7 Religions?

[dc82]

ic what u're saying. heh, i guess it's a bit tricky implementing different religions, but at the same time, defining the religions is no different than defining leaders, civs, wonders, etc. - i remember used to reimagine the colossus as the statue of liberty, or the great library as the new york public library. heh.

well either way, it's a good thing that the creators of civ4 r really mindfully making this game mod-able so that we can adjust to each to our own preferences.

 

[Crazy Eskimo]

I hear what you're saying dc82. Maybe multiple versions of each generic category if the proper conditions were met (again, outside the player's direct control, though they could try to influence it), named for the culture that spawned them (say Meso-American monotheism versus Mediterranean monotheism or African Sciencism versus European Sciencism, etc.). That way, it's not as though all monotheistic religion is the same, but you still stay away from the sticky situation of using actual religions.

That could help with dealing with schisms, sects, etc.

 

[Crazy Eskimo]

I agree - that is exactly why giving specific names to the religious beliefs in the game is wrong too IMHO. If two warring countries are both Monotheistic - use your imagination to assign a particular name depending on the Civ - say both England and Spain are fighting - both are Monotheistic - England could be Protestant or Catholic and Spain Catholic or Islamic depending on the era. To me, in a way, the designers are taking away one of the biggest things the game has going for it by defining particular religions - the ability to exercise one's imagination freely - instead making us channel it into canned channels. Truly great games allow the players imagination to be the biggest most important feature...

But that is just my opinion...

I like the way you think.

 

[Colonel]

Is it for sure that Confusicianism is a reilgon in the game, if so that ridiclous, its not a reilgous belif but a way of life and way of thinking.

 

[Novaya Havoc]

Ewww... Confucianism and Taoism... :thumbdown

Zoroastrianism, baby.

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

I too, would have loved a system where a nation could 'Found' a Generic faith based on its TYPE and its Culture Group. So, for instance, France might Found A Western European Polytheism, wheras Spain might Found a Mediterranean Non-Deist religion. That said, though, the player SHOULD then be given the option to name such a religion.
I, for one though, will be interested to see how moddable the existing religion system is!

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

 

[stormbind]

I agree - that is exactly why giving specific names to the religious beliefs in the game is wrong too IMHO. If two warring countries are both Monotheistic - use your imagination to assign a particular name depending on the Civ - say both England and Spain are fighting - both are Monotheistic - England could be Protestant or Catholic and Spain Catholic or Islamic depending on the era. To me, in a way, the designers are taking away one of the biggest things the game has going for it by defining particular religions - the ability to exercise one's imagination freely - instead making us channel it into canned channels. Truly great games allow the players imagination to be the biggest most important feature...

But that is just my opinion...

You are absolutely right. Providing your own "discovery" is what creates a sense of "ownership" which results in "loyalty". It's the fundamentals of marketing.

I am sure Firaxis realise this though, and have included lots of areas where imagination can run wild.

 

[stormbind]

Seven people in every thousand in England and Wales gave their religion as 'Jedi' in the 2001 Census.

The Census form's question on religion - the only question where a response was not compulsory - offered a series of tick-boxes for the major religions in the UK (Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh); a tick-box for 'none'; and a free space to write in 'any other religion'. This was the first time a religion question was included in a Census.

In the next UK census, apparently, Jedi will have it's own checkbox!

So you see, it cannot be really be ignored. If Civ4 doesn't have it, it will be modded in to replace an obscure religion nobody practices

In current news, and I am not joking, two people were found in England with light sabre injuries. Seems the Sith are growing in numbers too...

Source

 

[Leo Tang]

actually i would rather like that if u found a religion, u could name it. Some tech may give u the ability to found a religion, and who researched it first get to name it and found it. the symbol can just be ambigious--just showing that it show this particular religion (whatever it is). Then it would be like systems like naming cities or civs--u make it, u name it.

 

[Dearmad]

I'll be adding in Paganism and Atheism (Or secularism, whatever).

 

[EmperorNikolaos]

I think that it would be more realistic, if christianism was divided to three different religions: Catholics, protestants and Orthodox. Not that these 3 are truly different religions, not at all, but those different dogmas and the wars they spawned played a great role in history. Another thing is that in modern age there should be a religion called atheism.

 

[Arvedui]

u had hinduism vs. buddhism (both of which are polytheistic).

Buddhism is not polytheistic. True, it may be argueable whether it is monotheistic at all, but it is not polytheistic.

 

[Leonel]

Well I figure that there'll be a Map Editor included into Civ 4 so one could add as many religions as they insanely want!

 

[Tomoyo]

u had hinduism vs. buddhism (both of which are polytheistic)

Hinduism is poytheistic the same way Christianity is.

 

[Novaya Havoc]

Christianity is not polytheistic. The Catholic/Orthodox rites carry polytheist ideas with their veneration of Saints, but most practicioners are a far cry from being anywhere near polytheists, as most do not venerate Saints as they do God or Christ.

Mary is another discussion.

 

[Dearmad]

What about the whole hierarchyt of angels and demons and the devil? Seems polytheistic to me.

 

[Zenon_pt]

The List:
Christianity, Judaism, Daoism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam.

Question what is Daoism???????????

The others 6 I know, but Daoism, I cann't understand... (lost in translancion)...

Judaism?!? And there aren't none Israel/Hebreaw/Juds civ on the game (yet)???

 

[Che Guava]

...Christianity is not polytheistic. The Catholic/Orthodox rites carry polytheist ideas with their veneration of Saints, but most practicioners are a far cry from being anywhere near polytheists, as most do not venerate Saints as they do God or Christ....

I think what Tomoyo was getting at is that some (many?) modern hindus see the various hindu gods as incarnations of the same, single god, something like how Christianity divides god into the holy trinity...correct if I'm wrong!

 

[dc82]

I think what Tomoyo was getting at is that some (many?) modern hindus see the various hindu gods as incarnations of the same, single god, something like how Christianity divides god into the holy trinity...correct if I'm wrong!

in hinduism and buddhism, there are several separate deities on top of any multiple incarnations of a particular deity. one of the basic tenets of christianity is that there is one and only one God - while the concept of the Holy Trinity may seem to contradict that, esp. to those outside of the faith, any Christian (NOT including the christian based offshoots) will respond that there is one God. i remember one person once trying to explain it as the three dimensions of a cube - it's still only one cube, though defined by the 3 equal axis.

 

[Dearmad]

Bad analogy because a face of a cube is limited, and not the whole cube; a "piece" of the trinity, according to doctrine, is not limited and is in fact entire in its existance, as it is also a piece. Thus the "miracle," or whatever. This premise is the basis for the split between the east and western roman church, eastern thinking that christ followed the father and thus is not equal to the father, in some way, western rome disagrees.

And since when is Buddhism polytheistic- it does not ascribe the power to create or judge to any group of supernatuaral beings... the "beings" or "gods" are not in power or control, they are not worshipped as if they could decide our fates. These "gods" are not eternal, are not truly different from humans, who affect the material world equally. Humans strive to dwell heavenly in the same fashion as these beings. Things get screwed up about this once you get to the Mahayana and Tantric Mystical doctrines, which don't follow the original teachings.

As with all religions, Budhhism fractered apart in a few years after its inception.