Also, perhaps one of the most important factors of the success of the religion is who founds it, and who runs it. To take up a theme I used earlier, it doesn't matter how many reams of crap... err... theology... you write, if other characters don't like your character, your religion will be a failure. You need a popular, well-liked character. And he needs to be able to attract other popular, well-liked characters. I think this is something that a lot of people forget.
All of what you wrote makes sense (and is great advice by the way), though this one in particular struck me. My character who led the church was not always a particularly popular character since I played him that way on purpose, and I bet that could have had a negative impact on growth.
