Post by Emi Ryoko Tachibana on Sept 14, 2020 9:09:02 GMT -4
The One People’s East Asian Church (OPEAC) is a church most well-known for its virulent hate speech towards humans with quirks and their supporters. Though specifics of the church’s origins are a closely-guarded secret, the first mentions of its ideals online are dated mere months after the first quirk was discovered, and when the phenomenon was almost universally met with fear and confusion. While quirk-bearers are on the long and slow road towards acceptance, the church has remained just as small as it is vocal, peaking at approx. 95 members in 2072.
Beliefs
Initially, the church believed that that the emergence of strange abilities in humans was part of God's punishment, for society choosing to turn away from him and living in sin. As of 2065, the church has officially stated that quirks are instead part of Satan's machination to steal humanity from God's grasp. It is, perhaps, not coincidental that the change in stance came shortly after a greater prevalence of quirkers, a better understanding of their potential power, and a wave of quirk-assisted crime in Japan.
OPEAC believes that humans born with unique abilities have been touched by the Devil, who was lured to charm babies by their especially sinful parents. The church judges humans with quirks roughly according to their classification. According to them, Emitters have only been 'lightly' tainted by the Devil, and can bring themselves closer to God by abandoning their 'curse' and helping to fight against Satan. Transformers, or those that can 'briefly draw on more of his power', can be saved with months of purifying, but are generally vilified. Mutations, or quirkers who otherwise struggle to pass as everyday citizens, are considered too far gone to be saved. The best thing for them is to cast them out of society and let the elements take them, as far as the church is concerned.
Members of the church believe that the world should condemn quirks and those that choose to indulge in them, and those that refuse to will spend their eternal afterlife in the Devil’s domain. Therefore, it is not only their duty to make their hatred heard, but to attempt to evangelise members of the public and lead them away from the road to Hell. What is internally perceived as well-intentioned preaching gives the church body the will to fight what is obviously an uphill battle against a country that has gone as far to accept quirkers into its peace-keeping forces. Members point to the Shinagawa Auction and the Tokyo 5 execution as recent examples of society empowering the demon children to strike out and embrace their true natures.
Activities
The church’s roots are in Tokyo, but the increase of pro-quirker initiatives in Musutafu has prompted OPEAC to move their base of operations to the city of heroes. Wherever quirkers are heralded, the vocal minority is sure to be nearby, either picketing events with inflammatory signs, or leading smear campaigns online. As a result, the church has come under heavy fire for its hate speech against what some would consider a marginalised group of citizens, its status as a religious body makes decisive legal action against the group difficult.
While the church's official stance is that final judgement should be left to God, severe hate crimes, including lethal assault, arson, acid attacks and murder, can be linked back to members of the group, or outsiders that have been radicalised by their messages.
Beliefs
Initially, the church believed that that the emergence of strange abilities in humans was part of God's punishment, for society choosing to turn away from him and living in sin. As of 2065, the church has officially stated that quirks are instead part of Satan's machination to steal humanity from God's grasp. It is, perhaps, not coincidental that the change in stance came shortly after a greater prevalence of quirkers, a better understanding of their potential power, and a wave of quirk-assisted crime in Japan.
OPEAC believes that humans born with unique abilities have been touched by the Devil, who was lured to charm babies by their especially sinful parents. The church judges humans with quirks roughly according to their classification. According to them, Emitters have only been 'lightly' tainted by the Devil, and can bring themselves closer to God by abandoning their 'curse' and helping to fight against Satan. Transformers, or those that can 'briefly draw on more of his power', can be saved with months of purifying, but are generally vilified. Mutations, or quirkers who otherwise struggle to pass as everyday citizens, are considered too far gone to be saved. The best thing for them is to cast them out of society and let the elements take them, as far as the church is concerned.
Members of the church believe that the world should condemn quirks and those that choose to indulge in them, and those that refuse to will spend their eternal afterlife in the Devil’s domain. Therefore, it is not only their duty to make their hatred heard, but to attempt to evangelise members of the public and lead them away from the road to Hell. What is internally perceived as well-intentioned preaching gives the church body the will to fight what is obviously an uphill battle against a country that has gone as far to accept quirkers into its peace-keeping forces. Members point to the Shinagawa Auction and the Tokyo 5 execution as recent examples of society empowering the demon children to strike out and embrace their true natures.
Activities
The church’s roots are in Tokyo, but the increase of pro-quirker initiatives in Musutafu has prompted OPEAC to move their base of operations to the city of heroes. Wherever quirkers are heralded, the vocal minority is sure to be nearby, either picketing events with inflammatory signs, or leading smear campaigns online. As a result, the church has come under heavy fire for its hate speech against what some would consider a marginalised group of citizens, its status as a religious body makes decisive legal action against the group difficult.
While the church's official stance is that final judgement should be left to God, severe hate crimes, including lethal assault, arson, acid attacks and murder, can be linked back to members of the group, or outsiders that have been radicalised by their messages.
