Editing Inquisition (section)

==Philosophies==
The Inquisition is a big and complicated place, and many have different philosophies on how to protect the Imperium and stop [[Chaos]]. While there are dozens of doctrinal and philosophical disputes, the two important branches are either Puritans or Radicals. Both are fucked up assholes.

===Puritans===
Puritans, simply put, are those who refuse to employ the measures of the enemy, such as xenotech or the Warp. They believe that associating anything with the enemy will inevitably bring corruptible influences that will only lead to damnation for all of humanity in the end, which isn't so far-fetched given the circumstances humanity faced throughout the millennia, although it has the inevitable drawback that the more zealous Puritans will eventually start to see ''everything'' as alien and Chaotic influences, which only leads to even more problems down the line. Hardcore puritans even consider Inquisitors who act covertly or with any degree of subtlety as being radicals, preferring to solve their problems as brazenly and fear-inducingly as possible. Most Inquisitors start out as Puritans or on the spectrum of Puritanism, but it's fairly common for some to fall into Radicalism eventually (which can be classed as lesser heresy in some forms and EXTRA HERESY in its most extreme aspects). Puritanism can fall among three major philosophies:

*{{anchor|Amalathianism}}'''Amalathianism''': The most conservative form of Puritanism in the Inquisition and the most common of the Inquisition's factions in general, Amalathians (named after Mount Amalath, where its tenets were first set down at an Inquisitorial conclave) believe that the Emperor has some sort of divine plan for the Imperium, and the Inquisition's purpose is to protect the Imperium as that plan becomes visible. Change is considered the greatest enemy (which may have [[Tzeentch|some sense to it]]…yet also [[Nurgle|be counter-productive]]), with the exception that they seek to overcome the factionalism so common within the [[Adeptus Terra]]. The irony that the Amalathians are themselves technically a faction is not lost on them. You'd think that a group which holds the Imperium at present is perfect would be off its rocker, but they're actually a fairly reasonable group who prefer to [[/tg/ gets shit done|get shit done]] rather than bicker and bitch over territorial disputes. [[Gregor Eisenhorn]] was once a staunch Amalathian, but he eventually fell into Radicalism in his later years.
*{{anchor|Monodominant}}'''Monodominant''': The most extreme form of Puritianism in the Inquisition, Monodominants are basically [[Humanity Fuck Yeah]] taken to its illogical extreme. They believe that humanity, and ''only'' humanity, should be allowed to continue to exist. Given that the average inhabitants of the galaxy are [[Eldar|space pansies who would abandon you in a heartbeat]], [[Dark Eldar|space pansies who would torture and rape you in a heartbeat]], [[Ork|green hooligans who would fight and kill you in a heartbeat]], [[Tyranid|giant spacebugs who would eat you in a heartbeat]], [[Necron|undead robots who would atomize you in a clock tick]] and [[Chaos|things much worse]], this is [[Grimdark|an understandable worldview]]. Unfortunately, the Monodominants take things a few steps further, wanting to eliminate all [[mutant]]s, including the [[Psyker]]s, [[Astropath]]s, [[Navigator]]s, and occasionally the Astartes; this is usually the point where they anger someone powerful enough to bring their career to a conclusion. But a rare few Monodominants manage to climb even higher, closing the circle between Puritanism and Radicalism and truly earning the heretic and traitor label... and it usually involves exterminatus weaponry. Because it's all fun and games until the High Lords [https://1d4chan.org/images/1/13/Briefing.jpg don't get their cheese tithe] for afternoon tea.
*{{anchor|Thorianism}}'''Thorianism''': The most radical form of Puritanism. While the resurrectionist concepts that make up the philosophy had their beginnings with Promeus (one of the founders of the Inquisition), it remained rather obscure as a faction until after the rise of [[Sebastian Thor]], the hero of the [[Age of Apostasy]]. They believe that Thor held part of the power of the Emperor within him, and thus believe that it is possible to reincarnate the Emperor of Mankind into a new body, allowing him to rebuild the Imperium and launch a new [[Great Crusade]]. As a result, Thorians closely study the nature of the human consciousness and the Warp, while also keeping a close eye on individuals that show enough power to be potential hosts for the Emperor's soul (such as Living Saints). They are extremely close to the [[Ecclesiarchy]].
