So religion plays absolutely no part in power in the Far East? Selene, Veleno and Joseph are elders in their respective faiths, I think Vulpes is also a high ranking follower in The Church of Sartan. Iceberg (before he went away) is also fairly influential in Adgharinism. Surely those characters can wield a bit of power with their followers?
Wielding religious power inside your own realm by no means equates to wielding military power outside of it. Have you not had that proved to you repeatedly over the past few months? If anything, having competing religions, including two that I believe are sworn to destroy each other, cripples you even more than you would be anyway.
