Well, I can't honestly say that I ever really thought about how conversion happens in the game. I just stepped up security, scattered churches throughout the land, and settled back to try to be a wise father to my smaller warriors, or whatever it is the Portugese ambassador called me. But now you've got me curious.
Looks like the game recognizes three models of how conversion happens.
1: Convert the boss. The rest will follow. Do people automatically convert to the rulers religion like in MTW?
2: The St Paul version. Send out the missionaries to convert people. That's what your Jesuit priests are for.
3: The base camp version. Monestaries, especially the one on Holy Isle, are supposed to have played a key role in the conversion of northern England, and so can your Japanese churches.
There are other ways to think about conversion, but the game seems to only consider these three. I wonder how things happened in real life. Some diamyos converted, but did that lead to mass conversions in their clans, or did the leader convert because thats what the clan was doing anyway? What role did the foreign priests play? Did they do most of the converting, or did Japanese Christians do most of the converting, while the priests mostly taught, preached, said the Mass, etc? I believe there was some sporadic persecution. On the whole did that weaken or strengthen Japanese Christianity? Well, later it pretty much stamped it out, but I mean in the period covered by the game.
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