**{{anchor|Anomolian Beholders}}'''Anomolian Beholders''': A conservative branch of Thorianism which takes a more passive approach to the resurrectionist ideology; they are more content with observing humanity for signs of the God-Emperor's return than actively trying to bring him back.
**{{anchor|Ardentites}}'''Ardentites''': A variation of Thorian belief that claims the power of the Emperor was dispersed throughout humanity as a whole rather than being concentrated in any one individual. Derisively referred to as "miracle chasers" by the rest of the Inquisition for their many failed attempts at proving their beliefs, but they tend to be good investigators precisely because of this.

===Radicals===
Radicals are those Inquisitors who believe in fighting fire with fire--specifically, using the weapons of the enemy against the enemy. According to [[Gideon Ravenor]], Radicalism is an inevitable product of an Inquisitor's ideology being tested, as the more one learns about the nature of the enemy, the more they realize that the enemy has a lot better toys than the Imperium. However, given that most Inquisitors will face Chaos at some point, and given the inherently corrupting nature of the Warp, Radicalism may lead to one hoping to fight the Archenemy with its own tools before being brought into the service of the Chaos Gods instead; consequently, an accusation of Radicalism is only slightly less serious than an accusation of outright heresy. Radicalism can fall into a lot more branches than Puritanism, and the following is merely a list of the most common forms it can take:

*'''Radical Thorians''':
**{{anchor|Casophilians}}'''Casophilians''': Another branch of Thorianism interested in learning how to summon a deceased soul back to the Materium in the hope that doing so could be the first step to resurrecting the Emperor. (In practice, this would probably resemble a form of "reverse daemon summoning".) Relatively conservative by Radical standards, they are one of the few factions that can be considered open to new ideas and are known to work especially well with the Anomolian Beholders. The Heresy novels reveal that summoning deceased souls back from the warp is possible but is seriously bad Chaos juju and risks creating fate warping immortals who REALLY don't want to be alive again after what they've been through.
**{{anchor|Horusians}}'''Horusians''': One of the most dangerous forms of radicalism and a splinter of the Thorian philosophy, Horusians (named after [[Horus|Horus Lupercal]] and founded by Moriana, once one of the first Inquisitors and now an infamous Chaos witch, as in "personal diviner of the Despoiler and only non Astartes or Cyborg in the Black Legion Command") believe that the power the Chaos Gods imbued Horus with to fight the Emperor can be used to create a new body for the Emperor. Mostly consists of older Inquisitors who have become angry with the other resurrection theories failing to get shit done. Notably gave their name to a factional struggle within the Inquisition itself, almost back from it's founding days. Inquisitorial archivists note that the goals and methods of each Horusian group seems to differ, suggesting that it's a loose set of ideas with similar aims, rather than a formalised faction.
**{{anchor|Revivificationism}}'''Revivificationism''': Another radical form of Thorianism, Revivificators believe in studying the effects of death and dying so that they can reverse the process and revive the Emperor of Mankind. Revivificators have a deep interest in studying the Eldar as a result, and have less ties to the Ecclesiarchy. Also occasionally try to summon angels (daemons) of the Emperor, with predictable results.
***There are a number of strange phenomenon occurring among the faithful in the Psychic Awakening. While it's a bit early to say for certain that these fellows were right the entire time, it is a good time to be a Revivicationist.
*{{anchor|Istvaanism}}'''Istvaanism''': One of the most violent forms of Radicalism, Istvaanians (named for the virus-bombing of Istvaan III, which began the Horus Heresy) believe that conflict is desirable, and mankind only [[Ork|grows in a state of violence]] (while it is said that "necessity is the mother of invention", the culture in 40k minimizes advancements of any kind, and the Imperium's [[Great Rift|struggling to hold on as-is]]). In practice, this leads to various conflicts that would otherwise remain minor suddenly becoming unmanageable because an Istvaanite was covertly funnelling resources to one or both sides, setting people up or committing false flag attacks to escalate tensions. Possibly the only group in the galaxy who views the Imperium's biggest problem as too ''few'' wars. Still manage to be less hated than the Xanthians.
** TL;DR: They think that constantly punching yourself in the face and testicles is a good way to become stronger. Like many things in 40k, this is [[Skub|debatable]] and depends heavily on the context.
