"Free Religion" as an option doesn't come anywhere close to simulating the effects of the great dictators in history on religion. Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler, Mao all eliminated religion, but either placed, or found themselves as the new focus of the people's worship. Certain other regimes have dabbled (http://www.prisonplanet.com/images/november2004/221104bilboard.jpg)in it as well...

Therefore, I give you: Cult of Personality. It could be founded by Communism or Fascism or Assembly Plant or Industrialism or Electricity. The effects:

+5% hammer production in all cities
No happiness bonus from religious structures

If your people are happy, hey, this is great! more production! But if they get unhappy, you'll be ruined in a hurry.

Hitler never eliminated Religion.. in fact, he used Christianity as a tool to gain peoples trust.

Wasn't your point though.. I really like the idea.

I think the bonus would have to be a bit more than 5% to make it worth it. Something like 10 or 15.

Hitler never eliminated Religion.. in fact, he used Christianity as a tool to gain peoples trust.

Wasn't your point though.. I really like the idea.

Hitler's relationship with religion was more complex than the Communist elimination of it, you're right. However, he did attempt to supplant it and place Nazism, himself, and his racialist philosophy in the same intellectual/emotional place as religion.

Gunner, it would obviously need to be playtested, but 10% seems like it could be too much. With a heavy-duty economy like Germany or the Soviet Union, I think 5% could be a huge boost, but I could be wrong.

Cult of Personality == Charismatic Rule == Despotism.

And yeah, Hitler used a LOT of strong Christian rhetoric to sway the people. The racism leveraged religion too -- much like the KKK.

I disagree, both historically, in that the Cult of Personality is far more totalitarian than a mere despot, and in terms of gameplay - there is no reason for the player to choose despotism.

On civics I'm inclined to feel "the more, the merrier", but then again, I don't have to mod them into the game so I would say that.

I actually personally think that Free Religion should be left in.

I disagree, both historically, in that the Cult of Personality is far more totalitarian than a mere despot.

You mean like the Police State civic?

Like combination of Police State, State Property and religious aspect - something like this was both in nazism and Soviet communism.

I don't mean this should be a replacement for Free Religion. It should be an addition to the column.

I just see it as redundant, is my point.

Moreover, it is not a religious idea, nor is it mutually exclusive with free religion, pacifism, organized religion, or theocracy.

Actually, it is - read a social history of a totalitarian state and you will understand how it subverts religious thinking in order to achieve its goals. Like this book (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/080909326X/sr=8-1/qid=1154572067/ref=sr_1_1/104-9065832-7301508?ie=UTF8)

Paganism is a useless option. Organized Religion? Nope. Theocracy? No, this is not rule by religion. Pacifism, not a bloody chance. Free religion? Again, no - this is a rejection of normal religion combined with the placing of the Leader as Messiah - not as avatar, not as rule, but actually worshipping the leader.

Moreover, it adds a legitimate choice to gameplay. It is useful, but dangerous, and none like it exists.

Here's a question is the actually a way to get rid of a religion in a city? also is the a way to get rid of ethic minoraties? I would love to see ethnic cleansing intergrated somehow.

You have to be careful about people who talk about a 'secular religion'. The idea that Hitler had created a political religion isn't a new idea ... but often, it's a strategy that religious people have used to distance Nazism from religion (especially Christianity)... as if to argue that Hitler wasn't a Christian, but was organizing a society around which he was God. Why they're so afraid of Hitler as a Christian kind of baffles me -- of course there are those who use religion for good and those who use religion for bad.

I don't know much about the author of the particular book, so I don't mean to use an ad hominem attack. Just that there's a lot of people bitter about the regression of religion in the political sphere, and have tried to use Hitler and Stalin as a foil to argue for a stronger religious sphere.

Trust me when I say that this is 1: not a religious civic, and 2: redundant with a police state (and an implicit part of a police state). Pretty much every police state in history has done so not just by curtailing freedoms, but by instilling a sense of an infallible leader who you cannot criticize without being an enemy of the state.