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Challenger's Flavour Bonanza Mod
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zebenji  [developer] Oct 31, 2015 @ 4:08am
Regarding the new religions in CPBM
Introduction

I have always enjoyed playing Europa Universalis, especially with the Extended Timeline mod. However, I noticed that you have a patchwork of religions in Europe and Asia, but only shamanism or animism in the rest of the world.

That is how I began to make a small mod to add a few religions, so I could have a richer experience and have more fun playing. African tribes can fight each other for the supremacy of their own beliefs, and Native Americans might even force European colonies to convert to their religion. Or maybe the Roman Empire would have survived longer if they decided to focus on religion unity with some imperial cult.

I wanted to add around ten religions to begin with, but I ended up with more than sixty. And I still have dozens of ideas in my head. I don't think I will be able to represent all the religions which have ever existed, but I hope I will make the religion map diverse as possible.
By the way: the first new religion ideas I had came from a great Civilization V mod called "Tomatekh's Historical Religions".

My religion mod got integrated with Challenger's one, so he can focus on provinces while I can focus on religion events.


What's done for now and what's left

74 new religions have been created. You can pick any of them if you create a custom country, but most of them are already on the map.
Each religion has its own bonus. They have religious rebels like every standard religion of the game, and for religions appearing after 51AD, you will have events allowing them to pop on your map in due time.

The only thing left to do is also the hardest one: making specific events and decisions for each religion. I am slowly working on that, so you would have a different experience with each new religion.

I hope you will enjoy playing with these new religions as much as I enjoyed modding them.
One last thing. If you have suggestions for better religion names, for events or any other kind of feedback, please let me know. The more help I get, the faster you'll enjoy a complete echanced religion mod. :)


List of new religions

Christian Group
  • Baptism : A Christian branch found notably in the south of the United States
  • Bogomilism : Founded in the 10th century, it spreaded in southeastern Europe and was declared as an heresy by the Catholic church.
  • Catharism : A Christian dualist movement which spread in the south of France and the north of Italy between the 10th and 14th century.
  • Hussitism : Born in Bohemia around the beginning of the 15th century
  • Mandaenism : A very early gnostic form of Christianism, which appeared in Mesopotamia (might end up in that group, not sure yet)
  • Mormonism : Established in the 19th century, found especially in current Utah
  • Waldensianism : Founded between the 11th and 12th centuries, it spread mostly around the North of Italy up to the South of Switzerland.

Muslim Group
  • Ahmadiyya : Islamic religious movement founded in British India near the end of the 19th century.
  • Mu'tazila : An Islamic movement which was mostly located in present-day Iraq around the 8th, 9th and 10th centuries.

Dharmic Group
  • Shaivism : One of the many branches of hinduism, focused on the cult of Shiva. Incluenced parts of India, Cambodia, Champa, South Vietnam and Java.
  • Shaktism : One of the many branches of hinduism, focused on the cult of Shakti. Practised mostly in Bengal and Assam.

Eastern Group
  • Moism : Religion of the Zhuang people, the largest ethnic minority of China.

Hellenic Group
  • Imperial Cult : A State religion where the ruler is worshipped. Found in various ancient civilizations, it really developped in Rome under Augustus. Spreaded though what became the Eastern Roman Empire.
  • Atanodjuwaja : The Sun goddess of a very early Minoan religion, might have been the inspiration for Athena.
  • Hermeticism : A religious tradition which emerged in late Antiquity, then was briefly reintroduced at the beginning of the Renaissance.
  • Mithraism : A mystery religion practiced in the Roman Empire from about the 1st to 4th centuries, lots of artefacts were found in Italy and in the Danube region.
  • Neoplatonism : A current rooting in Platon's teachings, which appreared around the third century.
  • Numenism : Based apparently upon Etruscan beliefs, it is supposedly the early Roman religion.
  • Dodecatheism : Modern-day practice of the Hellenistic religion, founded at the end of the 20th century; doesn't have an official name, but all of them vow a cult to the twelve main Greek gods, hence the name.
  • Arevakhach : Name of the Armenian eternity sign, it also represents the ancient Armenian pantheon.

Iranian Group
  • Vedism : Historical predecessor of modern Hinduism; the religion appeared at first in Iran, and some of its concepts are the base of what became later zoroastrianism.

