ReligiousLibertarian



ReligiousLibertarian has an agrarian economy supplemented with hunting wildlife and nation-to-nation trade. Being close to the land the primary (initial) goal of the nation is to develop infrastructure while expanding geographically at a reasonable rate. National defense is high on the priority of concerns, and being agrarian in nature there is no lack of soldiers. Income tax is low, but has undergone a recent modest increase to acquire funds to purchase technology.

Politics
ReligiousLibertarian is first of all committed to the ideals of Libertarianism but has very strong support for Religion. Freedom of religion is taken to mean that the people may choose any religion they want, but the nation will have a National Religion. The function of the National Religion is to collect local taxes, administer local justice, and provide for faith-based charity and welfare. Government exists at two levels, National and Local. Local government is administered by the local religious organization. National tax income is achieved by taxing the religious organization in each local area. Citizens, therefore, only pay taxes to the local religion/government. National taxes are only used to pay for national defense and national infrastructure (no National Welfare or other 'entitlement' programs). However, government also acts as the collective bargaining agent for the procurement of technology from other nations and will, at the consent of the people, levy taxes to procure such technology. Political policies are enacted at: NationStates(ReligiousLibertarians)(external link).

Nation Information
ReligiousLibertarian is a small but growing and new nation created on 9/24/2006 with citizens primarily of Dutch ethnicity whose religion is Voodoo. It is a backwards nation when it comes to technology and many refer to it unkindly as a 'Third World Nation'.

Only citizens of ReligiousLibertarian may own land, vote, or run a business. Any land sold by a citizen to a non-citizen is land that is considered outside the borders of the nation. No taxes are collected from such lands and these lands will not be defended by the army in case of attack. Also crimes committed in such lands will not be investigated by the police. Children concieved by parents who are, both, citizens of the nation at the time of conception and who remain citizens until the birth of the child are considered natural-born citizens of ReligiousLibertarian.

NationStates Summary
(edited to rectify CyberNation inconsistancies)

The Confederacy of Religious Libertarians is an economically powerful nation, remarkable for its complete absence of social welfare. Its hard-nosed, hard-working, intelligent population have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

There is no government in the normal sense of the word; however, a small group of community-minded individuals juggles the competing demands of Law & Order, Commerce, and Religion & Spirituality.

Major archaeological findings are frequently bulldozed to make way for new buildings, scenic mountain valleys are flooded with water as damming projects get underway, a study has shown that many parents are too embarrassed to teach their children sex education, and small businesses are gobbled up almost daily by corporate giants. Crime -- especially youth-related -- is pervasive. Religious Libertarians's national animal is the white dove, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation, and its currency is the dollar.



Economy
Its citizens enjoy freedom from high taxation and as a result tend to earn more money. The citizens of ReligiousLibertarian work diligently to produce Sugar and Furs as trade resources for their nation. It's in favor of achieving as much trade as possible, however currently limits such trade to Brown Team members. ReligiousLibertarian will not make deals with another country that has a poor history of inhuman treatment of its citizens.

Sugar beets are cultivated for refined sugar as well as for resources to supply a fledgling ethanol industry. Ethanol is used to fuel many of the farm implements, but petrolium (imported) is still used to fuel gasoline powered transportation vehicles.



Fur Trade
Our fur trade is the envy of Cybernations. The hunting has actually increased the fox population as habitat (privately owned) is set aside for their growth. Foxes eat whatever is available. They are actually omnivores and eat many things besides meat. Their main food, however, is small mammals, including: mice, voles, shrews, moles, squirrels, rabbits, woodchucks, opossums, raccoons, skunks, muskrats, and beaver. Other meats they consume include: waterfowl, turkey, and other birds, turtles, lizards, snakes, crayfish, caterpillars, grasshoppers, beetles, and other insects. When available, foxes will also eat grapes, acorns, cherries, berries, grasses, sedges, nuts, and other vegetation. Red Foxes will eat carrion (previously dead animals) and will occasionally kill someone's pet dog or cat. Source:www.fcps.edu

Children past the age of 12 are given training in firearms and horseback riding as part of their education. After the age of 14 they are allowed to participate in the fox hunts if they so choose. Many who participate in these hunts also later seek service in the military or the police forces. Some find a greater love for nature and the environment and are employed in the maintence of fox-hunting grounds. A few have even become land-owners themselves and create new fox-hunting grounds and thereby expand the economy of ReligiousLibertarian while also working to preserve the environment and bring greater value to the land.



Foreign Affairs
ReligiousLibertarian is a mostly neutral country when it comes to foreign affairs. It will usually only attack another nation if attacked first. The nation is currently researching nuclear technology for the use of nuclear power plants but believes nuclear weapons should be banned. It is a member of the Global Alliance and Treaty Organization GATO alliance. Due to its focus on charity and good will (stemming from its influence from religion) the government breaks the typical Libertarian pattern and gives foreign aid when it can, but looks to take care of its own people first.

ReligiousLibertarian has an open border policy, but in order for immigrants to remain in the country they will have to become citizens first. Citizenship is granted for public service. Four years of military service (compensated at the lowest rates for their rank) or two years of uncompensated part-time infrastructure work (usually hard labor) will earn an immigrant citizenship so long as no criminal infractions are committed during that period of time.



Civil Policies
Plans are on the way within ReligiousLibertarian to open new rehabilitation centers across the nation and educate its citizens of the dangers of drug use. ReligiousLibertarian allows its citizens to protest their government but uses a strong police force to monitor things and arrest lawbreakers. ReligiousLibertarian believes in the freedom of speech and feels that it is every citizens right to speak freely about their government.