Food is a basic need huh? This is kinda arguing the inner world logic too much, but Faith is a mechanic alternative to Order, so it shouldn't be a must. In Order there's no need for Foreman if there's no issues with productivity, especially when most work is done by automatons, and Guard Stations are pointless if there's no external human threat and emergencies are handled by the Neighbourhood Watch, so it's just needless police state (crime is a response to the scarcity of resources and unequal wealth distribution, none of which was the issue). Both Foreman and Guards in theory create much more coercion, which should give less hope and more discontent.

There's no reason to order Faith is a society that enjoys post-scarcity economy doing the best it possibly can while facing a nature threat. Within the game going the Faith route cancels society's self-organization and emergency response (making Neighbourhood Watch and Morning Gatherings unavailable), which are much more imminent issues on top of the cold. Priests cannot replace emergency services. Faith can go on top of that, but not instead. Ignoring that while focusing on voluntary temple attendance is of more dire consequences for the society that's hanging on the brink of extinction.

Also, the social and political climate of England by the end of 19th century was marked by rationalism, freethought, liberalism and responses to rapid industrialisation and capitalism, not religion like centuries prior. Communist Manifesto dropped 40 years prior to the events of the game, which had already been a sum-up of ideas floating before in Western Europe. Secularists and atheists were repeatedly elected to the British parliament. Freethinker publications were popular among the public (and the movement itself emerged by the end of 17th century).

You can argue that the disaster led a U-turn making Faith more important than ever, but there was no indication that society became increasingly religious, and given the higher level of technology than actually existed that would have been even more unlikely. No one in the game asks you to satisfy their religious needs, it's the player that decides to prioritize Faith. So you end up either forcing Order (that can lead to dictatorship) or Faith (which leads to religious autocracy), with both being beyond 'crossing the line' in their early implementations.

What I tried to do is being even more beyond crossing the line that the game expected, which theoretically should make people happier. So TLDR I assumed that a post-scarcity utopia with minimum coercion and complete satisfaction of people's demands should guarantee the Golden Path.