The Ultimate Guide to Mastering Religion Beliefs in Civ 6

Highlights

Civilization 6's high degree of mechanical complexity makes it challenging to master, especially when it comes to understanding each civ's strengths and weaknesses.

Religion in Civilization 6 provides several advantages through Beliefs, which are essential for establishing a religion. Selecting the appropriate Beliefs is crucial for achieving religious victory and obtaining beneficial boosts.

In Civ 6, there are four categories of Beliefs: Founder, Follower, Worship, and Enhancer Beliefs. Each category grants varying bonuses and impacts different aspects of the game, including relations with City-States, production, and the generation of faith.

Civilization 6 is not a difficult game to learn, but it can be challenging to master due to its complex mechanics. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each civilization can take a considerable amount of time. Additionally, the game offers players numerous options for building their civilization once the game begins.

One aspect of Civilization 6 that adds complexity is the mechanics surrounding Religion. Religions not only provide the opportunity for a Religious Victory, but they also offer various benefits to civilizations that adhere to them. These benefits primarily come from the Beliefs associated with the religion, making it crucial to select the right Beliefs when building a religion. Whether players are actively pursuing a religious victory or simply seeking useful buffs, it is important to comprehend how Beliefs function in Civilization 6.

Civilization 6's Beliefs

In Civilization 6, religions are made up of a Pantheon and multiple Beliefs. However, pantheons apply to all Cities of a Civ, while Beliefs only impact Cities where that Religion is the dominant one. When establishing a Religion, players can select two Beliefs initially and can gain two more by activating the Apostle's Evangelize Belief power, which can only be used once.

Apostles are religious units that become available once the Theology Civic is unlocked in the Classical Era. By default, Apostles cost 400 Faith and can be trained at Holy Sites that have a Temple. After using Evangelize Belief, Apostles are destroyed. Players have the flexibility to add Beliefs using their Apostles at any time, but they can only choose Beliefs that haven't already been claimed by another Religion. Therefore, it is recommended for Civilization 6 players to add Beliefs as soon as they have access to Apostles.

The Four Types of Beliefs in Civ 6

In Civ 6, Beliefs are categorized into Founder, Follower, Worship, and Enhancer Beliefs. The first two Beliefs must include a Founder Belief, while the second can be a Founder, Worship, or Enhancer Belief. With the Gathering Storm DLC, there are nine Beliefs in each category. However, the scenario-specific Beliefs for Gifts of the Nile, Jadwiga's Legacy, and Path to Nirvana Scenarios are not included in this count.

Founder Beliefs provide civilization-wide bonuses, some of which become stronger as the Religion spreads. Papal Primacy and Religious Unity affect the relationships with City-States, while the others offer new methods of generating Gold, Science, Culture, or Faith. Typically, these bonuses only apply to the civilization that established the Religion, although the Congolese Leader Mvemba a Nzinga in Civ 6 disregards this restriction.

Enhancer Beliefs in Civilization 6 focus on the spread of Religion to new Cities, benefiting both military units and the overall religious strength. This is particularly advantageous for the Byzantines and Indonesians, whose unique abilities combine religious and military abilities. Only the Religion's founder and Mvemba a Nzinga benefit from these beliefs, just like Founder Beliefs.

Worship Beliefs, on the other hand, unlock the third Holy Site building for the Religion. Cities can construct this building, even if it doesn't match the Civilization's Religion. The building remains the same even if the City changes Religion. All Worship buildings generate three Faith points per turn, except for the Synagogue, which produces five, and the Dar-e Mehr, which generates an additional Faith point for each Era since its construction. Other buildings provide additional resources or bonuses to the City where they are built. The Cathedral, Pagoda, and Wat are particularly advantageous for achieving Culture, Diplomatic, and Science Victories in Civilization 6.

Follower beliefs have an impact on every city where the dominant religion is practiced, irrespective of its ownership. Certain beliefs such as Choral Music, Divine Inspiration, and Warrior Monks tend to steer the civilization towards cultural or religious victories. Whereas the remaining beliefs offer advantages regardless of the player's ultimate objective.

Civilization 6 can be played on Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.