Some dude said you were thinking about adding in schisms and asked me to contribute my work here. I did a lot of work on the RoM forums working out a suggested system for a schisms engine. Here's what I came up with.
Okay, religions are still founded by either technology or events and prophets. When you found a religion, you decide what values you want it to have and this determines what sect you found. Afterwords, the religion spreads. The city in which it first appeared remains its only holy city throughout the entire game and that sect of that religion remains in that city forever.
Then, lets say an event happens in another city where this religion has spread. This allows you to change the values of this religion in that city. If you change the values too radically, you found a new sect. This sect has the same holy city, though the holy city may not yet have this sect in it (though holy cities will likely acquire new sects of their religion quickly). If you do not change the values too greatly, the sect remains under the same name. However, if you are not the country which founded the sect, the version of this sect founded in your country will be named after your country (
Japanese Zen Buddhism or Greek Orthodox Christianity). Also, when the first version of a sect is founded, it does take on the name of its country too. If you have already founded a version of a sect and only change its values slightly, it changes the values of that version of the sect in every city, reforming the religion.
A prophet can do the same thing. He can allow you to choose a religion which has spread to the city he is in and found a new sect of it in that city (or reform the old one).
You only enjoy the benefits of each religion's sects if you choose that as your state religion. A Christian state enjoys the benefits of all Christian sects within its boarders. Also, you cannot tell which sects of a religion are in each city from the map screen. You have to select the city and view the religion window. The map screen only lists it as having that religion, it doesn't say which sect.
Of course new values are enabled by new technologies, so not all values are open at the beginning of the game, but all values are eventually open to every religion, so even Christianity can believe in reincarnation and polytheism.
Also, each religion should probably have its own benefits which are modified by the values of its sects.
Here are the variables and traits
Growth
Production
Military
Commerce
Science
Culture
Structure - How is the religion organized from a logistical perspective? What is the primary focal point of the faith?
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Individual
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Family
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Local
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Regional
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Centralized
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National
Message What is the prime message or goal of the religion? These are all available upon founding your first religion [All of these require state in the city to have an effect]
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Improvement
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Salvation
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Knowledge
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Glory
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Tradition
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Industry
Belief System - What is the core of the religion's theology? What is worshiped? These are meant to be more focused on building related bonuses and buffing existing wonders relevant to that belief system.
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Tribal
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Ancestor Worship
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Dualism
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Polytheism
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Pantheism
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Monotheism
Influence - How does the religion interact with society? [too many graphics in my post lol, 30 seems a bit low]
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Mythology/Oral Tradition
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Evangelical
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Intolerant
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Pious
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Rational
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Charitable
Scientific Beliefs – How does your religion approach science? Does science take its cues from your religion or have your people even heard of science? Is the world controlled by nature spirits or are there more earthly forces at work?
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Mystical
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Alchemic
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Empiric
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Controlled
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Philosophical
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Utilitarian
World View – How does your religion believe the world to be structured? Is it an island of order in a sea of chaos or an illusionary temporal reality subject to a higher spiritual plane? Does the world exist on two planes, one plane, or several?
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Layered
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Elemental
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Unified
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Order/Chaos
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Spiritual/Temporal
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Time/Eternity
Afterlife – What happens to a person after they die and how can they influence what their afterlife will be, assuming there is a choice?
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Netherworld
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Underworld
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Reincarnation
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Neutralization
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Reward/Punishment
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Immortalism
And here are the sects I worked out
Egyptianism
- The Ennead - consisted of Ra, his children Shu and Tefnut, and their descendants Geb, Isis, Nephthys, Nut, Osiris, and Se headed by Atum) was worshipped. This grouping was hierarchical and used as a device by the priests to stress the importance of either the Sun God Ra or the Sky God Horus (it’s not easy to determine which due to inconsistencies in the research)
- Ptah - was the chief deity in Memphis, later extended into the triad of Ptah-Sekhmet-Neferte. Ptah was a creation deity and a personification of the earth as a mound rising up out of the sea of Chaos
- Ogdoad - First it was a cult having Hathor and Ra; later changing to a cult where Hathor and Thoth were the main deities over a much larger number of deities headed by Thoth.
