Since version 1.4 of the game, Devotion now starts at the minimum value of 1, up to the maximum value of 10.
A newborn begins at 1, then every follower naturally earns around 1 Devotion every day, and you do not even need to play for this to happen.
The Devotion bar of your followers will get a little boost when succeeding in an expedition, when a prayer is fulfilled, when you cast a power on them, when you move your finger around them (not very efficient, this one)...
On the other hand, the Devotion bar will decrease when failing certain expeditions or when attacked by a Zealot.