This is what I've been trying to encourage Religions to be used for, for many months. A community of people discussing and enforcing certain virtues where they have influence. Too many see Religions as either just theological roleplay that very very few are actually interested in or with modern perspectives of tolerance, religion being personal, atheism etc. In my opinion, it should be how players discuss OOC concerns via IC religious language. In BM's early years, rulers were expected, much more than today, to consider their actions in light of OOC fun for their realm and island, not just themselves or their realm. That might be harder to re-establish ruler-wide, so I think religion would be a good vehicle, ideally at 2-4 religions per continent ranging over multiple realms.
Religion is the perfect vehicle for avoiding 'My Guy' syndrome of someone saying their character wouldn't do that because it involves external divine inspiration whether visions, voices, meditations, priestly instruction etc. Stretching across multiple realms and able to lend a cultural influence throughout the continent (there's just one server for all continents) rather than isolated to just your realm. Your realm is your team, but your religion is your moral/spiritual culture. Also, a great way to share continental news that you may not get inside your realm, that you can then share in your realm.
Please, seek out and encourage your religions *to care* about the 'spiritual state' of their respective continent. If they don't, find another religion who does. Maybe even destroy those religions that are either dead or just about preserving their realms' power. Play a priest or religious elder? Try and think in terms of what would be good for the continent and advance those ideas couched in your particular religion's theology.
It doesn't need to be OOC planning so much as recognizing what behaviors contribute to an enjoyable game or not and finding ways of explaining that ICly, as I suggest via religion. Government members not engaging their realm, sharing news, and ignoring other rulers create a less enjoyable game. Therefore, when they are encountered, our characters might perceive them as lacking some virtue, or being morally deformed, or however you wish to phrase it. Because of that, they now wish to either reform these misguided individuals or failing reform, oust the heretics. Or perhaps your neighbour is getting destroyed by overwhelming forces for petty reasons and you need a war. OOCly, we know that that is no good. But ICly, those overwhelming forces are your allies. Maybe your neighbour even eats bread in an uncivilized manner and slurps his wine like a barbarian; or for the reverse, is a soft, pansy woman-man in robes and skirts instead of armour. Maybe, just maybe, you consider, upon merits of IC religious conviction, to drop those alliances and/or move past cultural awkwardness, to defend your neighbour from a gangbang.
I won't say ESA is superbly amazing, but we are a group of players trying to improve the island where we can. I wouldn't say its focused more on warring, though that does get the emphasis right now when there's so much peace. There is a balance to it where war for war's sake is imbalanced/of Maddening (say, opposing gangbang wars, or hastily jumping to destroying realms), but also peace for peace's sake is imbalanced/of Auspicious (say, opposing giant alliance chains). If I were to summarize the teachings in a few words: Balance/Moderation, Dynamic/Variation.
I'd also say Daisha on Beluaterra does good as a similar religious model for sharing information, coordinating, discussing continental concerns. Being on BT, it tends to focus on anti-Netherworld mostly, but thats not to say it couldn't do more in non-Invasion times. ESA could probably engage in more frontier-discussion; I have tried to get such going in the past.