Do your games always have Christianity as the 1st found religion?

[Kwami]

I wish they didn't assign religions based on modern geographic area. Like Babylon and Islam. There's no real basis and Islam is nothing like the native Mesopotamian religion. Same with Carthage and Islam. I'd rather they had no preference and just randomly choose one.

It'd be even better if they just chose a random symbol and then renamed the religion to match what was prominent when their leaders lived.

 

[Yzman]

Thanks for the xml references. I am not sure how I missed those.

 

[qemist]

Celts and Ethiopia seem to have a thing for it, and they're usually the first civs to get one.

Celts civ is totally wrong. Celts weren't Christian and their civ was not based on the fringes of Britain. Their civ was right through non-mediterranean western europe and predated christianity.

Lately the 1st found religion in my games has always been Zoroastrianism, because that is what I prefer.

 

[HeraldtheGreat]

Someone posted the list before. Many of them are coded to pick christianity first

Yes! All of Europe!
________________________________
Stupid truth always resisting simplicity.
-John Green

 

[God of Kings]

Yes! All of Europe!

...and all of the Americas and Oceania!

 

[theguy8882]

To many Christian civs. I think it would make sense for the Maya, Inca and the Aztecs to pick Zoroastrianism or Hinduism since they are the only two polytheistic religions on the list. also I think Greek mythology should be added for the Romans and Greeks.

EDIT: I thought Zoroastrianism was polytheistic, so I think the mayans, Inca, and Aztecs should pick Hinduism.

 

[Yzman]

To many Christian civs. I think it would make sense for the Maya, Inca and the Aztecs to pick Zoroastrianism or Hinduism since they are the only two polytheistic religions on the list. also I think Greek mythology should be added for the Romans and Greeks.

I believe those would fall under the "pantheons".

 

[Kwami]

Celts civ is totally wrong. Celts weren't Christian and their civ was not based on the fringes of Britain. Their civ was right through non-mediterranean western europe and predated christianity.

Again, the rule is that the AI is coded to select the religion appropriate for it's leader's time period or, if such a religion is not available, then the predominant religion in the area today. Thus, Christianity for The Celts.

If you don't like it, then by all means create a mod with new religions (or use one of the existing ones) and/or modify the XML directly.

 

[Tomatekh]

I believe those would fall under the "pantheons".

Well, Hinduism falls under a "pantheon" but it gets the full religion treatment, so your dismissal isn't really valid. However, pantheon was a really poor choice as a term for early religion in the game anyway. Calling the early religion something along the lines of "cult" or "folk tradition" would have been much more accurate as an early per-cursor to an organized religion.

 

[Kwami]

Well, Hinduism falls under a "pantheon" but it gets the full religion treatment, so your dismissal isn't really valid. However, pantheon was a really poor choice as a term for early religion in the game anyway. Calling the early religion something along the lines of "cult" would have been much more accurate.

All religions are cults.

Anyway, calling polytheistic religions "pantheons" and monotheistic religions "religions" isn't useful and it doesn't apply in Civ V or in the real world.

 

[God of Kings]

Shintoism is also a polytheistic religion.

However, there should be a Native American religion as a choice.

 

[Tomatekh]

All religions are cults.

Anyway, calling polytheistic religions "pantheons" and monotheistic religions "religions" isn't useful and it doesn't apply in Civ V or in the real world.

Well, I meant cult in its original meaning not its current pop social bizarre religious movement meaning.

Also, I agree it isn't useful but even the choice of the word pantheon by the designers for early religion is loaded to imply polytheistic religion as somehow more primitive than monotheistic religion.

 

[Yzman]

I agree that pantheon was probably an odd choice for them to use. It seems they should have perhaps used mythology or something along those lines.

Either way, I think it is intended that the early native american civ's religion are covered under pantheons in the game.

I just recently did a giant world map with real starting locations and this is actually just what happened. Religions were massively founded in the eastern world but my side of the world only had pantheons. In the end nearly every pantheon belief was used and all religions were founded overseas. It seemed quite historical to me. All the American Civs just had pantheon beliefs relating to nature, not a well defined religion ( in my game).

 

[qemist]

Again, the rule is that the AI is coded to select the religion appropriate for it's leader's time period or, if such a religion is not available, then the predominant religion in the area today. Thus, Christianity for The Celts.

Celts were polytheistic. Many of them worshiped The Three Mothers or Lugus, a (triploid) god associated with storms, lightning, and culture.

 

[Kwami]

Celts were polytheistic. Many of them worshiped The Three Mothers or Lugus, a (triploid) god associated with storms, lightning, and culture.

And since that religion isn't available in Civ V, they choose Christianity, as that's currently the most popular religion in the lands that The Celts occupied.

Every civilization in the game follows this rule. I've written this multiple times, now.

 

[j51]

If a civ's preferred religion has already been founded, then they choose a random religion to found.

In my experience if a civ's preferred religion is already founded they pick the first available religion alphabetically on the list. That's why Buddhism is so often in the games, even though only Siam prefers it.

 

[PhilBowles]

Yes, I can confirm that this is what I've seen, so it seems to work. It also makes sense...

Nebuchadnezzar seems to favour Zoroastrianism in my games, which makes more sense than Islam. He's Babylonian, not Iraqi.

 

[Louis XXIV]

Babylonians were never Zorastrian. They worshiped Marduk, Ishtar, etc.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

To many Christian civs. I think it would make sense for the Maya, Inca and the Aztecs to pick Zoroastrianism or Hinduism since they are the only two polytheistic religions on the list. also I think Greek mythology should be added for the Romans and Greeks.

EDIT: I thought Zoroastrianism was polytheistic, so I think the mayans, Inca, and Aztecs should pick Hinduism.

Zoroastrianism is not polytheistic. It was one of the first monotheistic religions (though IIRC it did retain some earlier polytheistic elements, just not the gods) and it had a major impact on Judaism and through that on Christianity and Islam.

Nebuchadnezzar seems to favour Zoroastrianism in my games, which makes more sense than Islam. He's Babylonian, not Iraqi.

Agreed.

Babylonians were never Zorastrian. They worshiped Marduk, Ishtar, etc.

True, but it still makes more since for them to be Zoroastrian (they were next door to the Persians, after all) than Islamic.

 

[Kwami]

True, but it still makes more since for them to be Zoroastrian (they were next door to the Persians, after all) than Islamic.

No, because that would violate the rule. If the religion practiced in the land at the time that its leader lived is not available (and it isn't), then the civilization instead prefers the religion that is most prominent in those lands currently (Islam).