Simple as the title. What would happen to the Aedra? The Daedra? The World? The people? The Godhead even?

The Aedra would be dead, the Daedra probably wouldn't care, the Godhead would wake up saying to itself "What the [censored] was up with that dream?"

Interestingly enough, there is actually an example of an unworshipped et'ada which might answer the question - Mnemoli:


So they'd still be around, but unable to interact with the Aurbis except during dragon breaks... Of course, without Akatosh you wouldn't have linear time anyway...so nothing?

My belief is that "the gods" are holograms, born from the infinite plane(t)s (or stars) and mortal stress. Realistically, I doubt they could simply stop worshipping the gods (for example, Man is the heart of Shor just as Shor is the heart of Man) but if such a thing were to occur, then the Aedra would simply cease to exist. An exception is made for Alduin, even all the shaping of the Dragon that the Empire undertook was not able to fully change his form, and I don't think that it was simply Nord stubbornness.

However, the Redguard example of Arkay (forget his Yoku name), prior to mortal existence, did still exist, and was the god of "nobody really cares". This does lend some weight to the notion that ungods or the shadows of gods can become gods.

The Daedra? Wouldn't care, as mentioned above. However, their very existence might assert the existence of other gods, as their equals and opposites.

The Godhead would still exist, as the godhead is Everything or at least the origin (unsplit form) thereof.

I think the only way to truly answer this question (aside from a "not possible" cop-out) is to consider the gods in mythological (mythopoeic?) terms rather than practical terms.

Edit and somewhat off-topic: I notice that it describes the dragon break as "breaking of the sideways wheel". In essence, it is equating the Dragon with I, the Tower. That's pretty interesting and messed up. Also, while we're on mnemoli, what do we know of the Blue Sun? Always seemed a big mystery to me.

In my understanding it is basicly what Umpteen said.
There isn't really much more to say then that they would still exist but in a "coma" state. They wouldn't be able to interact with us.

Raises an interesting question: "How would that be different than what the Aedra are/do now?" In other words, dead/unconscious/dreaming, fulfilling their role as the Earthbones, but really not ones for conversation or interaction in mortal affairs. Insofar as we have times that they did interfere, like in Shor son of Shor, or in Kyne's various actions to help men (she seems particularly active, for some reason) I agree, mythopoeia plays a big role. However, you can count those times on one hand.

Guess I don't have much to add, they don't really "need" the worshiping but it effects them when they are. going back to the point of "The God of nobody really cares" was such because no one died at the time but what about farther back when it was just the Et'ada. they persisted without worship so I suspect little would be different were all mortals to suddenly stop acknowledging them

I kind of want to pick out a line from the quote:
Firstly, This shows that if worship is not explicitly needed, it "helps" and "regulates" the gods (assuming that Mnemoli is an et'Ada that follows similar rules to the familiar Aedra). Is it possible that mortal exploration and comprehension (commonly "worship") plays a part in stabilizing the Aether as the Time Dragon stabilizes the Mundus? Or perhaps it picks out a single image from the shifting contradictions that are the sum total of all god-forms, and this singularity of purpose and identity is what enables the gods to move.

Secondly, we have that "worship" (or at least the effects of it on the divine) is "always there" during the dawn. That's fascinating, but what does it mean? Accounts of the Dawn that I've read involve mortals trying too hard just to stay in one shape to bother themselves with gods. Is this an explanation of the true nature of the Dawn, or the true nature of worship?