Editing Church of Sanctaria (section)

====Spiritual development====
Despite the rise of science and scientific thinking across the Papal States during this period, attendance at Mass and other religious services peaked at all time highs. In nearly all states of the Papal States, it was mandatory to be raised in, and to practice, the Sanctarian Catholic faith. As started in 1444, educational facilities were established across the empire, all ran by either the Church itself or by one of its religious orders or institutes. Third level education, or universities, were primarily for theology or as training centers to join the priesthood. Though some private universities were established, like the [[Sanctus Academy of Science]] in 1742, primarily the Church's focus on educational instruction was to grow the faith of its followers.

In 1698, Patriarch Paul VIII required girls to attend religious education up until the age of 11. In the same year, he repeated the canonical instruction that the Sabbath day - for Sanctarian Catholics, Sunday - was to be "kept holy", i.e. that domestic work was not to be done. This enabled women and girls across the Papal States to attend religious services, whereas previously they often did housework or tended to the farm while the men and male children attended church on Sundays. In 1704, Thomas VI shortly after his election as Patriarch, required families with more than one male child to "entrust [the] youngest son to the Church" in exchange for reduced annual tithes. This, after a generation or so, vastly increased the ranks of priests within the Church of Sanctaria, while alleviating immediately the expenditure of impoverished families. Some critics suggest this form of bribery by the Church only artificially inflated actual devout believers, but Church historians argue that it allowed many peasant adherents of the Church to recognise the inherent beneficiality of the Church, with full belief to naturally develop after.

Religious minorities continued to be persecuted in Sanctaria in this period, also. Those who didn't attend weekly services were often admonished from the pulpit by local parish priests, and on more than one occasion priests and bishops encouraged brutal religious discrimination against immigrants with different belief systems. Devout Catholics were told their souls would be automatically entered into heaven should they be able to convert at least one "heathen" a year to the Church of Sanctaria faith, while, simultaneously, individuals were banished from their families and their communities should they marry someone who didn't attend Church of Sanctaria services, or if they married outside the faith. This shunning of family members was officially encouraged by the Sanctarian Catholic Church right up until 1958.