What determines which religion the computer will found?

Question

When I play Civ V, it seems as though some religions are more likely to be founded by the computer.

For example, in Gods and Kings, it felt like Christianity was almost always the first religion founded. And in Brave New World it seems to be Catholicism.

Is this random? Is there a set "order" in which the computer picks them? Or is there a "favoured religion" based on the particular civilisation founding them? (and thus, since most civs favour Christianity, I see this most often?)

Answer 1

Each civilization has a favored religion which it will try to found.

Because most of the civilizations favored Christanity in Gods & Kings, that religion was split into three "sub-religions" in Brave new world; Protestantism Eastern Orthodoxy and Catholicism.

So the chance of a religion being founded in a certain game depends on the civilizations you're facing.

In Gods and Kings these are the favored religions for each civilization:

• America: Christianity
• Arabia: Islam
• Aztecs: Christianity
• China: Taoism
• Egypt: Islam
• England: Christianity
• France: Christianity
• Germany: Christianity
• Greece: Christianity
• India: Hinduism
• Iroquois: Christianity
• Japan: Shinto
• Ottomans: Islam
• Persia: Zoroastrianism
• Rome: Christianity
• Russia: Christianity
• Siam: Buddhism
• Songhai: Islam
• Austria: Christianity
• Byzantium: Christianity
• Carthage: Islam
• Celts: Christianity
• Ethiopia: Christianity
• Huns: Tengriism
• Maya: Christianity
• Netherlands: Christianity
• Sweden: Christianity
• Spain: Christianity
• Mongols: Tengriism
• Inca: Christianity
• Polynesia: Christianity
• Denmark: Christianity
• Korea: Confucianism
• Babylon: Islam

Source: Civfanatics forums