The Fredösphere

Devoted readers of this space (hi, Mom!) will recall my admiration for The Mote In God's Eye, a sci-fi novel by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, which attempts to imagine a benign role for Christianity in a future galactic empire.  This, in opposition to most futurist visions, wherein religion has become extinct or turned kooky.  Niven and Pournelle's future church has bishops, but apparently no pope, and minority religions are tolerated -- all so close to my ideal, it almost disturbs me -- and everyone is mildly religious, except for your few cultists on the one hand, and your tradition-minded Russian spaceship commander with an icon on his dresser on the other hand.

Well, I thought this was all speculative fiction, but I guess Niven and Pournelle were laying out a serious plan for the future.  It turns out phase one of the plan has now been implemented.  (Hat tip John Derbyshire.)