American Group
  • Angakkunngurniq : Inuit shamanist traditions.
  • Chiminigagua : Supreme deity of the Muisca tribe. Said to have inspired the myth of the Kingdom of El Dorado.
  • Kachina : Name of a spirit in the Pueblo culture. Main religion in New Mexico and Arizona before Europeans came in.
  • Mahoma : Name of the temple in Calusa language. That very specific tradition was located in southwestern Florida.
  • Midewiwin : A religion practiced by the Native tribes around the Maritimes, New England, and the Great Lakes (from the Abenaki to the Sioux)
  • Nazca : Ancient tribe in South America, famous for drawing huge glyphs on the ground.
  • Orenda : Iroquois name for the spirit power; this shamanist tradition was also found within the Cherokee and the Cree, among others.
  • Pajelança : A generic term for shamanist traditions of tribes in the Amazon rainforest; the Tupi were probably the best known group in this area.
  • Pohakantenna : Name of the shaman in one of the main traditional tribal religions of the Great Basin; among them, the Shoshones.
  • Santeria : Meaning 'The Way of the Saints', was developed in Cuba from the Yoruba religion, then extended through Latin America (will probably put it later into the African group)
  • Sgáanaang : According to Tomatekh, it was the name of the shaman in the Haida faith; by extension, describes the belief systems of the Pacific Northwest first people.
  • Southern Cult : Name given to the mythology of the Mississippian culture, from the Mississippi River to the shores of the southeastern United States.
  • Wakanda : Religious practice of the Osage people.
  • Wakan Tanka : Great Spirit in the Sioux tradition; spreaded in the Midwest and the Rockies, including the Blackfoot and the Lakota tribes.
  • Witran Mapu : Spiritual belief of the Mapuche people, in what is today Chile and Argentina.
  • Zemiism : An indigenous Antillean religion, which was also practiced in what became Colombia and Venezuela.

Slavic Group
  • Heros Karabazmos : The god of the Underworld for a few Balkan tribes in the early Antiquity.
  • Vinca : Name of a Neolithic culture in southeastern Europe; a lot of bird-figured figurines were found by archeologists.

African Group
  • Amatongo : Meaning 'venerated ancestors'; Zulu indigenous belief
  • Amazigh : Represents the Berber beliefs in North Africa before Islam came in.
  • Bumuntu : Main concept of the religion in the Luba Empire, Central Africa.
  • Byeri : Secret ritual of the Fang people.
  • Canaanism : Ancient semitic religion located in the western part of the Middle East
  • Fat Rog : Cults and traditions of the Serer people, in the most part of Senegal
  • Imohag : Name the Tuareg people give to themselves.
  • Kemitism : Beliefs based on the Ancient Egypt mythology; appeated in the United States during the 1970s
  • Laiboni : Equivalent of shamans in the Masai culture, around today's Kenya and Tanzania
  • Mwari : The Supreme Creator of the Shona and Northern and Southern Ndebele.
  • N'um : Faith of the Khoisan people, in South Africa
  • Nzambiism : Indigenous religion of the Congo Basin
  • Odinani : Religion of the Igbo people (Nigeria)
  • Onyamesom : Faith of the Ashanti people, in modern-day Ghana
  • Voodoo : Originating in West Africa, it spreaded though the New World with the African diaspora, especially in Haiti, Puerto Rico, and Louisiana.
  • Yoruba : Indigenous religion of the Yorùbá people; covered south of Nigeria, Benin and Togo

Mesopotamian Group
  • Akatt-u : Very ancient religion of the Indus Valley; didn't find a lot about this one, but apparently it has its roots in Mesopotamia.
  • Natib Quadish : One of the new spiritual faiths of the end of the 20th century, mainly inspired with ancient Mesopotamian and Canaanitic religions
  • Yazdânism : Native religion of the Kurds

Indo-Pacific Group
  • Manaism : Indigenous religion of western Polynesia
  • Moai : Statues built by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island
  • Puata Tupuna : Eastern Polynesian religious practice
  • Razana : Religious traditions in Madagascar
  • Satsana Phi : Ancient ethnic religions practiced in southeast Asia; especially in current Laos, Thailand and Cambodia
  • Tjukurpa : Term meaning ' Dreaming' for the Aboriginal people; indigenous faith of Australia

Jainko Group
  • The Basque culture has its specific religion.

