Named after Dr. Carl Edward Sagan (1934–1996), Saganiz (/se.'ǂe.ɲɘz/), or Saganism, is the most common religion among the Peseneyi, both in Thet and Hromo. It is a pantheistic, materialist faith, asserting that all individuals, regardless of species, exist as conscious expressions of the matter of the universe, and that the primary value of life is to live in harmony and explore.
Despite the association with Dr. Sagan, the bulk of Saganism's ideas are endemic to the value system of Pesenese culture and show clear continuity with initiatives like the Pesenese Union, which briefly held dominion over a considerable portion of the Expanse in the years prior to the Grand War. Not noted for their guile, the Peseneyi genuinely endeavoured to better the worlds they occupied, and voluntarily ceded all of their territorial gains after learning of the concept of pluralism. This development is almost unparalleled in the history of the known universe, and is often cited as proof that the Peseneyi are uniquely (and perhaps dysfunctionally) altruistic when left to their own devices.
Despite the association with Dr. Sagan, the bulk of Saganism's ideas are endemic to the value system of Pesenese culture and show clear continuity with initiatives like the Pesenese Union, which briefly held dominion over a considerable portion of the Expanse in the years prior to the Grand War. Not noted for their guile, the Peseneyi genuinely endeavoured to better the worlds they occupied, and voluntarily ceded all of their territorial gains after learning of the concept of pluralism. This development is almost unparalleled in the history of the known universe, and is often cited as proof that the Peseneyi are uniquely (and perhaps dysfunctionally) altruistic when left to their own devices.
