A Religious Victory in Civilization VI requires you to make your religion the dominant religion in every civilization’s cities. Achieving this involves careful planning, early establishment of religion, missionary and apostle deployment, and effective use of religious combat.
1. Early Game: Foundation of Your Religion
Choose the Right Civilization
Select a civ that excels in faith and religion:
India (Gandhi): Bonus faith and religious spread.
Russia (Peter): Extra faith from Tundra tiles and bonus Great Prophet points.
Spain (Philip II): Religious units are stronger in combat, and bonuses to converting cities on different continents.
Focus on Faith Generation
Holy Sites:
Build Holy Sites in your cities as early as possible. Choose locations with adjacency bonuses from mountains and forests.
Shrines and Temples:
Construct Shrines and Temples in your Holy Sites to increase faith generation and unlock religious units.
Pantheon Choice:
Choose a pantheon that aligns with your terrain or strategy:
Earth Goddess (+2 faith from breathtaking appeal).
Religious Settlements (faster city expansion).
Earn a Great Prophet
Great Prophet Points:
Build Holy Sites early and run projects like Holy Site Prayers to accumulate Great Prophet points. Ensure you claim a religion before others.
2. Mid-Game: Spreading Your Religion
Customize Your Religion
Founder Belief:
Choose beliefs that provide bonuses to faith or help spread religion, like:
Tithe: Gain gold for each follower.
Pilgrimage: Gain extra faith for each foreign city following your religion.
Follower Belief:
Select benefits that encourage population growth or infrastructure, such as:
Feed the World: Shrines and Temples provide food.
Religious Community: Housing from Holy Sites.
Worship Belief:
Choose worship buildings (e.g., Pagodas, Mosques) that boost religious unit strength or faith generation.
Build Religious Units
Missionaries:
Use them to spread your religion in nearby cities with little resistance.
Apostles:
Use Apostles for religious combat, spreading religion, and evangelizing beliefs to enhance your religion.
Inquisitors:
Keep some to defend your cities from foreign religions.
Religious Combat
Defend Your Religion:
Use Apostles to engage in theological combat against enemy missionaries and apostles. This strengthens your religion’s presence in the area.
Religious Combat Tips:
Fight in tiles with your Holy Sites for combat bonuses.
Promote Apostles with abilities like Debater (+20 religious combat strength).
City-State Relationships
Faith-Based City-States:
Suzerain city-states like Yerevan (grants Apostles any promotion) to boost your religious capabilities. Send envoys to them early and often.
3. Advanced Religious Spread
Focus on Trade Routes
Use international trade routes to spread your religion passively. The farther the trade route, the better the impact.
Target Weak Religions
Prioritize civilizations without strong religious infrastructure. Convert their cities quickly to minimize resistance.
Leverage Policy Cards
Use religious policy cards to enhance your faith and religious unit effectiveness, such as:
Scripture: Doubles religious spread from Holy Site buildings.
Inquisition: Reduces religious spread of other religions.
Diplomacy
Form Alliances:
Establish alliances to avoid wars that can disrupt your religious campaigns.
Be Cautious:
Avoid spreading religion to civs with strong opposing beliefs too early, as it might provoke hostility.
4. Late Game: Securing Dominance
Build Wonders
Construct wonders that bolster your faith and religious spread, such as:
Mahabodhi Temple: Provides two free Apostles.
Mont St. Michel: Apostles gain the Martyr promotion.
Hagia Sophia: Religious units gain an additional spread charge.
Potala Palace: Adds a diplomatic policy slot for flexibility.
Use Rock Bands (If Culture Victory is a Threat)
If another civilization is pursuing a Cultural Victory, counter them by promoting Rock Bands with religious-related abilities, such as converting cities with a performance.
Maintain Religious Pressure
Religious Bomb:
Use Apostles to create a religious bomb when converting cities under pressure from other religions.
Faith Purchases:
Use faith to buy more missionaries and apostles in cities with Holy Sites.
Convert the Capitals
Ensure every civilization’s capital follows your religion. This is essential to secure a Religious Victory.
5. Countering Opposition
Combat Enemy Religion
Deploy Apostles with combat promotions to eliminate enemy religious units.
Use Inquisitors to remove opposing religions from your cities.
Manage Loyalty
Keep your cities loyal by maintaining happiness and high population growth to prevent rebellion caused by foreign religious influence.
Neutralize Threats
Spy Missions: Sabotage Holy Sites in other civilizations to weaken their faith generation.
War (If Necessary): Use military might to conquer cities resisting your religion and convert them.
6. Final Steps to Victory
Monitor the Religion Victory Screen: Regularly check your progress to ensure all civilizations are on track to follow your religion.
Eliminate Holdouts: Focus your resources on the last few resistant civilizations.
Strengthen Faith Output: Build faith-generating wonders and improvements like Seaside Resorts or Ski Resorts for a late-game boost.
By following these steps and adapting to the game’s dynamics, you can secure a Religious Victory and dominate the spiritual landscape in Civilization VI!
