FWIW: I never could see the validity of a religion that hated their gods, and institutionalized the "not worshiping" of them. I can see fearing, and maybe even hating them. But if you're a religion, then you should be worshiping them. I mean, you're building these temples and holding services telling people that they should *not* worship the gods? And getting them to donate their money so that you can build even bigger temples so you can not worship them better? Sorry, but that whole concept simply doesn't work for me. The whole purpose of a religion is to worship the god/s or supernatural powers to whom the religion is dedicated.
There was a very specific purpose to the temples and shrines. It was a (so far as I know) more or less unique take on ancestor worship. The Daimons and the Light used human souls up as sources of power for their offensive weapons, and the Manifest Path temples and shrines supposedly housed them as defensive measures. The idea was that they would
literally be sanctuaries against evil forces.
