59th century

The Sixth Doctor preferred to avoid the 59th century, deeming this time to be "a silly place", and "a very strange time". It was at this time that all the major human religions fell, as science had proven capable of reproducing all their miracles, pulling the otherworldly into line with the banal. The Doctor listed resurrection, reincarnation, and walking on water as examples.

With all past wonders now effectively commonplace, and firmly in the realm of science, the Earth government, intent on restoring religious faith, made a decree which redefined religion to include belief in just about anything, including works of fiction, forms of art, historical figures, or hobbies. The Shakespearians, who worshipped William Shakespeare, were among the first to rise in this new order, as well as one of the most successful groups.

Later, worship of Santa Claus rose to greater still notoriety, spreading across the Earth and colonies. In response to growing religious intolerance, as more sects sprung up and vied for territory, the Conclave for Religious Education Enforcement and Deification (or CREED) was established by the Earth government. Its purpose, as the Doctor explained, was to "police religious differences". Their solution to disputes over territory, the CREED Edict for Plurality, which was carried out by the Department for Religious Justice, was to classify religions as "Grade A" or "Grade B", according to relative population size on a given world.

On the colony planet Naxios, the "Earth animal" sect were downgraded to "Grade B", meaning that they were now legally subject to the "beliefs and prejudices" of the superseding faith on Naxios, the Shakespearians, who saw fit to use them as slaves to work the mines. When the Sixth Doctor arrived with Peri and Joe, he made short work of resolving this, producing from the TARDIS new, apparently genuine works of Shakespeare, The Triumph of the Shrew and A Winter's Toad. These held animals in high regard, forcing Cordelia to end the subjugation of the "creatures" on Naxios. (AUDIO: Blood on Santa's Claw)

Sometime in the 59th century, the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones retrieved a stolen time-navigation unit from the Skrawn. (COMIC: The Skrawn Inheritance)

Barbra, a servo-furnishing vending machine who became a companion of Iris Wildthyme, was originally either from this century, (PROSE: Enter Wildthyme) or the 35th century. (PROSE: The Dreadful Flap)