Civilization 6 Religion and Faith explained - how to earn Faith, found Pantheons and more in Civ 6

Every way to earn Faith in Civ 6 detailed, and more.

Guide by Chris Tapsell Deputy Editor

Updated on 12 Jan 2021

To spread your Civilization 6 Religion of choice, the first thing you'll need to do is acquire Faith. In fact, you'll need to continuously be acquiring large amounts of Faith throughout the course of your playthrough if you want to successfully achieve a Religious Victory, as you'll likely be spending it relentlessly on new Apostles and Missionaries to help spread the good news.

Here, we'll be taking you through all of the important mechanics surrounding Religion, Faith, Pantheons, beliefs, and more in Civilization 6, which should serve as some pretty comprehensive prep and companion detail for our dedicated Civ 6 Religious Victory guide.

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If you're looking for more resource-focused Civ 6 guides, meanwhile, we also have pages on how to earn Science, how to earn Gold, and how to earn Culture and Tourism in Civ 6, too.

A quick note: we've refreshed out Civ 6 guides for the game's launch on Nintendo Switch, but just be aware that they contain information regarding the Rise and Fall DLC as well as the base game, which means some things only apply if you have that DLC! Otherwise... crack on!

How does Religion work in Civilization 6? How to found Pantheons and Religions

Fortunately for returning players, Religion works in largely the same manner in Civ 6 as it does with Civ 5. 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.

Religion is both a victory condition and a general benefit - Just like Culture or Science, Religion can play a role of varying importance in your Civ 6 playthrough, and is by no means only something to think about when going for the Religious Victory. Numerous benefits, from military bonuses to increased Production or Great Person generation, can be extracted from a strong Religion in Civ 6, regardless of your situation.
The first thing you'll do is found a Pantheon - Like a mini pre-Religion, Pantheons offer long-term benefits from their respective beliefs. To found one, you'll need to amass 16 Faith, at which point you'll be prompted to make your choice of belief.
A Religion is then founded when you acquire a Great Prophet - Great Prophets, one of the many types of Great People in Civ 6, are earned when you have accrued enough Great Person points of that type. Those are earned from various buildings and wonders, such as your Holy Site and it's buildings. A Great Prophet can also be acquired by completing the Stonehenge Wonder.
With a Religion foudned, you can then go about adding new beliefs - Once founded, all cities in your civ with a Holy Site will convert to your new Religion. New Beliefs can be added to your Religion by using the Apostle's Evangelize Belief action, up to a total of four, plus your Pantheon belief - when you first found the Religion, you'll need to choose a Follower belief plus one more from the three other types.

There are a total of four types of Religious Beliefs in Civ 6:

Follower Beliefs - Provide some kind of yield or other inherent bonus, such as the +1% Production for each follower bonus provided by the Work Ethic Follower belief.
Founder Beliefs - Founder beliefs provide a bonus that relies on the number of followers that Religion has. Note that Followers can be in any city, regardless of whether that Religion is the predominant one there, and that Founder beliefs apply only to the Civ which founded this Religion.
Worship Beliefs - Worship beliefs grant a unique worship building that can be built in Holy Sites with Production, or puchased there with Faith, with each Worship building having a different benefit.
Enhancer Beliefs - Enhancer beliefs are angled towards spreading your Religion by making religious pressure stronger or Missionaries and Apostles cheaper.

How to earn Faith in Civilization 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.

Amenities

+5% Non-food yields (which includes Science) when the city is happy (has more Amenities than required).

Wonders

Hagia Sofia - Missionaries and Apostles can spread Religion 1 extra time. +4 Faith.
Mahabodhi Temple - Grants 2 Apostles. +4 Faith.
Mont St. Michel - All Apostles you create gain the Martyr ability in addition to a second ability you chose normally. +2 Faith; +2 Relic slots.
Oracle - Patronage of Great People costs 25% less Faith. Districts in this city provide +2 Great Person points of their type. +1 Faith; +1 Culture.
Potala Palace - +3 Faith, +3 Culture and +1 Diplomatic policy slot.
Stonehenge - Grants a free Great Prophet. Great Prophets may found a Religion on Stonehenge instead of a Holy Site. +2 Faith.
Holy Site Prayers - District-based project which provides Faith and Great Prophet points on completion.

