people who believe and worship would be more inclined to move to this big city where they can visit the temple daily and pay tribute. therefore the city would most likely be full of believers.
whereas people who did not believe and thought it was all... say a scam.. would want to get away from hydlaa, and its people. they stay away from the temple.
Yes, because it's not like, you know, people need money to move into bigger cities. It's totally okay for a peasant to move out from rural areas despite that even there he has troubles with making a living. And those who do live in big cities, certainly have lots of time to pray to gods. It's not like making a living in a big city requires earning much more money, right? Surely city inhabitants have so much time that they spend entire days within the temples!
See, now here's funny thing. What you said there is based on assuption that your assumption is true. You grasp the paradox?
If people in cities are more faithful, then what you say may be true.
If they aren't, then what you say is false. Why? Because if people in rural areas are more faithful, then people annoyed with religion wouldn't wish to go to a small traditionalist society, where not praying everyday is seen as something mighty odd.
Now the only support for what you say is that temples make such a big difference. Will a rich merchant who is too busy for religion move away to a village, automatically giving himself loss on his strategic merchant position in one of the biggest cities in Yliakum? Hell no. Are the only inhabitants of the rural areas Diaboli? Hell no again.
In fact, how would anyone try to escape from religion if religion is
everywhere? You'd have to shelter yourself from all the people, not just move out to the rural areas.
Now another point. You heard of Plato's allegory of the cave? What happens when a prisoner is set free? Does he escape to cut himself free from the other prisoners? No, he comes back and tries to free them. If someone gets free from the grasp of religion, he won't try to escape, but rather show the religious people his new way.
And if there are gods, that means there are proofs that gods exist. And if there are proofs, science is okay with them. If science is okay with them, then there's no space for doubt.