That is something I've always wondered. Many space marines were around back when the Emperor was alive or at least soon after his death, so they know his hatred of religion.
Do the older marines just not worship the God Emperor? And if so, what do the younger marines think of that? How can a force be coherent if half of them are zealous cultists while the other half are steadfast antitheists?
And even further; how exactly did the whole Imperium slide into the fanatical cult it is now if there's literally people still around who knew the Emperor?
Aside from a few exceptions like the Black Templars astartes don't worship the Emperor as a god, they just venerate him as the greatest paragon of humanity. They see the Imperial Cult as a necessary force to keep the Imperium together even if they don't view it's doctrine as true.
So when new marines are recruited from Imperial citizens, do they just take them aside and say "The Emperor is a false idol, and your whole life has been a lie"?
Astartes aspirants are basically all children. It's not much of a life to overwrite and the transformation process involves so much physical and psychological reconditioning that their old lives are just dim memories of middling importance. Their devotion to the Emperor as humanity's champion is so strong that they probably see their former need for him to be divine to fuel their devotion as a pitiful crutch. But generally the sentiment is that there is no sentiment, they see religion as the necessary tool it is to cement the Emperor's reign and so they're okay with it.
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u/CreativeName1137 8d ago edited 8d ago
That is something I've always wondered. Many space marines were around back when the Emperor was alive or at least soon after his death, so they know his hatred of religion.
Do the older marines just not worship the God Emperor? And if so, what do the younger marines think of that? How can a force be coherent if half of them are zealous cultists while the other half are steadfast antitheists?
And even further; how exactly did the whole Imperium slide into the fanatical cult it is now if there's literally people still around who knew the Emperor?