- The triad Amun-Mut-Khons. Chief god being Amun who seems to be a fertility god of creation and the sun
- The triad Khnum-Satis-Anuket. – Chief god was Khnum who was the source of the Nile river and its annual flooding
- Atenism - focused on the Egyptian sun deity Aten as a monotheistic supreme god
Hinduism
- Folk Hinduism - as based on local traditions and cults of local deities at communal level and spanning thorough to pre-historic times or at least prior to written Vedas.
- Vedic - as still being practiced by traditionalist Brahmins, for example shrautins.
- Vedantic - for example Advaita (Smartism), as based on philosophical approach
- of the Upanishads.
- Yogic Hinduism - especially based on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.
- "Dharmic" or "daily morality" - based on the notion of Karma, and societal norms such as Hindu marriage customs etc.
- Bhakti or devotionalism - especially as in Vaishnavism- distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu or its associated avatars, principally as Rama and Krishna, as the original and supreme God.
Hellenism
- Cult of Zeus – God of kings
- Cult of Apollo – God of virtue and prophesy; heavily associated with the sun
- Cult of Hestia – Goddess of the hearth
- Cult of Ares – God of war
- Cult of Demeter – Goddess of fertility and the harvest
- Cult of the Godhead – Many philosophers did not agree with the traditional belief in multiple gods of relatively equal power. They believed that some singular, greater power gave rise to all the lesser gods and that this greater power, often entitled “the Godhead” should be worshiped as superior to the Olympians.
Judaism
- Orthodox Judaism - holds that both the Written and Oral Torah were divinely revealed to Moses, and that the laws within it are binding and unchanging.
- Masorti Judaism – Reaction to the enlightenment; Characterized by a commitment to following traditional Jewish laws and customs, including observance of Shabbat and kashrut, a deliberately non-fundamentalist teaching of Jewish principles of faith, a positive attitude toward modern culture, and an acceptance of both traditional rabbinic modes of study along with modern scholarship and critical text study when considering Jewish religious texts
- Reform Judaism - Its defining characteristic with respect to the other movements is its rejection of the binding nature of Jewish ceremonial law as such and belief instead that individual Jews should exercise an informed autonomy about what to observe.
- Reconstructionist Judaism- emphasizes reinterpreting Judaism for modern times. Like Reform Judaism, Reconstructionist Judaism does not hold that Jewish law, as such, requires observance, but unlike Reform, Reconstructionist thought emphasizes the role of the community in deciding what observances to follow.
- Jewish Renewal - focuses on spirituality and social justice, but does not address issues of Jewish law. Men and women participate equally in prayer.
- Zealotry - a Jewish political movement in the 1st century which sought to incite the people of Iudaea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the country by force of arms; opposed the Romans due to Rome's intolerance of their culture and on the grounds that Israel belonged only to a Jewish king descended from King David
Zoroastrianism
- Asura Pantheon – Refers to the polytheistic worship of the Asura Gods which went on in Iran until Zoroaster’s teachings (that good Asura obey Ahura Mazda and bad ones don’t and thus should not be worshiped, for instance) came to prominence.; Fertile
- The Zoroastrian Church – Refers to the traditional beliefs of Zoroastrians as first taught to them by their prophet and adopted later by the Persian Empire
- Zurvanism - had the divinity Zurvan as its First Principle (primordial creator deity). Here, Ahura Mazda was not the transcendental God, but one of two equal-but-opposite divinities under the supremacy of Zurvan, 'Time'
- Ilm-e-Kshnoom - a school of Parsi-Zoroastrian philosophy based on a mystic and esoteric, rather than literal, interpretation of religious texts. According to the adherents of the sect, they are followers of the Zoroastrian faith as preserved by a clan of 2000 individuals called the Saheb-e-Dilan ('Masters of the Heart') who are said to live in complete isolation in the mountainous recesses of the Caucasus (alternatively, in the Alborz range, around Mount Damavand); Scientific
- Manichaeism – Actually considered a different religion, though it can be thought of as a merging of Zoroastrianism and Gnosticism. Principle prophet is Mani and central belief is that there are two gods (one good one evil) who vie for power within a person’s soul. This is a severe departure from the Zoroastrian beliefs about the nature of God (the uncreated code of the universe).
