Found religion or not?

[zma]

Map: Pangaea
Size: Standard
Difficulty: Deity
Policies: Tradition
Faith per turn: +7
Current faith: 201
Min faith for chance at Great Prophet: 200
Religions that still can be founded: 3
Pantheon: The one with +1 faith from desert tiles

I have two satellite cities on turn 85 and NC soon to be completed in capital. One of the satellite cities got AI religion. Both mosque and pagoda available to purchase for 200 faith in the satellite city (how's that even possible?).

Should I found my own religion or go with neighbor's religion? Targeting science victory although I'm Shaka

 

[Lord Yanaek]

It depends how many desert tiles you have near your capital.
With +7 you won't have any way to defend your religion if AI religions are already in your lands, but if you don't found you'll soon loose the few faith you produce and won't be able to buy any more Mosques or Pagodas.
If capital has lots of desert, one way to play it would be to found, take a purely tall/capital centric belief (Religious Community if still available, even Religious Art can do it) and save your pantheon to keep generating faith, then accept the AI religion in other cities and take the Mosques/Pagodas. The capital's holy city status should be enough to preserve your religion, at least for a long time, maybe for the entire game. It's even possible not to enhance or enhance after buying the buildings in your satellites.
If you don't have many desert it's probably not worth the troubles. Buy the Mosques first, build temples and rely on those for some faith to purchase great persons in industrial. Mosque+Pagoda+Shrine+Temple is 8 per turn per city so if you go 4 city tradition it will be 32 per turn. You won't be able to buy many GP in industrial+ but at least you'll have culture and happiness.

 

[joncnunn]

In my book, choosing Desert Faith as a pantheon pretty much commits you to founding (and keeping) a religion within your own territory.

It's really easy to keep a religion you founded via Grand Temple, (which along the way will increase your faith output)

 

[Aea]

I always have the intention of building the Grand Temple. And then the flood of must-have medieval buildings comes in

 

[Sclb]

Grand temple is very low priority for my games unless the starting dirt is absolutely bad for fpt.

 

[Lord Yanaek]

In my book, choosing Desert Faith as a pantheon pretty much commits you to founding (and keeping) a religion within your own territory.

That's the plan when you choose DF but sometimes on Deity AIs are just crazy and even thought you have good /turn thanks to your pantheon they all enhance before you found cause they filled Piety in no time and used the free prophet. In such a case, and if the AI religion is really good i see no issue accepting it and keeping your own religion only in your capital (and mostly to keep your generation), especially if you don't have room for other good desert cities.

 

[beetle]

Should I found my own religion or go with neighbor's religion?

I think you want to found even when neighbors religion is very nice (say, faith buildings and Jesuit Education). Like Bob wrote, having your religion in only your Holy City can be good enough, and may be the best of both worlds. Founding has two strong benefits: (1) The ability to faith purchasing GPr (the first few of which are cheap), and (2) easy CS conversion quests. Late game, after you have faith-purchased the Research Labs, you can use a GPr to have your religion in your core cities.

 

[joncnunn]

That's the plan when you choose DF but sometimes on Deity AIs are just crazy and even thought you have good /turn thanks to your pantheon they all enhance before you found cause they filled Piety in no time and used the free prophet. In such a case, and if the AI religion is really good i see no issue accepting it and keeping your own religion only in your capital (and mostly to keep your generation), especially if you don't have room for other good desert cities.

To me, that's more of a reason to on Deity not have picked Desert Faith in the first place unless there were 2X more of those tiles you'd have worked early.
e.g. On that level, just count flood plains & fresh water desert hills.
An early game screen shot would be helpful.

 

[Volcanon]

If pagoda and mosque are both available for purchase your city got converted. Might be worth it to plant your prophet and adopt the AIs double building religion.