Known sometimes as “the misfit church”, The Church of Gnome has become a refuge for people who do not see a place for themselves in mainstream society; due primarily to an anarchistic belief structure that eschews formal doctrines and dogma. Replacing them with a simple focus on compassion and acceptance combined with a strong sense of justice and a reflexive desire to protect and shelter the oppressed and marginalized.
Critics of the church have a tendency to dismiss it due to it’s enthusiastic embrace of absurdity and novelty, but most members see this as a core strength of the church. As it upends societal norms and creates a space where the weird become normal and the normal weird. Within this space members are able to exist in a way that is authentic for themselves. For many the church becomes the only space where they are comfortable being their authentic selves.
The church is most commonly approached as a monotheistic faith with Gnome at its center. Though it is also sometimes approached as a polytheistic faith with Gnome playing a central role. And even at times as a secular moral philosophy with Gnome seen as an archetype.
For those who approach the church in a non-secular manner, prayers are sometimes offered to Gnome asking for assistance or guidance. This practice is private though and not a central part of the faith. The common understanding is that Gnome does not directly interfere in individual lives, but instead focuses on the totality of humanity; past, present, and future. Instead members tend to turn to their community in the church to address the issues that they face. Members are encouraged to do the work they need to do to better themselves in a community that provides them with emotional support. The communities also may come together to achieve goals that individual members are not be able to meet on their own.
Theology
For all of its chaotic nature, the Church of Gnome is in truth a fairly orthodox denomination of The Story. Most adherents to the church don’t spend much time considering the foundation on which the Church’s beliefs rest, but for those that do, the common interpretation is that the story of Gnome is simply another possible story that exists with in the infinite stories of The Story. This is what allows the church to be so adaptable in how it works. It sees itself not as representing a kind of truth, but simply a story which can and should be manipulated and changed to meet the needs of the audience.
The faith has no formal creed or doctrines. There are a common group of stories that are found in most, though not all, congregations; but nothing that would be considered a scripture. There is also a host of reoccurring symbols and characters that appear in multiple stories. The most common symbol is the mushroom, which is used as a metaphor for a number of different ideas. The most common character is Pinto, whose stories most commonly teach and inspire a communal approach to life. When dealing with polytheistic approaches to the Church of Gnome Pinto is almost always elevated to god status and is focused on matters involving comfort in difficult times, refuge, and general assistance.
Structure
There is not an extensive structure for the church. Most adherents practice on their own or in self created groups. There are a couple of larger congregations, but these are the exception. There is also a tradition of wandering teachers who act as missionaries and occasionally provide guidance to existing groups, but their numbers are fairly small.
Symbols
The only common symbol through out the faith is that of the mushroom. The mushroom is a common metaphorical symbol used in stories to illustrate a number of different ideas and concepts.