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The Spiritual Republic of Caryton
Flag
Anthem
Carrier of Miracles
Largest city
Official language
Official religion
Major ethnic groups
16.8% Norse
5.1% Artarumen
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Major religions
34.5% Nicene Christianity
5.0% Latter-day Saint movement
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Demonym
Government
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• Leading Reverend
• Legislative Speaker
Legislature
Population
• 2025 estimate
• 2020 census
• Density
GDP (nominal)
• Total
• Per capita
Gini (2020)
HDI (2020)
Currency
Date format
Mains electricity
Driving side
Calling code
The Spiritual Republic of Caryton, commonly known as Caryton, is a country in Central Aeterna. The nation's capital and largest city is Georgine; its largest urban area is the Georgine-Abraham metropolitan area, centered around the Pilgrim Lake- the nation's largest body of freshwater.
Caryton is a middle power with a developing economy, by the government's own design. The state operates on an agrarian economy, largely as a cultural and religious matter. It ranks highly on the Human Development Index, and offers plenty of social services and welfare. This combined with population largely comprised of farmers in tightly knit, nearly-communal religious communities explains an impressively low GINI index. It is a member of the Aeterna Community.
1 Etymology
2 History
2.1 Antiquity
2.2 Early History
2.3 Homestead Era
2.4 Industrial Revolution
2.5 The Alta Regime
2.6 Early Caryton
2.7 Modern Caryton
3 Geography
4 Government and politics
4.1 Policy
4.2 Administrative divisions
4.3 Military
5 Economy
6 Demographics
6.1 General
6.2 Ethnic
6.3 Religion
7 Culture
Caryton's name pays homage to the angelic messenger said to have preserved the spirit of the revolution against the tyranny that formerly gripped the nation. This messenger, a female Golden Retriever known as "Cary", served as a rallying symbol for the founding revolutionaries and the emerging Gospel Church of Caryton as well as the national figurehead and the dejure leader of the Spiritual Republic of Caryton from its foundation in 1983 to her death in 1993.
The Spiritual Republic of Caryton covers a total area of km2, not including the islands of Carynesia held as an offshore autonomous territory.
Caryton is dominated by flat, open prairies and fertile grasslands generously populated with rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds. Occasionally there are hills and sparse pockets of forestation among the fields. The coastal plains are especially fertile and have always had pleasing harvests. Caryton has a mountainous and forested north, while its lateral borders are comprised of wetlands divided by massive rivers and easily-flooded lakes. Its southwesternmost reaches are comprised of badlands, dry grasslands, and occasional pockets of xeric desert only suitable for raising cash crops and livestock.
Caryton's climate consists of mild and rainy summers and cold and snowy winters, with mild and humid springtime and mild and arid autumns.
Caryton's average year-round temperature is 43*F. January is the coldest month, August is the warmest. It is not uncommon for around thirty days of the year to have below zero temperatures. Average summertime temperature is 72*F while days of 90*F+ are rare. Annual precipitation ranges from 12in to 35 in./year.
The Spiritual Republic of Caryton considers itself to be an Ecclesiastical Meritocratic Republic- with Leading Reverend Roger Stahlberg and Legislative Speaker Eunice Holcott in leadership positions. More simply, many Aeternan nations refer to Caryton as a Christian theocratic republic. The extent of Carytonic "meritocracy" is questionable, but in practice seems to be effective namely due to a heavily de-centralized form of governance.
The Spiritual Republic of Caryton is a multi-party federal republic, with Roger Stahlberg sitting as the Head of State. The leading party is the First United Holy Party established by national founder Dorothy Shirleyton and aligned with the ruling Gospel Church of Caryton. Since her administration, there have been schisms within the formerly united government manifesting in both new parties and splinter groups from the existing First United Holy Party. Despite this, a near-unanimously shared interest in maintaining a Christian state has kept the coalitions in order and maintained stability within Carytonic politics.
The legislative body, the National Congress, is a broad legislature and normally meets weekly unless an emergency session is called by the Legislative Speaker. The Legislative Speaker is voted by the Congress. The Congress is tricameral and formed of three distinct houses;
- The Citizen's Council is a sortition-based house where 301 citizens of the country are selected by lottery to represent the public interest for a term of one year.
- The House of Representatives is an election-based house where 101 representatives from various localities vote in favor of their community's interests for a term of five years.
-The Ecclesiastical Council is an examination-based house where 51 representatives are chosen by merit and examination, called to vote in favor of the interests of the Gospel Church of Caryton for a term of ten years.
The numerical structure of Caryton's congress is such that the will of the general public is intended to prevail.
The judiciary is the strongest branch of Caryton's government. Jurors are directly appointed by the Leading Reverend for a life term and the judiciary often selects the next Leading Reverend of the Republic for a life term upon the incumbent Leading Reverend's passing. It is the responsibility of the judiciary- a body of 15 jurors, seniormost of whom directs the affairs of the Supreme Court- to ensure all laws passed by the legislature are constitutional, ethical, and biblical.
