Game Info[]
Vanilla[]
Bonus building. Requires an improved source of 
Wine or 
Incense.
Gods & Kings and Brave New World[]
Religious building. Can only be built in cities following a religion with the Monasteries belief. Can only be purchased with 
Faith.
- +2
Culture - +2 Faith
- +1 Culture and Faith in each tile with Wine or Incense worked by the city
- +2 Tourism with Sacred Sites Religious Belief
Strategy[]
Vanilla[]
The Monastery is an excellent source of 
Culture for cities that have access to Wine and/or Incense.
Gods & Kings and Brave New World[]
In the expansions for Civilization V, Monasteries are unique among religious buildings, because they don't boost 
Happiness as the others do. On the other hand, if there are sources of Wine or Incense nearby, each of them receives a +1 bonus to Culture and Faith potential! When added to the Monastery's own bonus, this could add up to quite a lot of faith and culture from a single building! Of course, this bonus effect is wasted in cities that have neither of these resources.
The Monastery's bonus seems somewhat lesser than other religious buildings, but Monasteries are cheaper to purchase than other religious buildings, which frees up Faith for other uses.
Note that you can only purchase a Monastery in one of your own cities in which your faith is the majority (i.e. it has your religious symbol to the right of its name).
Civilopedia entry[]
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings housing monks or nuns - people who have renounced worldly things (wealth, possessions, sex) - and dedicated their lives to prayer and meditation. Generally monasteries are single-sex organizations, or if men and women are present, they're separated by imposing walls. Historically monasteries have been places of higher learning, especially during the Middle Ages where members of religious orders were often the only people outside of the ruling elite who knew how to read and write.
