Absolutely! Their argument also feels like a multiplayer only argument where they got just tired of trying to balance everything.
I would have loved a deeper better integration of religion, especially in the later eras. The argument “we are past enlightenment religion matters less” has been proven to be false. Just look at some nations out there re-employing religion to strengthen their nationalism. A concept that I would love to employ in the game, not so much in RL though.