The Congress can veto the appointment of a Leading Reverend by a vote of 3/4 at which point the Ecclesiastical Council of Congress will then appoint a Leading Reverend. If the rest of the Congress vetos that appointment by 3/4, the vote will go public. Up to the present date, an appointment has never been vetoed. The Congress can not veto the appointment of a juror, but the jurors can vote for the removal of one of their own, at which point the Ecclesiastical Council of the House is given the task with appointing another (to avoid the Leading Reverend simply re-appointing said juror).
The Leading Reverend possesses the role of commander-in-chief and bears diplomatic responsibility.
One of the Spiritual Republic of Caryton's defining traits is that Church and State are not separated and that the Gospel Church of Caryton (and Christianity as a whole) is named as the state religion. This fact influences all government policy and the laws that govern the state. An example of this policy-in-action is the infamous Prohibition Act which bans the use, possession, creation, and distribution of tobacco, e-cigarettes, gambling, "soft and hard drugs" which include any products made from marijuana, alcohol, pornography, subversive music/art, and items of an "immoral nature". Violating the Prohibition Act carries a draconian weight of serious jail time for users, and up to the death penalty for makers and distributors.
Counter-culture in Caryton is kept in check by the Witchcraft and Satanry Act which prohibits the Prohibition Act (and other modesty laws) from being circulated by claims of contraband items being used for religious rituals. This act further bans any glorification of witchcraft, magick, and Satanism- including new age items like tarot. Caryton is the only country in modern Aeterna to regularly charge criminals for Witchcraft and Satanry, though the sentences for this crime are notably more lenient than those who violate the Prohibition Act.
The Modesty Act governs dress code in Caryton- when in public, all clothes must end at the elbows and calves regardless of gender. Men are to wear formal clothes and women are to wear dresses unless in private, swimming, or in a work uniform. The clothing stipulations of the Modesty Act do not apply if the individual is in a private location. The Modesty Act also has stipulations that forbid the use of profanity, impolite manners, and disrespect.
The Fidelity Act includes a clause that makes pre-marital sex a felony crime, though the enforcement of this crime is less of a prison sentence and more of a "scarlet letter effect" that denies violators opportunities to advance in life unless the sin is properly repented for. The crime of adultery, however, carries a lengthy prison sentence. The vast majority of crimes that involves the sexual abuse of children carries the death penalty. The crime of rape is punishable by up to the death penalty. On that note, divorces are not performed in Caryton unless there is a case of abuse or incest. The same principle applies to abortions, forbidden unless the conception was non-consensual, incestuous, or the life of the mother is threatened. Widows and widowers are forbidden from re-marrying out of respect for the deceased unless a special exemption is granted from the state (short-term marriages, abusive relationships, so forth).
Homosexual marriage in Caryton is de-facto illegal in the majority of the country. The Spiritual Republic of Caryton defines "marriage" as a right reserved only for religious bodies, and all major religious bodies in Caryton believe marriage to be between a man and a woman. Homosexual couples, however, can receive a civil union in special parts of the country. This civil union loophole is begrudgingly accepted by Caryton only to prevent united couples from being unfairly punished by the stipulations of the Fidelity Act that involved pre-marital and post-marital affairs. Post-marital crimes for civil unions are looked past because they have not entered the proper covenant of an ecclesiastical marriage.
The age of majority in Caryton is 20, the age to drive and work (beyond a family occupation) is 15.
Caryton embraces "traditional gender norms" where a woman wears in a dress, a man wears a suit, and the male usually works unless the family is on a farm or in economic turmoil. The wife typically takes care of children and earns side-income through pursuing her hobbies. Most urban and suburban women are shopkeepers or freelancers for this reason and this unique creative freedom has pushed an emerging era of female self-love and empowerment into the Carytonic culture. Women are by no means treated with condescension or contempt- as they are vital to the survival of the nation.
Animal rights are heavily protected in Caryton due to the unique nature of its founding. The same can be said for environmental regulations.
The Spiritual Republic of Caryton is divided into authorities for administrative purposes. These are further subdivided into counties.
The Spiritual Republic of Caryton is served by the National Defense Forces which is comprised of the Providence Army of Caryton, the Providence Navy of Caryton, the Providence Air Force of Caryton, the Carytonic Rangers, and the League of Martyrs National Militia.
The demographics of the Spiritual Republic of Caryton are unique in that both diversity and homogeny are represented in a syncretic fashion.
In the year 2020, the Spiritual Republic of Caryton had 33,016,504 people. The sex ratio of Caryton at birth is 102 male to 100 female. Age figures are healthy, while there are many older individuals who live long lives, an extremely high birth rate plus the naturalization of foreign children offset the age trend.
In the year 2020, the ethnic makeup of the Spiritual Republic of Caryton was thus:
71.1% Carytonic (English-speaking, loosely Germanic)
16.8% Norse (Scandinavian)
5.1% Artarumen (English)
2.2% Ferwert (Lowlander)
1.0% African-Carytonic
0.8% Slavic
3% Mixed or Other (Carynesian, Jewish, Hegebeintummer, Malizean, etc.)
