Religion

Most races possess some sort of cultural faith that reflects their values, fears, and hopes. Some worship gods or demigods as actual beings (either as a God, gods, or demigods is debatable among the races themselves), while some races personify their faiths in the form of a god, but understand that their “god” is really just a symbol of their philosophical beliefs, not an actual being. Others, such as Firelord Ragnaros, are seen by some to have achieved a god-like status. The Warcraft universe does in fact have powerful, immortal beings (such as Elune), the Old Gods, and Azeroth was greatly affected by the Titans.

Most racial faiths include the concept of an afterlife, along with cultural mores and taboos to indicate the correct path to the afterlife. Spiritual leaders who guide their race along the proper philosophical path tend to be shaman or druids. Few races revere an actual deity to whom they can dedicate their lives as priests. ^{(DF 88)} In the quest  [58] The Formation of Felbane (removed from game in ), the quest giver, Loramus Thalipedes, mentions the concept of a singular god as a blessing; "May your determination and faith, carry you through this ordeal. Should you fail, know that your God smiles down upon you, mortal." Strangely enough, in the first two Warcraft games (including expansions), humans referred to a singular God behind the Holy Light.^{[citation needed]}

Notable faiths

The following are the currently known religions in the Warcraft Universe:

The Holy Light

• Members: Humans, Ironforge dwarves, Wildhammer dwarves, high elves, naaru, draenei, half-elves, blood elves, worgen
• Organizations: The Church of the Holy Light, The Silver Hand, The Argent Dawn, The Argent Crusade, The Scarlet Crusade, The Brotherhood of the Light, The Sha'tar, The Aldor, The Scryers, The Hand of Argus, The Blood Knights

Shamanism

• Members: Orcs, trolls, tauren, draenei, furbolgs, Wildhammer dwarves, tuskarr, quilboar, goblins, and ogres
• Organizations: The Earthen Ring, The Mag'har, The Kurenai

Druidism

• Members: Night elves, tauren, half-elves, Wildhammer dwarves, furbolgs (debated),worgen, high elves (somewhat)
• Organizations: The Cenarion Circle, The Cenarion Expedition

Elune

• Members: Night elves, wildkin and Furbolgs
• Organizations: The Sisters of Elune, The Sentinels

Mystery of the Makers (The titans)

• Members: Ironforge dwarves
• Organizations: The Explorers' League

Shadow and Necromancy

• Members: Undead beings, living followers
• Organizations: The Cult of the Damned, The Scourge, The Cult of the Forgotten Shadow, The Knights of the Ebon Blade

Fel and Demonology

• Members: Warlocks, demons, satyr, fel orcs, fel-corrupted races
• Organizations: The Burning Legion, The Illidari, The Shadow Council

Followers of the Old Gods

• Members: Naga, elementals (prior to the ordering), qiraji, nerubians
• Organizations: The Twilight's Hammer

Voodoo and Loa-worship

• Members: Trolls

Geomancy

• Members: Pandaren, troggs, quilboar, kobolds

Arcanum

• Members: Humans, high elves, naga, gnomes, blood elves, draenei, undead, trolls,
• Organizations: The Kirin Tor, The Echo of Life

Dragon worship

• Members: Humans, orcs, draenei, night elves, dragonspawn
• Organizations: The Wyrmcult, The Sect of the Dragons

Arkkoroc

• Members: Sea giants, murlocs, makrura
• The Arkkoran

The Void

• Members: Humans, high elves,

Miscellaneous faiths

Furbolg culture

Some accounts have them worshipping primitive godlike figures, but primarily they revere nature and the spirits of the world. ^{(APG 10)}

Night elves in other cultural beliefs

In the early histories of dwarves and humans, the Kaldorei are shadowy figures of dark perfection wielding incredible god-like powers. ^{(LoC 17)} Tauren sometimes view night elves with awe and fear. Tauren have long seen the Kaldorei as a mythic race of demigods, possessed of great magic and steeped in natural powers. ^{(WoWRPG 48)}

Ogre culture

• Among ogres, bone crushers are seen as the living avatars of Nath. In a society that prize strength above anything else, a bone crusher is as close to a god as an ogre can get. ^{(HPG 38)}
• Nath is the ogre war god revered by both ogres and half-ogres. The term mok'nathal means the "sons of nath".

Tuskarr culture

• Tayutka
• Karkut
• Issliruk

Outland faiths

• Terokk/Rukhmar
  • Terokk was the greatest hero of the arakkoa, closely associated with their god Rukhmar. He left his people when worship of Rukhmar began to wane, leading to speculation that he was Rukhmar in mortal form. It is unknown if they are the same being, or are separate beings that were combined in stories as the legends of Terokk were retold throughout the years.

• Anzu
  • Anzu is a god of the Grishnath arakkoa. The Oracles of the Raven prophesied that the Raven God would soon rise again.

• Murmur
  • Murmur is a being from a dimension of the cosmos unfathomable to mortal minds. Its very entrance into existence shattered all reality around it. Murmur is a god that, when summoned by a mortal possessed of arcane and dark knowledge, eventually destroyed the world of the summoner. The Shadow Council is now trying to bring forth this entity into Outland.

Murloc culture

• Deep Mother
• The One in the Deeps
• Sea Witch a mysterious goddess, a powerful naga spellcaster. ^{(HPG 141)}

See also

• Shamanism and nature worship
• Religions category for a list of other categories or articles on religions.