there has been evidence found and referenced from the PHB, SCAG and the twitter account of the creator of the setting. 5e Paladins *do* get their power from the gods in the 5e Realms.
I'd be curious if you could share this evidence... in return, here's the evidence from those sources which shows that following a deity is not essential, even in the realms:
Most paladins in the Forgotten Realms, like clerics, are devoted to a particular deity.
'Most', not 'All' - that is to say, this detail is in fact non-essential.
Whether sworn before a god’s altar and the witness of a priest, in a sacred glade before nature spirits and fey beings, or in a moment of desperation and grief with the dead as the only witness, a paladin’s oath is a powerful bond. It is a source of power that turns a devout warrior into a blessed champion.
'A or B' - that is to say, A is in fact non-essential. It is the oath and the conviction that matter, and is characterised as the absolute necessity,
not divine worship.
Although many paladins are devoted to gods of good, a paladin’s power comes as much from a commitment to justice itself as it does from a god.
Again, 'Many'. As much from A as from B - both are valid.
Are you a devoted servant of good, loyal to the gods of justice and honour, a holy knight in shining armour venturing forth to smite evil? Are you a glorious champion of the light, cherishing everything beautiful that stands against the shadow, a knight whose oath descends from traditions older than many of the gods? [etc]
Being dedicated to a deity is presented as only one possibility, with other possibilities arrayed alongside it.
To be clear - Paladins absolutely do get their power from divine sources and are channelling divine power. Deities that favour a paladin's personal actions may sponsor that paladin and serve as an intermediary for them, but the paladin doesn't need to worship or follow that deity, or even really know they exist, as long as their commitment and actions continue to support values and virtues that that deity approves of. Deities do this because the promotion of their values and virtues upholds their folio and increases their influence in more general ways. Other possibilities exist too; some paladins draw their power from divine portfolios directly, without the influence of the deity that controls it, and others draw their divine power from the upper planes directly.
Paladins haven't been absolutely required to follow a deity, in any realmspace, for the last fifteen years of the game in our world - almost longer than any other edition at this stage. It's not retconning out an essential aspect of the setting any more - it's not
been an essential part of the setting for almost a generation. You can always make it a necessary part of the setting in your home games, but understand that you're the one doing the homebrewing when you do.
If you have something that is an official word to say that 'All' paladins in the Forgotten Realms 'Must/Do' follow and worship deities, I'd be interested to see it. (I mean that legitimately, as it would be something to think on and I'd have to work out how I feel about how differing sources interacting, and how much acknowledgement differing sources warrant for myself - it was distinctly not the intention of the design and philosophy of 5e, but a lot of people, designers included, still had the god-following paladin baked into their minds a lot of the time, and it shows.)