- Mazdakism - The two distinguishing factors of Mazdak's teaching were the reduction of the importance of religious formalities — the true religious person being the one who understood and related correctly to the principles of the universe — and a criticism of the strong position of Zoroastrian clergy, who, he believed, had oppressed the Persian population and caused much poverty. Mazdak emphasized good conduct, which involved a moral and ascetic life, no killing and not eating flesh (which contained substances solely from Darkness), being kind and friendly and living in peace with other people.
Buddhism
(I’m not going to lie to you, the terminology used in discussing these sects is not familiar to me, so I’m just doing the best I can to define them)
- Theravada - the oldest surviving Buddhist school. Theravada philosophy is a continuous analytical process of life, not a mere set of ethics and rituals. Conservative. Emphasizes the Four Noble Truths as revealed by the Buddha. Doctrine says that insight must come from the aspirant's experience, critical investigation, and reasoning instead of by blind faith. However, scripture is used as a guide.
- Mahayana – Emphasizes the Mahayana Sutras, sometimes as the manifestation of Buddha himself. Very widespread with several offshoots. Characterized by eclecticism and a general belief in a common search for salvation, sometimes thought to be attainable through faith alone.
- Vajrayana – Similar to Mahayana in philosophy, but differs mainly in practices.
- Jodo or “Pure Land” – Offshoot of Mahayana. Concentrates on the Amitabha Buddha almost as a personal savior. Amitabha, in his 48 vows, his 18th and 19th vows promise entry into this Pure Land to any who calls upon his name as few as 10 times in their life and to anyone who calls out his name upon the moment of their death. This will make reaching Nirvana far easier in their next life. Very popular among the working class. Practices include mantras of his name and meditation on Amitabha himself and/or his Pure Land.
- Zen – Concentrates on a moment to moment understanding of the world and of the mind. Menial tasks are seen as central. It is a way of life. Group activity is used to limit the influence of one’s ego. Various forms of meditation are used to empty one’s mind, unite the mind with the body/world, and escape ordinary patterns of thought. As teachings are said to have been passed down from the Buddha, lineages are often important in assessing a teacher’s ability. They tell who taught who.
- Shingon – Offshoot of Mahayana and a form of Vajrayana. Concentrates on remembering one’s own Buddha-nature through meditation using mudras and ritual instruments for enlightenment of the body, mantras for enlightenment of speech, and mandalas and meditation for enlightenment of the mind. It is a highly esoteric form of Buddhism. Enlightenment is achievable in a single lifetime.
Confucianism
(I think I’m creating a lot of divisions here which don’t exist, but, seriously, Confucians seem to pretty much agree with each other)
- Neo-Confucianism - a philosophy that attempted to merge certain basic elements of Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist thought. Attempts to find principles through observational science.
- Philosophical Confucianism – This is the practice of Confucianism as a philosophy which can exist alongside other religions.
- Religious Confucianism – This is the practice of Confucianism in its traditional form which includes ancestor worship, a belief in an abstract celestial deity, various rituals and rites, and the deification of ancient kings and even Confucius himself along with a skeptical view towards otherworldly beings. Excludes the practice of any other religion and tends to deny its own identity as a religion.
- New-Confucianism - a new movement of Confucianism that began in the twentieth century. Often associated with the essay, "A Manifesto on Chinese Culture to the World." The Manifesto presents a vision of Chinese culture as having a fundamental unity throughout history, of which Confucianism is the highest expression. a "New Confucian" is anyone who (1) believes that Confucianism can and should accommodate modern science and democracy, (2) argues that Confucianism has a distinctive contribution to make to Western thought, and (3) interprets Confucianism along the general lines of Neo-Confucianism.
- “State” Confucianism – Focuses on the accommodating needs of the local people through Confucian philosophy. Accommodates whatever culture it comes in contact with and takes the name of the state it is practiced in. Tries to bring about Confucian reforms in state lay and spread Confucianism throughout that particular state.
- Temple Confucianism – Identified by the practice of building temples to honor Confucius as well as numerous noteworthy scholars throughout history. Statues of the honored ones are housed in the temples and offerings are made to their spirits.
Taoism
- Philosophical Taoism or Daojia - A philosophical school based on the texts Dao De Jing (道德經
and Zhuangzi (莊子
- Zhengyi or Orthodoxy – a Chinese Taoist movement that emerged during the Tang Dynasty as a transformation of the earlier Tianshi Tao movement. Like Tianshi Dao, the leader of Zhengyi Daoism was known as the Celestial Master. Unlike prior incarnations of the Celestial Masters, like the school based at Louguan, the Zhengyi Taoists did not venerate Laozi as a god. Instead, he was viewed as the ancestor of the school's teaching.
