Unionism is the dominant religion in Oz, first seen in Wicked. It is the worship of the Unnamed God, a deity who had supplanted Lurline as the primary object of worship of the Ozian people.
History[]
Frexspar the Godly, a Unionist minister
Unionism was devoutly practiced by Frexspar Thropp, who was a minister for this religion. It was later passed on to his daughter, Nessarose Thropp, the Wicked Witch of the East. During her reign in Munchkinland, despite her religious convictions, Nessarose allows certain ancient practices to take place – including ritualistic sacrifices, rumored to even include those of animals and humans. Nessarose would also use her magical abilities to perform "miracles", claiming her abilities to be gifts from the Unnamed God.
During his time as Throne Minister, Unionist Shell Thropp, claiming to have experienced "the Awakening", where he heard the voice of the Unnamed God telling him to lead, crowns himself the "Emperor Apostle of Oz"; having done this through a force of formidable piety and a sacred election. In his political campaigns, Shell refers himself as an extremely righteous and pious man, but his military tactics are merciless, going as far as using dragons to terrorize the citizens of Oz into submission to his authority. He later declares himself Divine - the Unnamed God in the flesh, as he was born out of an unholy, deformed family whole and perfect, and resorts to calling himself in the third person, "His Sacredness".
Unionism is the most common faith in Oz. The priests of this religion are not supposed to indulge themselves with worldly possessions, foods, or intimate relations. Unionists frown on those who do not share their conservative nature and fight strongly against those who believe in the more magical religions of Lurlinism and Pleasure Faith.
The mother church for Unionism (The Chapel of Saint Glinda) is located in the Emerald City, and throughout all four provinces there are numerous smaller cloisters, including the Cloister of Saint Glinda, a mauntery (nunnery) located in the Shale Shallows, on the border of the Emerald City, Gillikin and Munchkinland headed by the Superior Maunt and the working place of cloistered maunts' Mother Yackle and sisters' Cook, Apothecaire, and Doctor among many others.
Notes[]
- According to author Gregory Maguire, Unionism is
"that more established faith found more in cities. It has a kind of allegiance with Christianity in that it has churches, basilicas and bishops, but there is no savior. The God is unnamed, influential and mysterious. In this way, it takes some tropes from faith traditions that favor a more amorphous spirit head. That is both a kind of Protestant attitude — the crashing of statues and smashing of windows, etc. — but it also has a bit in common with Islam, which disallows the depiction of Allah, except through the writing of Allah’s name. So Unionism is an odd amalgam of that instinct in certain religions to try to keep the image of God open and therefore more accessible. Interestingly enough, of course, it is also less accessible if you can’t hang an image on it."[1]
- When asked if Elphaba might have her worldview been shaped by her early exposure to Unionism, Maguire stated that
I go into this with a little more depth in my novel coming out [in March 2026], Elphie. I go back to those years in Elphaba’s life that run between the age of about 2 and about 16. In this book, Elphaba is seen being courted by her father to round up possible communicants in his missionary work, to be the lure. And one of the ways she does that is by singing. Her ability to sing was a crucial part of my humanizing her. A person with a voice has beauty, and her father exploited it. She allowed herself to be exploited because she wanted his love. But religion, if it doesn’t make her into a deeply moral person, at least brings her into contact with people who are not like her, and that is what community is for. It’s to make us empathize with people who are not us.[2]
See also[]
- Lurlinism, the worship of Lurline.