Huh. That's a way of thinking about it that I hadn't considered before, Shane.
Well, easiest thing I can think of: Honour/Prestige bonuses for being in a religion, possibly in the form of increased rate of gain, possibly in an outright bonus. You follow a noble religion, not some mucky commoner-based set of beliefs, and so your prestige is correspondingly higher, and you are pious and therefore assumed to be more honourable.
Alternatively...What about giving everyone who joins a religion a unique item (with no decay) the exemplifies the religion? Founder could pick what the item would be, everyone who joins gets it, prestige increases over time as per usual, gives people something they can roleplay...
a religious icon! nice! It would be nice if people could pay to upgrade it, and the funds go to the church without affecting their balance.
