The Religious Parliament

The Religious Parliament, not exactly a catchy name but it will do until I think of something better.

A bit of background on this organisation.

It was initially formed (in an embryonic state) in the late 1400s by the monk Eliphas on his death bed. After requesting an audience with Heaven and negotiating the the creation of 7 Holy Saints to protect mankind, the Religious Parliament was formed to ensure accountability on both sides.

For humans, this meant the upholding of the seven virtues and a responsibility to protect people from the threat of Lost Demons. For Heaven, parliament gave them both an earpiece and mouthpiece on Earth. This was important for the kingdom as angelic intervention with humans was expressly forbidden owing to humanities right to free will.

It's at this point that the Righteous Balance was first introduced. Holy Saints would only use their abilities to protect Earth and Heaven would ensure that after each set of 7 saints had served their required term (106 years), 7 more virtuous people would be appointed and bestowed with the power of angels through the Grand Réveil' (Great Awakening) process.

To give you an idea of the functions of the modern day Religious Parliament, issues that are regularly debated include:

• Reclassification of sins
• Media coverage of sins and religion in general
• Government Acts concerning religion
• A decline of religious beliefs owing to the rise of technology
• Holy wars being waged
• Rogue/Lost demon attacks
• The Righteous Balance in general (this is discussed in more detail when the time comes to appoint new Saints and Hell Generals)

Demonic representation was introduced in the 17th Century. Each of the three 'parties' has a representative (similar to an MP) and an advisor. For Heaven (The Angelic Council) and Hell (The Horde) this advisor is a human they have appointed through democratic means. Similarly, the representatives are elected through a voting system in each kingdom.

The world in which Diahgo is set takes in an alternative history view, but many things aside from religion are essentially the same. Whilst the general public does not fully comprehend the notion of angels and demons existing, there is still a place for all major religions.

However, despite individual and group beliefs, there is only one Heaven and one Hell; those represented in the Religious Parliament.