Chauntea

History
Chauntea, also know as the Grain Goddess or the Great Mother was the goddess of life and a parallel deity to Silvanus, who was considered the god of wild nature, whilstChauntea herself was seen as being the embodiment of all things agrarian or agriculture. She was a goddess of agriculture, plants cultivated by humans, farmers, gardeners, and summer.

Some of her worshipers claimed that her divine glimmer gave life to the natural world, and some contended that she was the creator and source of all mortal races. In some sense Chauntea was the manifestation of the earth itself—the Avatar of the twin worlds Abeir-Toril. Her most despised enemy was Talona, the lady of pestilence, since she had a disposition to wreak suffering, disease and decay upon the natural world.

Chauntea was believed to be one of the eldest gods in Faerûn— she was born when Toril was created by the primeval battles between Shar and Selûne. Selûne favored her and nurtured her with her light, with the help of Mystra. Chauntea battled deities who sought to desecrate and expunge nature; she opposed evil deities such as Malar and Bane, and viewed the latter's resurgence as portentous. She was also known to have romantic affiliations with Lathander.

Before her days as the "Great Mother", she was said to have been named Jannath, and in her early days, she frequented places of overgrown nature, wilderness and packs of animals. This role is now much more Silvanus', though in the Moonshae Isles Chauntea is still worshiped as Jannath.

Doctrine
The church outlined a general set of precepts and taboos, though some of these were given to subjective interpretation since the faith was individualistic. Chaunteans saw wanton destruction as antithetical to the cycle of life. They were urged to nourish at least one living thing every day of their lives. They were advised to eschew fire also.

In terms of correct agricultural practice, the church advised that campaigns of replanting, prudent irrigation and crop rotation were necessary to ensure that the land was kept fertile. However, followers of Silvanus regarded these teachings with derision. They postulated that these practices were an abomination to the natural world and that agriculture was not conservation but manipulation, further arguing that their sect encouraged exploitation and overpopulation. This, Silvanites decree, was in contradiction with Nature. As a result, some proselytised to the Silvanite faith, though many "Pastorals" disregarded these criticisms.