Board Thread:Warhammer 40k General Discussion/@comment-6134883-20130505165611/@comment-6078851-20130520025300

no they didn't.

the 'machine god' religion of mars, along with their ancient technology, was what sustained mars all through the age of strife and when emps began to reunite the shattered colonies his first stop was mars, where he found that they ruled their world through their religion.

the only religious belief that emps allowed to continue was the religion of mars because without their technology the great crusade would never have happened. in point of fact mars was never truly part of the emperor's imperium but actually a partner whom he allowed to think that he was the flesh and blood avatar of their machine god.

they never did, and still don't, follow the imperial truth but instead follow a kind of amalgamation, the 'the imperial machine god truth' so to speak.