Global Supremacy: Episode 7: Zealots and Fundamentalists (Part 1)

**Jeremiah** · 01-29-2011

Welcome to the seventh issue of Global Supremacy. In a world such as Warcraft, it is entirely possible that fringe movements and extremists may be a regular part of life for people living in cities like Stormwind. This week, we discuss the zealotry of the religious fundamentalists, and analyze their role in society, if any.

You may be wondering, what is Global Supremacy?

Global Supremacy is an MMOwned news feature about the influence of philosophy and political science on World of Warcraft and its storyline. Here, we'll be talking about WoW's lore and storyline, and how it relates to political and philosophical concepts in the real world.

The other half of Global Supremacy is lore speculation and debate. Readers can get involved any time by posting a comment on the article of the week. I will select a pool of readers from the comments each week, and will end each post with a question for my readers. You are also free to make suggestions in the comments, and I will try to read as many as I can at once.

The Alliance
[IMGL]http://www.symbol-guild.com/site/gfx/alliance-logo.png[/IMGL]The Alliance has worked directly with religious zealots in the past. The Church of the Holy Light itself does not associate with the Argent Crusade, believing them to be far too naive and trusting. Because of this, Stormwind's local church was immediately made the ally of the Scarlet Crusade, which is evident by the Scarlet ambassador's presence in the Cathedral.

Stormwind would have seen the use of the Scarlet Crusade. They were the most powerful force in the Plaguelands region, stretching their forces from Tyr's Hand to Tirisfal.

What motivated Stormwind and especially the Archbishop to personally send assassins to take out the leaders of the Scarlet Crusade? Archbishop Benedictus recruited players to go and kill the leaders of the Scarlet Crusade, but as the Scarlet ambassador still remains in the city even today, why did he see it fit to eliminate them?

The Scarlet Crusade were known for capturing, torturing, and haplessly murdering any adventurers they caught in Tirisfal or the Plaguelands. They believed that all who passed through the Forsaken lands carried the taint of undeath. As Stormwind began to hear reports of their soldiers and heroes disappearing off of the front, they must have suspected the Crusade. For this reason, they saw it fit to eliminate the Crusade's administration, hoping the problem would fix itself.

Is it possible that there are other races with religious zealots? The Night Elves are likely candidates. Elune has shown the Kaldorei her amazing power to purge entire armies of demons in a matter of seconds. Surely this awesome, destructive force would draw adherents who were faithful and followed Elune's every law and word, and this does not mean that this people are required to be kind or even accepting of others. Millenia of isolationism has made the Kaldorei vengeful, though they are still trusting enough of outsiders to let them share their home, if nothing more than a gesture of mercy. Perhaps the Kaldorei are accepting of creatures so that they may reflect Elune's kindness and assimilate them into their society. The Kaldorei are the most powerful multiracial army on the planet, encompassing all of the races and beasts of the wild in their forces. The addition of the Worgen and Draenei only makes them stronger.

Though we can postulate on this, we have no evidence of Kaldorei religious zealots directly in game. Staghelm is decidedly a supremacist, but is he a religious zealot? No.

The Horde
[IMGL]http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd245/vanmeter92/splash-horde-logo.png[/IMGL] The Horde as a collective do not have a religion that binds most of their races. They are a diverse confederacy with races with vastly different traditions. Shamanism connects many races of the Horde, but it is more of a way of life than a religion. Religions in World of Warcraft have a different context than religions on Earth anyhow, as many follow gods that actually tangibly exist, showing themselves to mortals or granting them the ability to wield great powers.

The Forsaken, out of them, are the most likely candidates. The Cult of the Forgotten Shadow almost requires their followers to be zealous in displaying their personal power. It is an inverted version of the Light, and many Forsaken rogues who are members of the church become Lightslayers, dedicating their craft to hunting down and killing priests and paladins.

(Continued in Part 2)