You might consider the Christian Coalition of Countries :) We're one of the oldest alliances in the game (over 7 years), so we are well-established. We don't go around starting wars, and we have ~90 members. We're always looking for sellers and have a couple TC holes to fill. We also have department positions available immediately (there's a wife range of them), and you can work your way up from there. You'd be given initiate status to catch-up on the game-mechanics at your own discretion (basically go through whatever you think you need :v: ). That'd be all the academy you'd go through. B-)
Here's our forums: --> http://s7.zetaboards.com/CCC_Forum/index/
If you're interested/have questions, let me know :)