No, They're not Supposed to Parallel Actual Religions

It's a hoofnote, after half a friggin' year.

When the main crew is having fun in Appleloosa, we get a couple mentions of religion. This was actually a tricky decision for me, because I didn't want to potentially cloud this story with any spiritual underpinnings. Ultimately, though, I think a gentle touch will help fill out my world.

So, the obvious question is: how does religion change in a world where you can walk into a palace and have a chat with a literal goddess? How can separate religions even exist? It's all in disparities between who ponies think is the more powerful goddess.

The primary Equestrian denominations are Celestial, Mid-Celestial, New-Celestial, Celestial-Lunar, and Mid-Lunar. I'll go through them one by one. Celestial ponies believe, intuitively enough, that Celestia is the more powerful goddess, and that Luna, while god-like, is more of a demigoddess or, in smaller subsets, a familiar; it's similar to God and his archangels. Both are powerful and revered, but Celestia is the main one. A Celestial worships the sun and its respective princess only, and mostly ignores the moon/night. Some smaller bands of Celestials pay lesser homage to the night, but they don't get much representation, and are often lumped in with the Mid-Celestials. A Celestial preaches wisdom and gratitude, and values things like etiquette and kindness extremely highly. Fluttershy and Rarity would make passable Celestials. For a Celestial, the afterlife is either eternal communion with the sun, or eternal isolation for the sinners. A non-insignificant portion of Celestials actually believes that Discord is a particularly harshly punished being, forced to forever walk the Gaia with an unquenchable hunger for the same vices that led him down his doomed path in the first place.

Mid-Celestials, meanwhile, believe that Luna is the superior goddess. The name "Mid-Celestial" comes from the time when the religion gained traction: around the time of the Nightmare Moon incident. The belief is that Luna showed her true power to gain equality to her more revered sister, and was betrayed. Most Mid-Celestials see Celestia as an enemy, or an untrustworthy ruler. A ruler who cannot stand to share with her sister. Mid-Celestials (such as Reverend Green) believe in strength of will and commitment, and preach the virtues of courage, dedication, and temperance. The punishment at the end of a sinful life, many believe, is a fate similar to Nightmare Moon's; seeing her disciples squander their lives, she will inter them forever in the center of the moon, destined to an eternity of crushing, freezing emptiness and desolation. Mid-Celestials are not the most cheery bunch. This should come as no surprise, but Octavia would make a good Mid-Celestial.

New-Celestials formed close to the time when Nightmare Moon was due to come out of her prison. They are the atheists of Equestria, believing that the princesses are extremely powerful, but not worthy of being called goddesses. There are variations in New-Celestial dogma regarding which is the more powerful of the two, and how far from godliness they are, but the overall idea is that they are, at bottom, merely highly skilled mortals. A New-Celestial does not typically believe in any sort of special afterlife, believing, instead, that the verifiable spiritual world is where life after death ends. For others, that world is seen as a kind of purgatory, but a New-Celestial will tell you that it's the end of the line. They don't preach anything in particular, but commonly value intelligence and open-mindedness. Ironically, Twilight, who spent a crap-load of time with Celestia, fits the New-Celestial paradigm quite well.

Celestial-Lunars believe that both goddesses are equal to each other, and should be worshipped equally, sometimes separately. They have variations in power, but, from a divine standpoint, there is no lesser or greater goddess. This is the smallest of the five main denominations, and it is shrinking fast. The evidence of divine variation between Celestia and Luna is very strong in the Nightmare Moon incident, and its resolution. Moreover, with Luna's relative lack of popularity and understanding, it becomes difficult for a Celestial-Lunar to defend the premise that Luna is not less of a goddess than Celestia, simply because there is less material to form a counter-argument. She allowed herself to be overtaken by the Nightmare Moon ailment, and then failed to return to what was considered her former glory after being exorcised. A Celestial-Lunar preaches moderation, understanding, and tolerance of others, and are typically the nicest of the bunch. They are also the least likely to corner you at a party to tell you all about their faith. Applejack and Pinkie would make good Celestial-Lunars.

Mid-Lunars believe that Luna was only divine at the point where she was Nightmare Moon, and believe that, had Celestia responded with more consideration and sagacity, the world would have been a better place. Nightmare Moon was not inherently evil, they claim, but only a reaction to perceived injustice. In responding by imprisoning her, Celestia essentially destroyed what potential she had to enter into a more deeply holy relationship with her sister, along with the Gaia's chances for heaven manifest. Mid-Lunars harbor a deep bitterness toward Celestia, and see her as an active blight on the world. Certain extremists even believe that she should be destroyed, but such plans often fizzle out before becoming actions, because, let's face it, talk is one thing, but who would actually have the guts to try to destroy the same person who imprisoned a god? Most Mid-Lunars worship Luna and pray for a return of her more powerful, intense form. Mid-Lunars preach love of life, appreciation of solitude, and personal health. They believe that heaven is an attainable goal, and that one should be at their absolute best before trying to achieve it. Rainbow fits best with this model, but wouldn't make a good Mid-Lunar, because she lacks the actual beliefs behind the name.

All of these denominations are couched in the verifiable. There is no dispute regarding the existence of these two figures, except in extremely minor splinter-groups, nor is there much dispute on the first part of the afterlife. As mentioned in Twilight and Trixie's conversation in chapter forty, Luna has authored papers on what it's like to die; the spiritual plane is very much extant, and known to be so.

In addition to these, there are several smaller, nearly obsolete groups of more paganistic ponies, who believe in different gods and goddesses altogether. These divine figures are usually elemental in nature, and are sometimes praised as the originators of Celestia and Luna. Such beliefs hold very little sway in the larger cities, but some of the riverside settlements, or the underground mines and tunnels in the south, will contain ponies that still cling to these old ways.

Oh, and about Cadance: she didn't exist when this story was born, so I've just been sort of persistently ignoring her. If you really want to know how she fits in with this pantheon, I'm sure I can think of something.