This article is about a non-fiction entity related to the Astronist belief system or the Astronic tradition.
Any article relating to a fictional entity will be clearly marked as being part of the Spacefaring World.
Orthographic projection of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
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Astronism in Afghanistan refers to the presence of the Astronist philosophy and religion in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The operations of the Astronist Institution in this country are under jurisdiction of the Astronist Superiate of Afghanistan, a national subsidiary of the worldwide Astronist Institution.
The Astronist Superiate of Afghanistan is set to oversee the construction and maintenance of observatories and planetariums throughout its jurisdiction. Afghanistan is split into thirty-four provinces and is set to hold one Grand Observatory in the capital city of Kabul.
There are few Astronists in this overwhelmingly Muslim country and freedom of religion for Astronists has been difficult to obtain, particularly due to the continued influence of the remnants of the Taliban regime and other forms of Islamic fundamentalism. As of 2020, the Institution reports 150 Astronists living in Afghanistan, but whose adherence to Astronism is severely persecuted at this time and whose identity must be remain disclosed for their own protection as persecution of minority religions is widespread.
Other terms
Several terms are used to refer to the presence of Astronism in Afghanistan and this includes:
- Astro-Afghan philosophy (روښانتیا)
- Astro-Afghan religion
- Astro-Afghan spirituality
- Afghan Astronism
- Afghan astronomical religion
- Afghan Cosmism
- Afghan astroncy
History of Astronism in Afghanistan
Astronism currently has no official presence in Afghanistan and neither is it recognised by the Afghan government. For this reason, there are no official statistics on the number of Astronists in Afghanistan, but estimates have placed the number at 150 people.
Currently, Astronism exists in Afghanistan only as a digital religion as there are no physical buildings representing the faith. The Omnidoxy, the founding book of Astronism, is yet to be officially translated into Pashto and Dari, the two most widely spoken languages in the country.
The main representative of Astronism is Cometan and it is currently only his presence on search engines and social media platforms as well as the presence of publishers like Astronism.org and their respective websites that act as ways for Afghans to learn about the Astronist religion.
Astronist demographics in Afghanistan
| Year | Number of Astronists | Percentage change (%) |
| 2019 | 100 | N/A |
| 2020 | 150 | 50% |