Free Masonry Group
  • Appeared at the end of the 14th century. It is not a religion, but it (basically) works the same way. I still do not know if it will be implemented on the map at some point; maybe during the French Revolution, when Robespierre established the Cult of the Supreme Being, which was supposed to be state religion and then get rid of every current religious symbol. Anyway, for these who'll want to play with it, they'll still be able to create a new country with the free masonry religion.

Wiccan Group
  • Almost put it into the fantasy group, but all fantasy religions are fictious, while this one is practiced by people since the first half of the 20th century. Very tempted to use it in Salem area around 1692, though the name would be anachronic.

Fantasy Group

Important : This group is mostly about fun alternatives to existing religions. I do not plan to make them spawn during a game. They will just be there when you create a new country, if you want to play with something different.
  • Yevonism : Main religion from Final Fantasy X. Basically, their message is "Technoloy is bad and destroyed us, we have to pray so our sins can be forgiven". I think we can do something with that in the game.
  • Crystallism : In most Final Fantasy games, crystals are the essence of life. In the long term, I'd like to make it as a very simple religion where the only boosts come from the crystal/god you want to worship. The logo is inspired by the Black Mage mark in Final Fantasy XIV.
  • Okami : Because Okami is the best video game of all time! It has to be a religion. Was really tempted to put it into the oriental group (since Okami is the sun goddess Amaterasu), but being a fictious religion, it will stay here.
  • Penguinism : Everyone says that cats will rule the world one day. I don't know for cats, but apparently penguins want to be heard... (it's more of a running gag with a close friend of mine, I but didn't want to create a specific mod just for me, so you'll get penguinism too!)
  • Disney : The happiest place in the world will be a religion focusing mostly on... you guessed it... happiness. And nothing else. It was either this or a hippie faith. :p
Last edited by zebenji; Jan 16, 2016 @ 3:42pm
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Showing 1-15 of 20 comments
zebenji  [developer] Jan 16, 2016 @ 3:41pm 
Originally posted by Firesoul:
Yezidi?
Hard to answer a one-word question, but I'll do my best: Yazdanism is also included. I forgot to mention it on the list, I don't know why. I'm editing this list right away.
#1
zebenji  [developer] Jan 18, 2016 @ 9:35am 
Originally posted by Firesoul:
The question is whether you intend to include them. The Yezidi religion is very old and also very different to all other religions. Also, whatever Kurdish ultra-nationalists might say, Yezidis are not Kurds.
http://www.yeziditruth.org/yezidi_religious_tradition
You have a Disney religion.

It is already included, as Yazdanism. I forgot to update the list but I fixed that after your first message.
There's even an event to make this religion appear on the map.

As for Disney, it was mostly a joke. I have a few events in mind for those who want a different approach of the game. My apologies if you've been offended by this idea.
Last edited by zebenji; Jan 18, 2016 @ 9:35am
#2
Firesoul Jan 19, 2016 @ 11:47am 
Originally posted by zebenji:
It is already included, as Yazdanism. I forgot to update the list but I fixed that after your first message.
There's even an event to make this religion appear on the map.

As for Disney, it was mostly a joke. I have a few events in mind for those who want a different approach of the game. My apologies if you've been offended by this idea.
Hmm, I think perhaps there has been a bit of a breakdown in communication, I often word things strongly since history is an important matter to me, that doesn't mean I'm offended however, I'm sorry that you would think I am, and I wouldn't want you to think that I am offended because then you would avoid discussing this matter as it needs to be discussed. My point about the Disney religion was that, yes, it's silly, that's the thing, if a silly thing can be included why not a non-silly thing? Why not a religion that has had a profound influence on the region for thousands of years, that has had a history split between being strongly supported by states for their strong work ethic and skills, and being massacred by those same states and declared as devil worshippers? Yazdanism is completely inadequate to simulate the Yezidis. They are completely separate cultures with completely separate beliefs.

EDIT: I want to quote why it is bad to group the two together, straight from Wikipedia: 'The concept of Yazdânism has found a wide perception both within and beyond Kurdish nationalist discourses, but has been disputed by other recognized scholars of Iranian religions.' What this says in Wikipedia's 'neutral' way is that only Kurds believe that the two groups are related.

'Despite this, the concept of Yazdanism as a distinct religion has been disputed by a number of scholars. Richard Foltz considers Yazdânism, or the "Cult of Angels", as Izady's "invented religion", which according to him "owes more to contemporary Kurdish national sentiment than to actual religious history."[1]

Iranian anthropologist Ziba Mir-Hosseini states:

The most notable case is that of Izady (1992) who, in his eagerness to distance the Ahl-e Haqq from Islam and to give it a purely Kurdish pedigree, asserts their independence from Islam. He fails, however, to produce any evidence at all in support of his theory, and some of his assertions can only be called preposterous.'

