Religion and civilization have gone hand-in-hand throughout human history, with gods and their mouthpieces alternately hindering and inspiring humanity every step of the way. That’s why Civilization V felt a bit off when it hit us about a year and a half ago and was missing a few things we’d come to take for granted in the previous iterations. Religion and its best buddy subterfuge were either absent or folded into the Piety branch of its social policy tree, with temples and whatnot contributing to the ever-more-broad “culture” statistic. Religion always existed in the background of Civ V, from cathedrals to a huge number of biblical verses doled out for researching everything from animal husbandry to frickin’ laser beams, but it was no longer present as a distinct element of strategy. When it came to religion as a tactical tool, the relevant quote seemed to be, “God is dead.”
Well, now we’re getting a chance to make him in our own image. Faith is the new currency, and once we have enough we’re given a Great Prophet. The first one we’re graced with can found a pantheon, be that a war god that grants more faith when we win battles, a namby-pamby healing god that restores units that end a turn next to a friendly city, or a whole slew of other crazy stuff people are raring to fall on their knees in front of. Our second prophet can turn that half-assed belief into a true religion, tacking on tenets like tithing (if you’re into accumulating more gold) or holy warriors (which grant the ability to purchase pre-industrial land units with faith). Followers passively pressure neighboring cities to join their particular theological club, but for a more direct approach we can send those prophets and missionaries to neighboring cities to directly convert the population. Nobody really likes that, so expect diplomatic repercussions, and prepare your own cities with inquisitors to keep the faith pure… or just fill the besandaled heretic with arrows when he starts down the palm-leaf-covered road to your own holy city. It’s an act of war, sure, but at least the simulation isn’t detailed enough to take martyrdom into account. That’d really make a mess of things.
