[Krsqk]

I few people have pointed out that taking Religous will wreck your economy. They are wrong!. Religious players get facilities that increase planetary value and increase yield percentages. Plus they get combat bonus for defense and damage.

It's not that Religious wrecks your economy; it's that maxing out research in religious andpsychic will hurt your economy. You have to get the Subverter and the Talisman as quickly as possible to survive--any race with psychic/religious combo in PBW will be marked for death. To get that research, you have to give up much more than the 5/10/15% the religious facilities give you. If you only take religious, you're a little less likely to be ganged up on; you don't have to divert as much research; and the religious facilities do make a difference in your economy. RE: the damage/combat bonuses--IMO, if the enemy is attacking in your systems, you've already lost. You can't stay defensive forever, and those facilities aren't usually a priority in newly-colonized border systems.