$re = '/^(?:religion = (.*)|\d+(?:\.\d+){2} = {([^}]*)})/m';
$str = '# 1 - Vestisland
# County Title
title = c_vestisland
# Settlements
max_settlements = 2
b_reykjavik = tribal
#b_alftanes = city
#b_skalholt = temple
#b_pingvellir = castle
#b_kjalarnes = castle
#b_hvamm = castle
#b_hlidarendi = castle
#b_borg = castle
# Misc
culture = norse
religion = zoroastrian
terrain = arctic
# History
867.1.1 = {
b_reykjavik = tb_shipyard_1
}
900.1.1 = {
b_reykjavik = castle
b_reykjavik = ca_shipyard_1
b_alftanes = city
}
1000.1.1 = {
culture = norwegian
religion = zoroastrian = sunni = catholic
}';
preg_match_all($re, $str, $matches, PREG_SET_ORDER, 0);
// Print the entire match result
var_dump($matches);
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for PHP, please visit: http://php.net/manual/en/ref.pcre.php