*{{anchor|Libricars}}'''Libricars''': An extreme version of Amalthianism that insists that even the smallest deviations from the status quo warrants purging. Unlike the Amalthians, they will do absolutely ''anything'' to ensure the status quo. Needless to say, the Recongregators hate them, and the Amalthians consider them to be a perversion of everything they stand for. They may actually be the second most dangerous radical faction of the Inquisition, due to the fact that they indirectly show their support to [[Nurgle]] through their actions causing stagnation. Not only that, but if the Emperor wanted the status quo to remain, then the very change they fight against wouldn't be happening, right? So they may be a bunch of [[Heresy|heretics]] too far up their own asses to realise it.
*{{anchor|Oblationists}}'''Oblationists''': Bizarro Monodominants that insist that the truly righteous (i.e. themselves) must allow themselves to be damned through the use of the Warp, the xenos, and the unclean to keep humanity safe, like the Xanthites below. At the same time they believe that anyone else using these things will be hopelessly damned and ought to be purged. The sheer hypocrisy of this is lost on them and their extreme intolerance of other Radicals makes them easily the nuttiest bunch that aren't out and out traitors, only beaten out in evil by one other group.
**Not necessarily as stupid as they first sound. The philosophy is similar to the odd sect of Christians that Rasputin belonged to. The idea is that you need to sin and be forgiven to truly understand faith. Human nature is inherently corrupt (and intended by the Emprah) so the only question is what you do as a corrupt being. "Oblation" means "sacrifice" by the way, so this seems to fit. They'd be people who believe that all that cool loot is a necessary burden, not sweet toys. They think only they can be trusted with it because they are the only ones who understand it's both utterly necessary and utterly evil without lying to themselves (or at least so they'd claim).
*{{anchor|Ocularians}}'''Ocularians''': A minor faction obsessed with learning how to predict and divine the future, no matter the cost of doing so. Paranoid even by Inquisition standards, partly because they think [[Blood Ravens|knowledge is power and should be guarded well]], partly because hardcore Puritans like putting their Heresy-stomping boots up the Ocularians' rear every time they cough. They make heavy use of Psykers and the Emperor's Tarot along with Adeptus Mechanicus tech, which has resulted in a few members going full Sorcerer and falling to Chaos.
**{{anchor|Antiquarti}}'''Antiquarti''': A subgroup of Ocularians that seek to predict the future by discovering patterns within events in the past. That wouldn't be hard if anyone allowed them to see the few books on the past, since no one teaches history in the grimdark future, or if the Ordo Redactus weren't going full [[1984]] every time someone coughs at them.
*{{anchor|Plutonians}}'''Plutonians''': A faction of the Ordo Malleus that made their debut in White Dwarf 462; the core of their philosophy is that HEALTHY EXORCISM is an Imperial part of a complete soldier's training. After the Chapter Master of the [[Exorcists]] (who were retconned into being just an Imperial Fists successor Chapter at first, not daemonhunters) was possessed by a daemon, they guided him through the exorcism process. After he seemed to be almost as resistant to Chaos as a Grey Knight without massive amounts of psychoindoctirination that makes you into a [[Khornate Knights|serial killer]], the Plutonians transformed the Exorcists into an entire (mostly) [[Codex Astartes|Codex-Compliant Chapter]] of [[Reasonable Marines|Warp-camouflaged]] [[Awesome|daemonhunters]].
** Their ideas seem to have been successful; after all, the Exorcists have managed to be a Chapter of Astartes daemonhunters without [[Grey Knights|going]] [[Khornate Knights|batshit]] [[Kaldor Draigo|insane]]. A logical next-step would likely be to create a rainbow of Successor Chapters like the Exorcists to ward the Great Rift. But then again... when did the Inquisition and logic go together? (It should be noted that this process has a very high attrition rate, though, the Exorcists need to keep three scout companies instead of one, and gene-seed is a very scarce and precious resource.)
*{{anchor|Polypsykana}}'''Polypsykana''': A group that believes humanity is evolving into a fully psychic race (which appears to be true) and that it is a good idea for them to do everything they can to accelerate this process (which is clearly arguable). They do this by trying to protect nascent psykers from their Puritan and radical colleagues alike, though they have also been known to harbour witches and other rogue psykers as well.
