How does religion work in civ 5

Also note that once a belief is chosen, it's impossible to change it, and it also becomes unique to that Religion. You can only choose any of the beliefs that no other religions have. For more information on the specific affects and types of Beliefs in Vox Populi, visit the Beliefs page. It is very advisable, although not essential, to make your own religion and spread it as quickly as possible. Religion can serve as a great booster to your chosen victory path, if you tailor it well.

There's a limited number of Religions that can be founded. If you delay for too long in the beginning of the game, you will never be able to found a Religion. Build a Shrine in your capital; they are available even without Pottery. This should be one of the very first buildings you build in your capital, maybe before the Monument. Also, you may want to try building the Stonehenge for a massive Faith boost, but many will be competing for it.

This will allow you to at least found a Pantheon early, although that won't do you much good when other religions convert your cities.

Generally, you should try to build a couple of Shrines in your first few cities to ensure that you'll produce enough Faith to get a Great Prophet in time. Once you found a religion, you can take your time to enhance it. The success of a Religion depends on the combination of Beliefs you choose. There are plenty to choose from, and they're balanced well to help with any strategy imaginable.

You can make a strong culture-boosting Religion, or you can earn gold through Religion, or you can even improve your military! You can help defend your civilization from invaders if you're playing defensively, or you can spread your Religion to neighboring enemy cities, and then gain a combat bonus when you go to conquer them!

Think VERY carefully before choosing Beliefs and try to combine their effects to suit your playstyle, chosen civilization, and victory path.

Of course, the earlier you found and enhance your Religion, the more Beliefs you'll be able to choose from. So, if you plan to use a Religion, think about it from the very beginning, and tailor it to suit your game plan. Adopting the Fealty social policy tree is helpful if you decide to rely heavily on Religion. Fealty is available in the MedievalEra , helping your Religion with cheaper Missionaries, Inquisitors, religious buildings, and increased pressure.

Spreading the religion after its foundation can can be tricky, especially in the first turns. The problem is that you still have lots of other things to do at this time, such as expanding, scouting, and even defending from barbarians or from an aggressive neighbor that decides to rush you. Your first choice is how to use your faith after you found a religion, and you have two basic options: you can choose whether to purchase a Missionary right after the first Prophet, or to gather more faith for a second Prophet and enhance the Religion.

In the first case, you'll jump-start the spreading of your religion; in the second, you'll get a little more choice for Enhancement Beliefs. Also, you could try building the Hagia Sophia for a free Prophet, and spend Faith on Missionaries to spread your religion faster. The Borobudur is also a great idea, because it gives all future Missionaries an additional spread. The amount of Faith you're producing in the beginning may have a decisive role in your choices.

On the other hand, if you produce enough Faith, you may want to get a Prophet soon and Enhance the religion first. Having a neighbor aggressively spreading his or her own religion should also influence your choice. In this case it is vital for you to spread your religion early, or else your neighbor will get the upper hand and the natural religious pressure of his or her religion may turn almost insurmountable.

In this case, and if you really need to spread your religion at any cost, you may want to consider expending a Prophet to spread your religion instead of Enhancing it. In the middle and late game spreading religion turns more complicated.

Missionairies generally do poorly at converting a city from an existing religion to another, and after the Industrial Era, the price of Missionaries and Inquisitors usually grows too much for them to be of practical use. Great Prophets can still spread religion but their cost increases exponentially, and they may be better used for Holy Sites, or you can buy other Great People with Faith depend on what policy trees you've completed.

If you have the One World, One Religion Reformation belief, Missionaries can convert other cities even if there is an established religion, though you may need a large number of them in addition to Open Borders if applicable.

And of course, you should use what you have created! For example, the Beliefs allowing construction of religious buildings Cathedrals , Pagodas , etc. On the other hand, Beliefs such as Clericalism are based on number of cities domestic AND foreign , and Beliefs such as Sainthood and Tithes are based on number of followers ONLY foreign , and thus will benefit you more the more cities in the world you convert.

In other words, think about how you can use your religion, and plan your game accordingly. It should be noted that if you found a religion and then are converted to another religion, your official religion will still be the religion that you have founded. This is a significant downside as it prevents you from taking advantage of any Reformation belief in the new religion, and you will be considered a different religion for Crusader Spirit and Defender of the Faith.

Popular pages. New Game Concepts. Happiness Monopolies Corporation Warscore. Explore Wikis Community Central. Register Don't have an account? Edit source History Talk 0. Categories Pages with broken file links Add category. Cancel Save. Fan Feed 1 Civilizations 2 Units 3 Vassalage. Universal Conquest Wiki. Last edited: Aug 22, Joined: Apr 18, Messages: Also, how do you swap official religions? Joined: Nov 18, Messages: Joined: Dec 15, Messages: Can I get an advanced guide on the pressure mechanic?

Joined: Aug 25, Messages: 2, I'm pretty sure Missionaries can convert religious citizens. How exactly is your primary religion determined? I don't think you get to 'choose'. Atlas , Jun 19, Faith - the religious 'resource' - is acquired per-turn according to various sources of income and their modifiers, which can then be spent on units such as Apostles and Missionaries, religious buildings such as the Wat, Great People, or even military units - if you've committed to the Theocracy Government.

For those uninitiated to the ways of Civilization however - or anyone returning after a little break - opening up that Religious beliefs menu for the first time to see a whole screen of percentages and bonuses can be paralyzing, so below we've quickly broken down, in simple terms, how Religion and Faith work in Civ 6. Whilst there are plenty more religious beliefs and related features than we've listed below, one of the key aspects of a religious playthrough - and of course a targeted Religious Victory - is the process of earning Faith.

Rather than simply listing all things related to Religion then, we've decided to assemble a complete list of all of the ways you can earn Faith and increase the rate at which you do so in Civ 6. If your lust for Civilization 6 knowledge is still going strong, expansion owners should take a look at our Civ 6 Rise and Fall guide hub which takes you through the basics of everything new, whilst we have dedicated pages on Governors and Loyalty , along with how to earn Golden Ages, Era Points and Era Score through Historic Moments , and a full list of new Civs in Civ 6 Rise and Fall and other DLC.

Otherwise, our Civilization 6 guide, tips and tricks covers the essentials before you master early game, mid-game and late-game strategies. We also have tips on the new Districts feature, a Leaders list with their Traits and Agendas , plus the best ways to get Gold , Science , and Faith , how to win by Religious Victory , and how to earn the elusive Science Victory and Military domination victory.

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Jump to comments 1. Staff Writer ChrisTapsell. Empire of Sin's free Precinct update and first paid expansion arrive next week. Pikmin Bloom's first Community Day coming next weekend.