- Folk Taoism - The Chinese folk religion as it was adapted to serve Taoist beliefs
- Sinaism or Pangu – taken from the Greco-Roman term Sinai meaning “the Chinese”, this word refers to Chinese Mythology as a whole rather than the portion of it which was adopted by the Taoist religion.
- Quanzhen or Complete Reality - specializes in the process of "alchemy within the body" or Neidan (internal alchemy), as opposed to Waidan (external alchemy which experiments with the ingestion of herbs and minerals, etc). The Waidan tradition has been largely replaced by Neidan, as Waidan was a dangerous and often lethal pursuit. Quanzhen focuses on internal cultivation of the person which is consistent with the pervading Taoist belief of Wu Wei, which is essentially "action through inaction." Like most Taoists, Quanzhen priests were particularly concerned with longevity through alchemy, harmonizing oneself with the Tao, studying the Five Elements, and ideas on balance consistent with Yin-Yang theory.
- Tianshi or Way of the Celestial Masters - a Chinese Taoist movement that was founded by Zhang Daoling in 142 CE. At its height, the movement controlled a theocratic state in Sichuan. Illness, in this sect, was caused by sin. Repentance through mediation or prostration and acknowledgement of one’s sins was necessary to relieve sickness. Semen is considered the embodiment of qi. If someone ejaculated too often, their life would be shortened. While Daojia advocates not ejaculating during sex in order to 'nourish the brain,' the Celestial Masters frowned upon this, and advocated non-ejaculation simply as a way to avoid losing qi. In addition, the Celestial Masters thought that the Daojia method of stealing a woman's qi to replenish the man's own qi was completely wrong, and should not be practiced. Sect was highly organized and structured along theocratic lines.
Naghualism
(I'm quoting this part off the top of my head as I'm having trouble finding my book on the subject. I'll make corrections after I find the book)
- Cult of Quetzalcoatl - Snake god of rebirth; Merciful and wise god; patron of humanity; his temples were often used as schools or universities for the nobility; prohibited human sacrifice, preferring the sacrifice of flowers and butterflies
- Cult of Huitzilopotchli - War god of the Sun; national patron of the Aztecs; required daily offerings of human hearts to carry on his war with the demons who lived in the stars; also considered to be the source of destiny and names
- Cult of Tlaloc - War god of Rain and Thunder; very wrathful; required the yearly sacrifice of several children who were tortured to death (their tears were considered to be an offering to him); Favorite god of the Teotihuacano Empire (their enemies believed him to be a god of death)
- Cult of Xipe Totec - "the Flayed Lord"; Undead God of Corn; required the yearly gladiatorial sacrifice of captured warriors who were then skinned and worn for a month to resemble husks of corn
- Cult of the Tezcatlipoca -God of kings, darkness, evil, sorcery, and death; mortal enemy of Quetzalcoatl; kings prayed to him for power and sorcerers worshiped him almost exclusively; King of the gods; none of the Aztecs liked him but rather, worshiped him out of fear and necessity (one of his epithets is Titlacauan meaning "We are his Slaves" and another is Necoc Yaotl meaning "Enemy of Both Sides") ; his temple is one of the largest in Tenochtitlan, though few people ever entered it, and Quetzalcoatl's is one of the smallest, but nearly all visited regularly
- Cult of the Leader - The Maya believed that their dead leaders became goods in heaven and that their living nobility could commune with these gods through blood sacrifice. As the sole conduit to heaven, the shaman leader was the only one who could pray to the gods for rain, victory, or fertility and thus he wielded remarkable power and loyalty. There is record of a noble once being kidnapped and his people would not allow any member of his family to replace him until it was confirmed that he had died 11 years later.
Christianity
- Orthodoxy – Exists to preserve the original message of the Christian faith and bring others closer to God by facilitating the innumerable Mysteries. Does not acknowledge the Pope as anything other than the Bishop of Rome and vest almost all religious authority with the Archdioceses of the Ecumenical Council. Free will is extraordinarily heavily stressed. Even the shallowest theological discussion does not fail to mention it. More mystical than other forms of Christianity. Relatively little evangelism.