** With the Psychic Awakening, it is probably a pretty good time to be a Polypsykana. You can talk down to your fellow Inquisitors about how you were trying to prevent a scenario like this from happening, that the organic transition into a psychic humanity ''that you'' advocated for was clearly better than the scenario which nature eventually threw at the galaxy. Whether or not that gets you a bolt in the face is anyone's guess, since in this hypothetical situation you're an Inquisitor.
*{{anchor|Recongregationism}}'''Recongregationism''': Radicals who believe that the Imperium has become stagnant and corrupt, and needs to be rebuilt lest it collapses further. Unfortunately for them, they aren't entirely sure about how to do this, or how it should be rebuilt after tearing down the old order. Some of the more extreme Recongregators end up like Lilean Chase, an Inquisitor who fell to Chaos and founded the Cognitae (or at least its ''40K'' incarnation). These Inquisitors may be the closest thing to a token heroic faction of the imperium of man next to the [[salamanders]] [[ultramarines]] [[lamenters]] and [[space wolfs]] (to a certain and limited extent of course), considering that they're Inquisitors giving a crap about ordinary people. Some of them apparently have some [[Communism|''interesting'' ideas about the way to fix the Imperium]], as shown in a small story one of them used a cadre of Xenos Hunters composed of Space Marines from chapters that Puritans aren't too fond of ([[Black Dragons]], [[Flame Falcons]], etc) to simultaneously stop a [[Necron]] incursion and topple an oppressive planetary government with the hope something better will go out of the consecutive population uprising.
*{{anchor|Seculos Attendous}}'''Seculos Attendous''': Reddit atheists. A minor faction that views the [[Ecclesiarchy]] as an obstacle to mankind's progress and seeks to weaken it wherever they can. A shame that they can't agree on what to replace it with on the absurdly tiny chance they succeed.
*{{anchor|Xanthism}}'''Xanthism''': The most overt and well-known form of Radicalism, Xanthians (named after Lord Inquisitor Zaranchek Xanthus, executed for heresy in M32) hold that only by controlling the power of Chaos can Chaos be defeated (which is like thinking that the solution to being stabbed in the gut is to push the blade until it comes out through your back). They believe that Chaotic artefacts such as possessed swords and Daemonhosts are viable weapons against the Archenemy which should be used whenever possible. Most of the time, this ends up spectacularly backfiring when their tools rebel at the worst possible time - or worse, corrupt the Xanthite using them into the service of Chaos. The Ruinous Powers hate each other, but they aren't always complete idiots about it, and when you play with fire, you only have to drop it once to set the whole house ablaze. Eisenhorn eventually followed Xanthism after being forced to use Cherubael to save the lives of his retinue.
**{{anchor|Phaenonism}}'''Phaenonism''': The only group worse than the aforementioned Oblationists, in so much that the Oblationists are at least loyal to mankind. To put in perspective just how batshit insane these assholes are, [[Lulz|the Xanthites consider them to be utterly off their rockers]]. They dabbled in tech-heresy along with the usual Xanthite fare, resulting in them openly denying the Emperor was a god and starting to create [[Daemon Engines|Warp-powered machines]] to try and rebuild the Imperium as they felt it should be. Suffice to say, [[Exterminatus|the Inquisition was not amused.]] While they were officially given the boot and are presumed to be wiped out by the rest of the Inquisition, a handful of Phaenonites are still active in their ranks and trying to quietly rebuild their power base.
*{{anchor|Xeno Hybris}}'''Xeno Hybris''': A small group that sees strict anti-alien policies as being counter-productive to the Imperium of Man. They feel that sometimes Xenos can be useful or be learned from, especially when working against chaos. Many Inquisitors of the Ordo Malleus in particular will do this to deal with the forces of Chaos every now and again, but the Xeno Hybris makes seeking said cooperation their hat. At the very least, these guys are not tempting fate to the same extent by as other Radicals since their toys are much less likely to eat their souls. [[Yvraine#A_Desperate_Alliance| Given recent events with the Eldar]], and [[Damocles Crusade|the gentlemen's agreement with the Tau]], this faction is likely gaining power and influence at the moment, in spite of some high profile [[Octarius War|fails]].