Aside from having peasant followers actually contribute something (which the devs have repeatedly rejected), there isn't much. So long as religions are a net loss, there'll never be a real impetus for expansion, as there is for realms.
Lack of incentives is a huge problem.
The Order has one of the largest peasant bases on the Island and has a fair number of Nobles. But we have no real actual "power" or way to galvanize or give incentives to our player base. There are WAY to many regions with 95% followers of the Order and a heathen Lord.
We'd love to be more zealous - we use to be, and we had all the secular "we love every faith" Realms try to wipe us out because we actually RP'd like we wouldn't tolerate opposing faiths. The lack of caring in the Order is mostly a result of that backlash now.
Hard to be "hard line" when the only thing you get from it is cast out by people who want everyone to get along (and then the game gets boring).
