comment, saying: "Father, it’s not about that, restraining these forces brings no harm; after all, even the Lord Himself wouldn’t want deceitful scoundrels to misuse His name in East Africa."

Ernst’s words were ambiguous; whether having prejudice is relative, even if Ernst truly has none, his attitude seems biased to devoted believers.

Thus, Ernst turned to the Director General of the Bureau of Cultural and Religious Affairs, Wari, saying: "You’ve done well this year, keep up the good work."

This statement reveals Ernst’s stance on East African religious affairs: next time, dare again!

"Yes, Your Highness!" Wari answered without hesitation upon receiving affirmation.

As for what religion Wari doesn’t care—it wouldn’t hold sway even if Yahweh descended, compared to his own highness’s words. A firm atheistic stance is one of the reasons he holds his position securely, aside from his loyalty to the crown prince.