The Stone

The dwarves believe that they are the Children of the Stone, born of the earth itself. They refer to the Stone as “she.” The Stone is believed to be a living and a shifting entity with a will that surrounds and guides the dwarves. She supports them, shelters them and offers them the most priceless gifts of the earth. But she is not pure, for she bears a corruption as old as balance. For the dwarves to prosper, the gangue - the waste and unstable rock - must be cut away from the raw Stone, as must the dwarves carve the worst of themselves away.

The spirits of the worthy who were not blind to the Stone’s influence and lived by her are believed to return to and to rest in the Stone after the words of the last ritual are said. In death they become the Ancestors and make the Stone stronger. They are deemed to speak to future generations with the voice of the Provings. The most worthy, the Paragons who are the greatest examples of lives spent in service to fellow dwarves, are believed to join with the Stone in life and to become the living Ancestors.

The Shapers who maintain written records in lyrium are said to document the Stone. Dwarves from the Mining Caste who are able to find lyrium veins by ear claim that they hear the Stone sing. Before the darkspawn, the Stone held an empire - dozens of thaigs, and according to the dwarves Dumat was sleeping deep in the Stone itself. The dwarves who fight the darkspawn, including the Legion of the Dead, are believed to fight for her and to protect her from the darkness.

The unworthy are said to be rejected by the Stone so that their failings may not weaken her. These include surface dwarves who lose their connection to the Stone and the favor of the Ancestors. Dwarves believe that they are unable to rest, and after their death they become rock wraiths.

Trivia

 * The dwarven notion of the Stone doesn't contradict the idea that a creator might have created the Stone itself. Dwarves just don't believe that.
 * Tug's axe in Leliana's Song has "The Stone lives beneath Orlais" engraved on it. The same phrase is repeated by the Nexus Golem in Dragon Age 2.