Religion (Civ5)

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Religion is a feature reintroduced in the Civilization V: Gods & Kings expansion pack. Just as in the real world, Religion consists of a series of Beliefs, defining the religion's ideas and goals. In the game environment this is represented through a system of bonuses, which have the most diverse effects imaginable. A well-crafted Religion may considerably enhance your civilization's abilities, although it doesn't lead to a separate victory. Unlike other aspects of the game, it is definitely possible to win a game without even creating a Pantheon. However, considering the power of Religion, it is highly advisable you attempt to create one.

There are eleven religions to choose from (thirteen in Brave New World). These religions, however, are little more than the icons that represent them - it doesn't matter which one you pick because you can customize it at your own will. You can even change the name, if you'd like.

Mechanics

Religion doesn't exist at the start of a game (unlike Culture or Science, which start developing immediately after settling the Capital). It has to be created, first, and the path to this depends on a new stat resource - Faith Faith.

Faith Faith is a resource similar to Culture. It can normally be accumulated via buildings within cities (e.g. Shrine), but after some development, Faith may also be earned by various other means, including terrain features and Religious City-States. Furthermore, some natural wonders and tile improvements allow for Faith accumulation. Faith is initially used to found pantheons and acquire Great Prophets, but after you've founded a Religion (or at least after some of your cities have converted to another religion), you can expend Faith to purchase certain units (such as Missionaries and Inquisitors). You may even be able to purchase other units and buildings with Faith Faith as well.

Beliefs are the practical effects of religions and pantheons, selected when they are founded. Each belief is unique and may only be selected by one religion/pantheon in the game - thus each religion/pantheon is distinct from all others and has no overlapping effects.

The path to Religion

Founding a Pantheon

Pantheons are simple, proto-religious Beliefs. When enough Faith Faith has been accumulated, it may be spent to found a pantheon. A pantheon allows for one pantheon belief to be chosen. Each successive pantheon founded in the world costs more Faith Faith to found.

Pantheons may not be founded once a religion has enhanced and there are as many pantheons in the world as the number of foundable religions.

Founding a Religion

After you have founded a pantheon, a Great Prophet will eventually appear (through further Faith Faith accumulation, or from completing Wonders). He has the special ability of "Found a Religion". Use it to create your own!

The founding of a religion consists of selecting an icon and a name for your religion (you may choose among the contemporary religious symbols and the real-world name related to it, or you can type a new name at your own); and then selecting one Founder belief and one Follower belief. They are then added to your Pantheon belief for the formation of your Religion. The city where the Prophet was when founding a Religion turns into the Holy City for that Religion, and is immediately converted to it (most of its citizens start following it, though not all - some may remain pagans).

Finally, a second Great Prophet can be used to enhance the religion, allowing you to choose a second Follower belief and an Enhancer belief. You can also choose a Bonus belief when founding a religion if you are playing as Byzantium.

In Brave New World, if you adopt the Reformation policy in the Piety tree, you can choose one additional Reformation belief, for a total of 6 Beliefs per Religion (seven if you play as Byzantium).

Only a limited number of religions can be founded, determined by map size.

Spreading a Religion

Religious pressure

If a city has a dominant/majority religion (at least half of its population are its followers), the city starts exerting religious pressure to all other cities within 10 tiles, regardless of their civilization affiliation. This pressure results in conversion of citizens in those cities. Note that if the target city already has a majority religion, it needs at least two cities from another religion to start the conversion process. By default, the amount of religious pressure each city exerts is 6. Pressure from various cities adds together for increased effect. The greater the pressure, the faster citizens in that city convert to the new religion.

If there are more than one religion competing for influence in a given city, the one with greater pressure gains the upper hand, eventually converting the entire city.

In Brave New World, trade routes also spread the Religion of their source city to the target city, regardless of the distance! The effect lasts as long as the Trade Route is active. Use this as a way to reach cities out of the normal reach of automatic spread.

Religious units

The second way of spreading a religion is by using a special civilian unit, the Missionary. Great Prophets also have an ability to spread religion. You may move these units to target cities, and when they're in, or right next to them, they may use their special ability 'Spread religion' to immediately convert some citizens to their religion. Generally, it's easier to convert Pagan cities (those that have no majority religion yet). Note that the presence of an Inquisitor in the city greatly diminishes the effect of this type of conversion.

Both Missionaries and Prophets can move through territory you have no access to (without Open Borders treaty), but if so, your Missionaries will lose 25% of their conversion power every turn they end on this territory. If their power drops to 0, they disappear (this effect is called 'attrition'). Prophets are unaffected by this.

Expending Faith

You may purchase Missionaries and Inquisitors from cities with Faith Faith, once you've created a religion. Also, if you chose the necessary beliefs, you would even be able to purchase certain Buildings, such as a Cathedral or a Monastery in cities following your religion! Those buildings aren't constructable by any other means, they're only purchasable with Faith Faith.

Initially, Great Prophets only appear automatically once a certain minimum amount of Faith Faith has been accumulated (the amount increases for each Great Prophet), but once you enter the Industrial Era, Great Prophets become available to purchase from cities.

