As a lover of history, I've always had a soft spot for historical grand strategy (even if I'm mediocre at best when it comes to the gameplay), and as a Biblical Student (seriously, my highest level of formal training is in Christian Ministry), I have a particular soft spot for historical grand strategy that seems to get the religious history right. So you might be able to imagine my joy at seeing the latest video about Europa Universalis IV, which details how your country's religious views will affect your game. Much like in actual history, there is a lot of ways your countries religion will affect the outcome of the game. Muslim countries where the leaders have a lot of piety will have troops that are more fanatical, and thus fight better; Orthodox countries where the Patriarch is strong will have increased loyalty at the cost of taxes lost to maintaining the church.

Of particular note is the Reformation in Western Europe - which is as game changing in Europa Universalis as it was in Real Life. After a small build up, suddenly the nice and - relatively - stable Roman Catholic nations are split into factions based on whether they remained loyal to the Pope, or took the words of one of the Reformers to heart.

From everything I can tell, it's a little simplified, I doubt the game will go into detail about the disagreements between Calvinist and Lutheran Protestantism for example, just like I doubt much emphasis will be placed on the Catholic Sects that had an influence on how the church in particular areas, but now isn't the time for a Church History lesson. What you need to know is all in the video above, check it out.