- Catholicism – Exists to bring together all the Christian faithful, preserve the message of Christ and his apostles, and administer the Seven Sacraments. Acknowledges the Pope as head of the Christian Church, with is authority descending directly from Peter who was chosen by Christ. Good works and charity are heavily encouraged due to the principle of Purgatory. Has a history of manipulating governments and inciting crusades. Theology very similar to Orthodoxy, but tends to be explained in more concrete, less mystical terms.
- National Supremacy or Church of “State” – Acknowledges the head of one’s stated as head of the church, chosen by God to rule over all the people of his lands. Otherwise similar to the Catholic church. Discourages charity and good works except as regulated by the state. Relatively little evangelism due to its nationalist nature.
- Lutheranism – Does not acknowledge any but God as a supreme authority. Emphasizes the importance of a personal relationship with God, salvation through faith, and the authority of the Bible. Good works and charity are looked highly upon, but not necessary for salvation.
- Calvinism – Emphasizes humanity as being at the mercy of God, who would be just in condemning all people for their sins, but who has chosen to be merciful to some. Does not acknowledge any but God as supreme. Believes in a kind of predestination. Can be extraordinarily strict. Society is led by the Elect who are identified by their moral character and worldly success. Emphasizes the authority of the literal word of the Bible even more than Lutheranism. Once attempted to replace the Catholic Church through warfare. Is the only form of Christianity which does not acknowledge free will. Does encourage charity and good works, but these tend to be, in large part regulated by the state under Calvinism.
- Primitivism– Sees itself as reinventing the whole church for a new age. Places extraordinary importance on the word of the Bible. Consists of several relatively independent movements which tend to disagree with each other heavily. Have a strong moral and evangelist ethics. Very little regard for church tradition, protestant or Orthodox Catholic. See older, more organized churches as corrupt. They tend to see the world as near its end.
Islam
- Sunni - believes that Muhammad did not specifically appoint a successor to lead the Muslim community before his death, and after an initial period of confusion, a group of his most prominent companions gathered and elected Muhammad's close friend and a father-in-law, as the first Caliph of Islam. Sunni Muslims regard the first four Caliphs as the al-Khulafā’ur-Rāshidūn or "Rashidun" ('The Rightly Guided Caliphs'). Sunnis also believe that the position of Caliph may be democratically chosen, but after the first four Rightly Guided Caliphs the position turned into a hereditary dynastic rule.
- Shi’a - believe that his family, the Ahl al-Bayt (the People of the House), including his descendants known as Imams, have special spiritual and political rule over the community and believe that Ali ibn Abi Talib, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, was the first of these Imams and was the rightful successor to Muhammad, and thus reject the legitimacy of the first three Rashidun caliphs.
- Kharijite - while originally supporting the Caliphate of Ali, they eventually rejected his legitimacy after he negotiated with Mu'awiya during the 7th Century Islamic civil war (First Fitna). Their complaint was that the Imam must be spiritually pure, and that Ali's compromise with Mu'awiya was a compromise of his spiritual purity, and therefore of his legitimacy as Imam or Caliph. While there are few remaining Kharijite or Kharijite-related groups, the term is sometimes used to denote Muslims who refuse to compromise with those with whom they disagree.
- Mutazilism -
- Sufism – is a mystical-ascetic form of Islam practiced by many Sunni and Shi'a Muslims. By focusing on the more spiritual aspects of religion, Sufis strive to obtain direct experience of God by making use of "intuitive and emotional faculties" that one must be trained to use. Sufis usually considered Sufism to be complementary to orthodox Islam, however it has widely been criticized by many Muslims on the whole for being an unjustified Bid‘ah or religious innovation. One starts with sharia (Islamic law), the exoteric or mundane practice of Islam and then is initiated into the mystical (esoteric path of a Tariqah (Sufi Order)
- Ahmadiyya - followers of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who claimed to be the Mujaddid of the 14th Islamic century, the promised Messiah ("Second Coming of Christ") and Mahdi, as well as the likeness of all the prophets. The followers are divided into two groups, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement for the Propagation of Islam, the former believing that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was a non-law bearing prophet and the latter believing that he was only a religious reformer though a prophet in an allegorical sense. Followers of Ghulam Ahmad consider themselves Muslim and believe their form of Islam to be a re-establishment of the original teachings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