Another interesting fact: Once you've completed certain Social Policy trees, you may also purchase other types of Great People with Faith Faith starting from the Industrial Era! Needless to say, this is a great incentive to develop your Faith Faith, even if you didn't manage to found a Religion.

Other gameplay effects of Religion

Other than receiving all these nice bonuses from Beliefs, Religion has some other gameplay effects:

• When a City-State shares your Religion, your Influence with it diminishes slower.
• Sharing a Religion with another nation nets you a 25% bonus to Tourism Tourism.
• You can designate a Religion to be the official World Religion via the World Congress, by successfully passing the respective resolution. Once enacted, this religion spreads 25% faster than others (conversion is 25% faster, but still in the same distance), its Holy City receives a 50% Tourism Tourism, and finally, all nations following this religion will receive two additional congress delegates.

You have to be aware that nations are pretty jealous of their religions. If they have founded one, and you try to convert their cities using Missionaries and Prophets, they will object diplomatically. Disregarding this objection may cause a diplomatic incident. You will also be able to ask another civilization to stop preaching on your territory, if you want.

Religions

There are thirteen religions to choose from, and they are:

• Buddhism
• Christianity (Catholicism )
• Confucianism
• Eastern Orthodoxy
• Hinduism
• Islam
• Judaism
• Protestantism
• Shinto
• Sikhism
• Taoism
• Tengriism
• Zoroastrianism

In the original version of Religion included with Gods & Kings, there were eleven religions, including Christianity. Due to the amount of Christian civilizations, however, it has now been split into three religions based on the three major contemporary sects of Christianity as in Brave New World. The three sects of Christianity in Brave New World are Catholicism, a reused version of the original Christian religion, and Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism, two Christian sects which originally appeared in the Gods & Kings scenario Into the Renaissance.

Beliefs

Religious Beliefs are split into four categories: Pantheons, Founder Beliefs, Follower Beliefs, and Enhancer Beliefs. In Brave New World, a new category, Reformation Beliefs, is added.

You can have up to five (6 in Brave New World) beliefs in the Religion you found after it has enhanced. Please note that there is also an additional Bonus Belief, exclusive to Byzantium, increasing the number of beliefs to six (7 in BNW).

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 civs have.

Pantheons

Pantheons provide basic bonuses for resources or cities. You may found a Pantheon when you accumulate enough Faith.

Name	Benefit
Ancestor worship	+1 Culture Culture from Shrines
Dance of the aurora	+1 Faith Faith from Tundra tiles without Forest
Desert folklore	+1 Faith Faith from Desert tiles
Faith healers	+30 HP healed per turn if adjacent to a friendly city
Fertility rites	10% faster Food Growth rates
God of craftsmen	+1 Production Production in cities with Population Population of 3+
God of the open sky	+1 Culture Culture from Pastures
God of the sea	+1 Production Production from Fishing Boats
God of war	Gain Faith Faith if you win a battle within 4 tiles of your city
Goddess of festivals	+1 Culture Culture and +1 Faith Faith for each Wine and Incense
Goddess of love	+1 Happiness Happiness from cities with Population Population of 6+
Goddess of protection	+30% increase in city Ranged strength Ranged Combat Strength
Goddess of the hunt	+1 Food Food from Camps
Messenger of the gods	+2 Science Science in cities with a Trade Route
Monument to the gods	+15% Production Production of Ancient/Classical Wonders
One with nature	+4 Faith Faith from Natural Wonders
Oral tradition	+1 Culture Culture from Plantations
Religious idols	+1 Culture Culture and +1 Faith Faith for each Gold and Silver
Religious settlements	+15% faster border growth
Sacred path	+1 Culture Culture from Jungle tiles
Sacred waters	+1 Happiness Happiness from cities on rivers
Stone circles	+2 Faith Faith from Quarries
Tear of the gods	+2 Faith Faith for each Gems or Pearls resource

Founder Beliefs

These beliefs provide basic bonuses for the founding empire of the Religion. You may choose one of these beliefs when founding a Religion.

Name	Beliefs
Ceremonial burial	+1 Happiness Happiness for every City following this religion +1 Happiness Happiness for every 2 Cities following this religion
Church property	+2 Gold Gold for each City following this religion
Initiation rites	+100 Gold Gold when each City first converts to this religion
Interfaith dialogue	Gain Science Science when a Missionary spreads this religion to cities of other religions
Papal primacy	+15 to Influence Influence resting point with City-States following this religion
Peace loving	+1 Happiness Happiness for every 5 followers of this religion in non-enemy foreign cities
Pilgrimage	+2 Faith Faith for each foreign City following this religion
Tithe	+1 Gold Gold for every 4 followers of this religion
World church	+1 Culture Culture for every 5 followers of this religion in other civilizations

Follower Beliefs

These beliefs provide bonuses for the cities following this Religion. You can choose one of these beliefs when founding a Religion, but when the Religion enhances, you may choose another.