'The United Nations recognizes the Yazidis as a distinct ethnic group.[66] A report from Human Rights Watch (HRW), in 2009, declares that to incorporate disputed territories in northern Iraq-particularly the Nineveh province- into the Kurdish region, KRG and Kurdish authorities have embarked on a two-pronged strategy of inducement and repression. The HRW report also criticizes heavy-handed tactics. According to report: "The goal of these tactics is to push Shabak and Yazidi communities to identify as ethnic Kurds. The Kurdish authorities are working hard to impose Kurdish identity on two of the most vulnerable minorities in Iraq, the Yazidis and the Shabaks".'

'Although they speak mostly Kurdish, their ethnicity is obscure.[58][59][60][61][62]'
Last edited by Firesoul; Jan 19, 2016 @ 12:20pm
#3
zebenji  [developer] Jan 20, 2016 @ 10:46am 
Originally posted by Firesoul:
Yazdanism is completely inadequate to simulate the Yezidis. They are completely separate cultures with completely separate beliefs.

Ok. I think this is the part I haven't understood from the beginning. :)

To sum things up, I created all these religions a few months ago to bring more religion diversity on the map. I had icons for many religions thanks to Tomatekh's mod in Civilization V. The only problem being that some religions don't really have a name. That's why I did some resarch to try to find the best word available.

As for Yazd... er... the religion I mentioned earlier, it is supposed to represent one of the most anciens religions in this area. The icon I used is the one used on the Yazidis unofficial flag. So, according to what you said, this religion is supposed to be called Yazidism. I understand now that Yazdanism is a neologism, but the religion I wanted to represent is the one which was in this area of Mesopotamia. I didn't do extensive research because my plan has always been to release a bunch of religions at first, then give a proper update to each new religion, step by step. That's the job I began last month with Cathars, and Baptists. In the end, all the religions I added will get proper events, decisions, making them unique and (hopefully) interesting to play with.

However, I am always open to the idea of editing some religions, and even creating a few more if needed. This part depends on two things: the research I do on each new religion, and Challenger's work on the map. If he works in a country and realizes that a specific new faith is required, I'll add it (as long as he doesn't ask for 500 new religions at the same time, hehe). He has not worked on the Middle East yet. When he'll work on Mesopotamia, I'm sure he will be concerned about the accurate representation of cultures. I think that's when he will work on the Yedizi, giving them a culture and maybe even a proper nation tag if necessary.

I haven't worked on any Mesopotamian religion yet. I know Qweyt has plans to add the "Before Christ" period to his mod. I was waiting for his confirmation to start working on ancient religions in Mesopotamia, because I'll have to add more of them in that case.

As you can see, all of this requires a lot of work and research. I admit I am not a religion expert, but I will do my best to represent faiths in Middle East as best as I can. And that includes the Yezidis, don't worry. I'll even work on this before updating the Disney religion, trust me. ;-)
#4
Gojira71798 Jan 21, 2016 @ 3:53pm 
Is there a way I can allow some of these religions to have centers of reformation?
#5
Firesoul Jan 22, 2016 @ 11:06am 
Originally posted by zebenji:
Ok. I think this is the part I haven't understood from the beginning. :)

To sum things up, I created all these religions a few months ago to bring more religion diversity on the map. I had icons for many religions thanks to Tomatekh's mod in Civilization V. The only problem being that some religions don't really have a name. That's why I did some resarch to try to find the best word available.

As for Yazd... er... the religion I mentioned earlier, it is supposed to represent one of the most anciens religions in this area. The icon I used is the one used on the Yazidis unofficial flag. So, according to what you said, this religion is supposed to be called Yazidism. I understand now that Yazdanism is a neologism, but the religion I wanted to represent is the one which was in this area of Mesopotamia. I didn't do extensive research because my plan has always been to release a bunch of religions at first, then give a proper update to each new religion, step by step. That's the job I began last month with Cathars, and Baptists. In the end, all the religions I added will get proper events, decisions, making them unique and (hopefully) interesting to play with.

