Neoreligious Unity Committee

The Neoreligious Unity Committee (NUC) is an organized for-profit cult founded by bja707 on December 22, 2016. Not much is known about its beliefs or practices, but as of January 17, bja707 remains the sole member of his cult, and he is also the current Chief NeoMinister.

According to its founder, the NUC is "free to join" with a membership tax. Membership is for life, and there is an "elitist benefit system." The name for a member of the NUC is a NeoFollower.

The Neoreligious Unity Committee has no representation in the United Island Congress.

Hierarchical caste system
The official hierarchy is as follows, from the highest to the lowest:

Unfollowers
"Unfollower" is the term for any individual who is not an official member of the Neoreligious Unity Committee. Unfollowers may go through the lengthy and expensive process of Neoreligious Initiation, which is as follows:
 * 1) Neoreligious Initiation
 * 2) Phase One: Application
 * 3) The unfollower submits a request for initiation, which includes the composition of a passionate argumentative essay and an Application Fee of thirty percent of their income.
 * 4) The current Deputy Vice Chief NeoMinister reads and critiques the applicant's essay, and ensures that the Application Fee has been paid. If he or she finds the overall application acceptable, the unfollower proceeds to the next phase of initiation.
 * 5) If the applicant fails to impress the Deputy Vice Chief NeoMinister, and he or she does not accept the essay, that applicant is marked as "Unfit for NeoMinistry," which prevents this specific unfollower from every request initiation ever again. Those who are deemed "Unfit" must pay another fee to be released home, called the Exit Fee.
 * 6) Phase Two: Inquisition
 * 7) After the application has been accepted, the unfollower takes part in an oral test known as the Inquisition, in which the applicant has a formal meeting with the current Vice Chief NeoMinister.
 * 8) The Vice Chief NeoMinister gives the applicant a high-speed oral exam, asking approximately 60 questions in 90 minutes, 1 minute and 30 seconds for each answer. Topics of the questions are hand chosen by the current Vice Chief NeoMinister, but they generally fall within the topics of logic-based academia, politics, and loyalty-testing assessments.
 * 9) Since most questions asked in the Inquisition are subjective, the Vice Chief NeoMinister decides whether or not each answer is acceptable. If 54 out of 60 answers are deemed acceptable (90%), then the applicant proceeds to the next phase.
 * 10) If the applicant does not achieve at least 90% acceptable answers, he or she is labeled as "Unfit for NeoMinistry." (details above)
 * 11) Phase Three: Total Examination
 * 12) The final phase of Neoreligious Initiation is Total Examination, which is overseen by the highest earthly member of the NUC: the Chief NeoMinister.
 * 13) Total Examination is different for each and every applicant, but it does have a few constants. First, the applicant is locked inside an enclosed room called the "Elysium Tomb." The Elysium Tomb has no windows or furniture, except for one chair that the Chief NeoMinister sits in during the Total Examination.
 * 14) Both the applicant and the Chief NeoMinister are locked inside the Elysium Tomb for 26 hours. The applicant is sworn in a death pact to ensure that the secrets of the Elysium Tomb are not released. This is why there is so much mystery enshrouding this final phase of initiation.
 * 15) After the time ends, the Chief NeoMinister emerges from the Elysium Tomb and decrees one of two statements: "Fit for NeoMinistry" or "Unfit for NeoMinistry." Those who are "Unfit" are subjected to the same consequences detailed above. Those who are "Fit for NeoMinistry" proceed to the lowest level of official NUC membership: Entry-Level NeoPupil.

Entry-Level NeoPupil (ELP)
Entry-Level NeoPupils (official shorthand: ELP) are at the very bottom of the NUC hierarchy.

ELPs are assigned a MNP (Mentoring NeoPriest), more simply known as a Mentor. ELPs spend their entire time with their MNP learning the tenants of the Neoreligious Unity Committee. ELPs are under the constant direction of their Mentor, who may set any custom rules for their Pupil.

ELPs may graduate to the next rank whenever their Mentor thinks they are ready. If the Mentor seems to be holding a tyrannical force over the ELP and is unfairly refusing to allow the Pupil to graduate, a member of the Official Unity Commitee may propose a vote. A successful vote in OUC can graduate and ELP without the consent of the MNP.

ELPs pay the highest Membership Tax at 5 gold per week. ELPs have the highest abdication rate of every rank.

Independent Monastic NeoPupil (IMP)
Independent Monastic NeoPupils (official shorthand: IMP) are the second lowest rank in the NUC hierarchy. IMPs are similar to ELPs, since they are still learning the tenants of the Neoreligious Unity Commitee have very few rights.

The biggest difference in the IMP rank is the freedom from a Mentor. IMPs are no longer bound by the potentially strict and abusive rules of a Mentoring NeoPriest. Instead, they are entrusted to assign themselves introspective religious discipline, taking on a submissive monastic lifestyle.

The IMP rank is meant to be the final leg of religious education, where NeoFollowers put the finishing touches on their knowledge of the NeoReligious Unity Committee. All IMPs pay a Membership Tax of 3 gold per week.