Name	Beliefs
Asceticism	Shrines provide +1 Happiness Happiness in cities with 3 followers
Cathedrals	Use Faith Faith to purchase Cathedrals
Choral music	Temples provide +2 Culture Culture in cities with 5 followers
Divine inspiration	Each World Wonder provides +2 Faith Faith in city
Feed the world	Shrines and Temples provide +1 Food Food each in city
Guruship	+2 Production Production if city has a Specialist
Holy warriors	Use Faith Faith to purchase pre-Industrial land units
Liturgical drama	Amphitheaters provide +1 Faith Faith in cities with 3 followers
Monasteries	Use Faith Faith to purchase Monasteries
Mosques	Use Faith Faith to purchase Mosques
Pagodas	Use Faith Faith to purchase Pagodas
Peace gardens	Gardens provide +2 Happiness Happiness in city
Religious art	Hermitage provides +8 Culture Culture in city Hermitage provides +5 Culture Culture and +5 Tourism Tourism
Religious center	Temples provide +2 Happiness Happiness in cities with 5 followers
Religious community	+1% Production Production for each follower (max +15%)
Swords into plowshares	15% faster Food Growth rate for city if not at war

Enhancer Beliefs

Enhancer beliefs provide additional bonuses that may help you in spreading your Religion. You may choose one of these beliefs only when the Religion enhances.

Name	Beliefs
Defender of the faith	+20% Melee strength Combat Strength near friendly cities that follow this religion
Holy order	Missionaries and Inquisitors cost 30% less Faith Faith
Itinerant preachers	Religion spreads to cities 30% further away
Just war	+20% Melee strength Combat Strength near enemy cities that follow this religion
Messiah	Prophets 25% stronger and earned with 25% less Faith Faith
Missionary zeal	Missionary conversion strength +25%
Religious texts	Religion spreads 34% faster (68% with Printing Press) Religion spreads 25% faster (50% with Printing Press)
Religious unity	Religion spreads to friendly City-States at double rate
Reliquary	Gain 50 Faith Faith each time a Great Person is expended

Reformation Beliefs

Reformation beliefs, added in Brave New World, provide powerful, game-changing bonuses. You can choose one of these beliefs after adopting the Reformation policy in the Piety tree.

Name	Beliefs
Charitable missions	Influence boosts from Gold Gold gifts to City-States are increased by 30%
Evangelism	Missionaries' Spread Religion action erodes existing pressure from other religions
Heathen conversion	Missionaries convert adjacent Barbarian units to this civilization
Jesuit education	May build Universities, Public Schools, and Research Labs with Faith Faith
Religious fervor	Use Faith Faith to purchase Industrial (and later) land units
Sacred sites	All buildings purchased with Faith Faith provide 2 Tourism Tourism each
To the glory of god	Use Faith Faith to purchase any type of Great People Great Person starting in Industrial Era
Underground sect	Your spies exert religious pressure on the cities they occupy
Unity of the prophets	Inquisitors and Prophets reduce this religion's presence by half (instead of eliminating it)

Strategy

It is very advisable, although not essential, to make your own religion and spread it as wide as possible. Religion can serve as 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 too long in the beginning of the game, you will never be able to found a Religion. To prevent that, research Pottery and build a Shrine in your capital. This should be one of the very first buildings you build in your capital, maybe right after the Monument. Also, you may probably want to build the Stonehenge for massive Faith boost. This will allow you to at least found a Pantheon, although that won't do you much good when other religions convert your cities. So, try to build couple of more Shrines in your first cities to ensure that you'll produce enough Faith to get a Great Prophet in time. Once you found a religion, you could take your time to enhance it.

Successful Religion depends on the combination of Beliefs you choose. There are plenty to choose from, and they're calculated well to help any imaginable game strategy. 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 neighbor enemy cities, and then gain a Combat bonus when you go to conquer them! Think VERY well 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.

Selecting the Piety social policy tree is mandatory if you decide to rely heavily on Religion. In Brave New World, Piety is available right from the start (Ancient Era), both helping you to create a Religion faster, and to improve its effects, including by choosing a special Reformation Belief.

You can choose whether to purchase a Missionary right after the first Prophet, or to gather more Faith for a second one 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 Great Mosque of Djenne is also a great idea, because it gives you missionaries with ability to spread religion three times instead of two! Make sure you train most, if not all, of them in this city, though.

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Civilization V [edit]
Gods & Kings • Brave New World
Lists Buildings Civilizations Unique abilities Improvements Leaders Promotions Resources Social policies Technologies Terrain Units Unique units Wonders Natural wonders
Eras Ancient Classical Medieval Renaissance Industrial Modern Future† Atomic‡ Information‡
Concepts City-State Culture Espionage‡ Food Gold Great People Happiness Natural wonder Production Religion‡ Science Unique ability Unit Unique unit Tourism‡ Victory Cultural Diplomatic Domination Science
Miscellaneous DLC Mathematics Modding Major Patches Scenarios Soundtrack Steam Achievements
† Only in vanilla Civ5 ‡ Only in Gods & Kings and Brave New World