However, I am always open to the idea of editing some religions, and even creating a few more if needed. This part depends on two things: the research I do on each new religion, and Challenger's work on the map. If he works in a country and realizes that a specific new faith is required, I'll add it (as long as he doesn't ask for 500 new religions at the same time, hehe). He has not worked on the Middle East yet. When he'll work on Mesopotamia, I'm sure he will be concerned about the accurate representation of cultures. I think that's when he will work on the Yedizi, giving them a culture and maybe even a proper nation tag if necessary.

I haven't worked on any Mesopotamian religion yet. I know Qweyt has plans to add the "Before Christ" period to his mod. I was waiting for his confirmation to start working on ancient religions in Mesopotamia, because I'll have to add more of them in that case.

As you can see, all of this requires a lot of work and research. I admit I am not a religion expert, but I will do my best to represent faiths in Middle East as best as I can. And that includes the Yezidis, don't worry. I'll even work on this before updating the Disney religion, trust me. ;-)
Thank you
#6
zebenji  [developer] Jan 22, 2016 @ 12:21pm 
Originally posted by Gojira71798:
Is there a way I can allow some of these religions to have centers of reformation?
I need to study the center of reformation dynamics first. When I'll understand how to script it correctly, maybe I can add this for Cathars, Baptists, and other "new" religions. In that case, it will replace the "spreading religion" events. Waiting for some feedback about how these new religions work in a long game session, so I can adjust these spreading rates.
#7
Gojira71798 Jan 23, 2016 @ 12:57pm 
Alright, sounds awesome! Good luck to you!
#8
Firesoul Jan 31, 2016 @ 4:07am 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivory_Coast#Religion
Ivory Coast no longer follows the Yoruba religion by the way if they ever did:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoruba_people#History
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivory_Coast#Ethnic_groups
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akan_religion
Personally I think the Asanti/Akan religion is well worth adding for pre-modern times, considering https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Golden_Stool and the like.

EDIT: Seems you already have the Asanti religion under this name: Onyamesom but I can't find it in Asanti lands.
OK, so it's in, but you've been rather ungenerous with its historical extent. The borders of the Asanti kingdom should mark the borders of the Asanti religion at all times (you could even go beyond them, since the Asanti were extremely influential and respected. A nation that defied Europeans and won in a sense). Right now the Asanti rule two 'Yoruba' provinces during the most important parts of their history. It would be most accurate to set the religion of Ivory Coast to Onyamesom until Islam and Christianity move in, at which point it would convert to them. Yoruban religion while more widespread, having more adherents, etc, was further east than Onyamesom and has had barely any influence on Cote D'Ivoire.
Last edited by Firesoul; Jan 31, 2016 @ 4:26am
#9
truelove101992 Apr 27, 2016 @ 7:11pm 
How do I "convert" to the Imperial Cult as Rome?
#10
zebenji  [developer] Apr 28, 2016 @ 12:53am 
I think I'll have to start writing a guide for the new religions. :)

You need three things to be eligible to Imperial Cult conversion :
1. Be an imperial Roman Republic
2. Have Hellenism as a national religion
3. Your leader must have high administrative skills (at least 4)

If you get these three conditions, an even will pop up at one point, saying that your leader has enough charisma to enforce the Imperial Cult as a national religion. You are free to accept this change, of keep hellenism as your national religion.

Careful though: You will switch back to Hellenism if one of your successors has very low administrative skills. This system is supposed to represent the fact that not every emperor succeeded to impose the Imperial Cult.

One last tip: Imperial Cult works like Tengrism, meaning that you can have a secondary faith. If you want your Empire to stand up without too many revolts, I highly suggest to take Hellenism as a secondary religion at first.
#11
Gojira71798 Apr 28, 2016 @ 1:31pm 
Shouldn't Canaanism have personal deities? Such as Baal, Molech, El, Ashtoreth/Ishtar/Asherah, etc? Or have you already plans for this?
#12
zebenji  [developer] Apr 28, 2016 @ 2:37pm 
I do have plans for this. Actually, Canaanism is one of the religions I'm updating next. ;)
Last edited by zebenji; Apr 28, 2016 @ 2:38pm
#13
truelove101992 May 1, 2016 @ 10:02am 
Will this mod be updated soon as well?
#14
truelove101992 May 30, 2016 @ 10:48am 
Could you perhaps revert the symbol for Catholicism to its vanilla counterpart, I know it's rather knitpicky (and I apologize for that), but the one used here isn't nearly as aesthetically pleasing?
#15
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