In order for an IMP to advance to the next rank, he or she must prove themselves worthy of graduation. They draft an official Proposal of Advancement to the Official Unity Commitee, who assess the IMP's religious knowledge and decide whether or not he or she is fit to graduate to the next rank. If the proposal is vetoed, the NeoFollower remains an IMP until they propose successfully. If the proposal is accepted, the IMP advances to the next rank.

Mentoring NeoPriest (MNP)
Mentoring NeoPriests (official shorthand: MNP) are the third lowest rank of the NUC hierarchy. This is the first rank to be granted a part in the Official Unity Committee, which is the council that votes on the installation of proposed Pillars of the Neoreligious Constitution. However, MNPs only have a value of half a vote in the council, giving them little power in NUC politics.

MNPs are given ELPs to mentor, teaching them the basics of the NUC. One MNP may have up to three or four ELPs to mentor, but each ELP will only have one MNP.

To advance to the next rank, MNPs must request graduation from the Official Unity Committee, which assesses the MNP's performance with his or her ELPs and votes on whether or not the MNP should graduate. If the vote is successful, the MNP will advance. Since the MNP is a member of the Official Unity Committee, he or she is allowed to vote for their own graduation.

General-Level NeoProphet (GLP)
General-Level NeoProphets (official shorthand: GLP) are the most generic level of NeoFollowers. Most NeoFollowers never advance past this rank, and it is considered the highest level for most members.

GLPs do not mentor any one specific person, but they are still expected to be a minister to all the lower-ranked NeoFollowers. They are also called "prophets" because one of their duties is to preach to the Unfollowers of the world about NUC.

GLPs have a full 1 vote in the Official Unity Committee, and they are considered fully-fledged memebers of the NUC.

GLPs usually do not have any higher rank to advance to, but a special few may be contenders for a position in the Highest Order.

Deputy Vice Chief NeoMinister (DCM)
The Deputy Vice Chief NeoMinister is a single-person position that serves as the third-in-command of the cult. He or she is in charge of Phase One of the Neoreligious Initiation process.

When the DCM position is vacant, the Official Unity Committee votes on a member of the NUC to be appointed as the new DCM.

All DCMs serve for life; They are first in-line for the position of Vice Chief NeoMinister, and the second in-line for the position of Chief NeoMinister.

Vice Chief NeoMinister (VCM)
The Vice Chief NeoMinister is a single-person position that serves as the second-in-command of the cult. He or she is in charge of Phase Two of the Neoreligious Initiation process.

NeoFollowers can only become the Vice Chief NeoMinister if that have already been the Deputy Vice Chief NeoMinister. When the current VCM dies, the current DCM becomes the new VCM.

All VCMs serve for life; They are first in-line for the position of Chief NeoMinister.

Chief NeoMinister (CNM)
The Chief NeoMinister is a single-person position that serves as the absolute leader of the cult. He or she is in charge of Phase Three of the Neoreligious Initiation process.

NeoFollowers can only become the Vice Chief NeoMinister if that have already been the Vice Chief NeoMinister and the Deputy Vice Chief NeoMinister. When the current CNM dies, the current VCM becomes the new CNM, the current DCM becomes the new VCM, and the Official Unity Committee votes to appoint a new DCM.

All CNMs serve for life, and they are not allowed to abdicate. CNMs have the power to remove the power from any NeoFollower he or she chooses.

Abdication
Abidcation is when a NeoFollower wishes to voluntarily leave the cult. NeoFollowers are highly discouraged to abdicate, and those who express interest in abdication may be attacked or abused. A NewFollower may make a Proposal of Abdication before the Official Unity Committee, who almost always vote against abdication, making true/legal abdication practically impossible and nonexistent. The only other way to remove themself from the NUC is to escape, which has violent consequences.

Members of the Highest Order are not capable of abdication, and are required to serve for life.

Official Unity Committee (OUC)
The Official Unity Committee is the committee that is being referred to in the title of "Neoreligious Unity Committee." Only the top 6 ranks of the NUC are given a vote in the OUC, and values of each vote vary from each rank.

The OUC is meant to give some democratic weight to the NUC, usually preventing absolute power from overwhelming the rest of the system. The Official Unity Committee is used for:
 * Electing a Deputy Vice Chief NeoMinister (who then proceeds upward to become the Vice Chief NeoMinister then the Chief NeoMinister)
 * Voting on whether or not an Independent Monastic NeoPupil may advance to become a Mentoring NeoPriest.
 * Voting on whether or not a Mentoring NeoPriest may advance to become a General-Level NeoProphet.
 * The the circumstance of a tyrannical Mentoring NeoPriest, the OUC may forego the power of the MNP and allow the Entry-Level NeoPupil to advance to become an Independent Monastic NeoPupil.
 * Any OUC member may propose a new Righteous Law, which is then voted on in the OUC. If the vote is successful, it is written into the Righteous Law List. If the vote is unsuccessful, the proposal does not become a law.