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That "paganism" definition from the game manual isn't really accurate. Paganism just means a traditional religious practice in contrast with Christianity. Pagani were country people who practiced the old hellenic, germanic, norse, or celtic religions during the Christianization of europe. The manual definition really contrasts pantheism/animism with polytheism.
I agree that "Hinduism" is really just a surviving into the modern era of a religion that isn't all that different from the pre-christian and pre-islamic religions of Europe and the Middle East. And if Egypt had never been Christianized and then Islamicized, they would have today an "Egyptianism" religion. After all, "Hinduism" just means "religion of India".
Hinduism really is the odd man out in the Civ religions. To really model the survival of Hinduism you'd have to give each civilization a traditional pagan religious system. Egypt, Rome, Greece, Vikings, Japan, India, Germans, etc, all have their traditional polytheistic religions, which can be replaced by universalist religions like Christianity or Islam or overlain by philosophies like Buddhism or Confucianism.
So Japan's traditional religion would be Shinto, overlain by the addition of Buddhism. China's traditional religion would be Taoism, overlain by Buddhism and Confucianism. Greece's traditional religion would be Hellenism, replaced by Christianity. The Aztec traditional religion would be Mexica, and after their civ was wiped off the map by the Spanish, the Spanish replace it by Christianity. India's traditional religion would be Hinduism, replaced by...nothing. Sure, a few cities converted to Islam, but most cities with nothing.
Hinduism, Taoism and Shinto (a modern polytheist religion not modeled in Civ IV) don't really belong with the set of discovered religions like Buddhism, Chrisitanity, Confucianism, and Islam. They're only included because they survived to the present day. I suppose Judaism is another odd one, because it isn't a universalist religion, nor a polytheistic traditional religion.
I agree that "Hinduism" is really just a surviving into the modern era of a religion that isn't all that different from the pre-christian and pre-islamic religions of Europe and the Middle East. And if Egypt had never been Christianized and then Islamicized, they would have today an "Egyptianism" religion. After all, "Hinduism" just means "religion of India".
Hinduism really is the odd man out in the Civ religions. To really model the survival of Hinduism you'd have to give each civilization a traditional pagan religious system. Egypt, Rome, Greece, Vikings, Japan, India, Germans, etc, all have their traditional polytheistic religions, which can be replaced by universalist religions like Christianity or Islam or overlain by philosophies like Buddhism or Confucianism.
So Japan's traditional religion would be Shinto, overlain by the addition of Buddhism. China's traditional religion would be Taoism, overlain by Buddhism and Confucianism. Greece's traditional religion would be Hellenism, replaced by Christianity. The Aztec traditional religion would be Mexica, and after their civ was wiped off the map by the Spanish, the Spanish replace it by Christianity. India's traditional religion would be Hinduism, replaced by...nothing. Sure, a few cities converted to Islam, but most cities with nothing.
Hinduism, Taoism and Shinto (a modern polytheist religion not modeled in Civ IV) don't really belong with the set of discovered religions like Buddhism, Chrisitanity, Confucianism, and Islam. They're only included because they survived to the present day. I suppose Judaism is another odd one, because it isn't a universalist religion, nor a polytheistic traditional religion.
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