In the year 2020, the religious makeup of the Spiritual Republic of Caryton was thus:
50.5% Gospel Church of Caryton
49.5% Mainline Church
--0.5% Free Gospel Church of Caryton
--0.4% Morning Light Fellowship
--0.1% Fundamentalist Branches
--.0001% Militant Church of Cary
35.5% Nicene Christianity
34% Protestantism
-- 11.6% Lutheranism
-- 8% Mennonite and Amish
-- 5.3% Methodist
-- 4% Baptist
-- 0.1% Society of Friends
-- 5% Other or Non-denominational
0.7% Catholicism
0.7% Orthodoxy
0.1% Other Nicene Christianity
5% Latter-day Saint Movement
4.7% Mainline Church
--0.2% Reformed Branches
--0.1% Fundamentalist Branches
2% Other Non-Nicene Christianity
0.8% Jehovah's Witnesses
0.2% Other Non-Nicene NRM's
7% Other or Irreligious
5% Irreligious
1.1% Other
0.6% Judaism
--0.3% Orthodox
--0.1% Hasidic
--0.1% Reform
--0.1% Other Judaism or NRM
0.3% Misc. NRM's
--0.2% Other NRM's
--0.1% Church of Positivity
The culture of the Spiritual Republic of Caryton is unique, as for much of its history it had been isolated and allowed to develop on its own. The arrival of Vistulangean and Artarumen influences (and later those of other nations) introduced new aspects to the collective culture. Many of the values that are esteemed now are a direct result of the people of the former Altan Regime rejecting every aspect of the life that they had lived under. The old regime fell, and the population fled the crumbling cities towards the prairies that their families and ancestors had settled for generations before. This lead to an unshakeable commitment to agrarianism, rusticism, traditionalism, and simple living.
Carytonic culture is a revitalization of what was once lost. The prairies are a hotbed of old cultural traditions established by well-documented genealogies and safeguarded by a commitment to follow them. Religion is also culture because it is so tied in to the nation's founding and older traditions. That is part of the reason why crime is low: a moralistic populace united with each other in small, tied-in communities given the benefits of a high-investment religion. Carytonic people consider themselves family. Old recipes and timeless music are shared frequently in family, town, and county get-togethers. Old world customs are perfectly preserved and given a new-era vitality. Carytonic hospitality is praised regardless of the visitors' racial or religious background.
The individual's mindset is very localist, with burning pride for even a hamlet of ten people. To them, a man's house is his castle and his farm is his empire- his family is everything and he wants for nothing more. The rural populace is especially fundamentalist and prudent, leading an over-simplistic and seemingly joyless life of hard work and fiscal conservatism. However, said joy is treasured in simpler things and happiness is found in a more fulfilling life in the long term. Nature is indulged in by way of hiking, hunting, swimming, and dog sledding. Those who homestead in the prairies lead a simple and rustic life as opposed to those of other nations who are used to urban life. Clothing standards are centuries old in some places, and values are set back so far one questions if the nation even belongs in the modern era. The population is also deeply evangelical and will spare no time trying to save the souls of tourists.
Music consists mostly of delicate choral, piano, organ, or light orchestral songs. The use of synthetic instruments is frowned upon and the use of percussion is seen as offensive and provocative. Dance, rap, rock, pop and other modern genres are unheard of and very unwelcome. Music has the role of soothing the spirit and bringing about reverent thoughts. Occasionally, country and folk music will be played for people to dance to. Dance is usually done in square, line, and swing dancing with other more traditional old world dances still performed.
Caryton maintains a strong missionary program responsible for proselytizing and humanitarian work. The main broadcasting service of the Spiritual Republic of Caryton is the Trinity Broadcasting Network of Caryton which oversees television matters, church media, and more. Trinity Broadcasting Radio of Caryton is the audio wing of TBNC. The church and government use the internet only for official business, everything else is done by analog. The technological capacity of the country is still stagnating in the 1980s, by intentional design.
Vital to the moral integrity of the average person within Caryton is charity and good service. The state owns and operates many humanitarian wings worldwide. The country leads the world in the adoption and foster care industry- adopting foreign children and giving them safe and happy childhoods in the prairies. Another effort is to give foreign women attempting to get abortions a cash fund to have the child and raise them in Caryton until the mother makes a decision on parenthood. Victims of disaster are also given sponsors and amnesty, provided they live by Carytonic morals. The country also leads Aeterna in the fight against hunger. It is expected of Carytonic citizens to spend at least 12 hours a month in volunteering, and much of that is done by Church activities.
Followers of the Gospel Church of Caryton and nearly all Christians observe the Sabbath- and most non-essential businesses are closed on Sundays. Children go to school for 10 to 12 years and learn all core subjects plus courses in the Bible. A modified form of Creationism is taught. The nation's leading college is Dorothy Shirleyton University. The national animal is the Golden Retriever. The national bird is the Mourning Dove. The national plant is Oxalis Stricta. The national sport is Gridiron Football. The national grain is the oat, and the national food is oatmeal and is often eaten up to twice a day.