Policies

God King - +1 Faith and +1 Gold in the Capital
Scripture - +100% Holy Site adjacency bonuses
Simultaneum - Doubles Faith yield from holy Site district buildings
Triangular Trade - +4 Gold and +1 Faith from all Trade Routes
Raj - +2 Science, Culture, Faith, and Gold from each city-state you are Suzerain of.
Revelation - +2 Great Prophet points per turn

Natural wonders

Crater Lake - +4 Faith; +1 Science; Fresh Water.
Dead Sea - +2 Faith; +2 Culture; Fresh Water. Units heal completely if they heal for one turn adjacent to the Dead Sea.
Mount Everest - +1 Faith to adjacent tiles. Missionaries, Inquisitors, and Apostles who move next to Mount Everest ignore Hills for the rest of the game.
Uluru - +2 Faith, +2 Culture and +4 Appeal to all adjacent tiles

City-states

Jerusalem - 1 Envoy: +2 Faith in Capital. 3 Envoys: +2 Faith in every Holy Site district. 6 Envoys: Additional +2 Faith in every Holy Site district. Suzerain Bonus: Automatically converts to the Religion you founded, and exerts pressure for that Religion as if it were a Holy City.
Kandy - 1 Envoy: +2 Faith in Capital. 3 Envoys: +2 Faith in every Holy Site district. 6 Envoys: Additional +2 Faith in every Holy Site district. Suzerain Bonus: Receive a Relic every time you discover a new natural wonder, and earn +50% Faith from all Relics.
La Venta - 1 Envoy: +2 Faith in Capital. 3 Envoys: +2 Faith in every Holy Site district. 6 Envoys: Additional +2 Faith in every Holy Site district. Suzerain Bonus: Your Builders can now make Colossal Head improvements.
Yerevan - 1 Envoy: +2 Faith in Capital. 3 Envoys: +2 Faith in every Holy Site district. 6 Envoys: Additional +2 Faith in every Holy Site district. Suzerain Bonus: Your Apostle units can choose from any possible promotion instead of receiving a random promotion.

Pantheon Beliefs

Divine Spark - +1 Great Person point from Holy Site, Campus, and Theatre Square districts.
Dance of the Aurora - Holy Site districts get +1 Faith from adjacent Tundra tiles.
Desert Folklore - Holy Site districts get +1 Faith from adjacent Desert tiles.
Sacred Path - Holy Site districts get +1 Faith from adjacent Rainforest tiles.
Religious Idols - +2 Faith from Mines over Luxury and Bonus resources.
Initiation Rites - +50 Faith for each Barbarian Outpost cleared.
Stone Circles - +2 Faith from Quarries.
God of War - Bonus Faith equal to 50% of the strength of each enemy unit killed within 8 tiles of a Holy Site district you own.
Goddess of the Harvest - Harvesting a resource or removing a feature receives Faith equal to the other yield's quantity.
Earth Goddess - +1 Faith from tiles with Charming or better Appeal.

Follower Beliefs

Divine Inspiration - All world wonders provide +4 Faith.
Reliquaries - Relics have triple yield of both Faith and Tourism

Worship Beliefs

Cathedral - +3 Faith, 1 slot for religious art.
Gurdwara - +3 Faith, +2 Food
Meeting House - +3 Faith, +2 Production
Mosque - +3 Faith, Missionaries and Apostles granted +1 Spread.
Pagoda - +3 Faith, +1 Housing
Synagogue - +5 Faith
Wat - +3 Faith, +2 Science
Stupa - +3 Faith, +1 Amenity
Dar-e Mehr - +3 Faith, +1 Faith for each era since constructed or last repaired.

Founder Beliefs

Lay Ministry - Each Holy Site or Theatre Square district in a city following this Religion provides +1 Faith or +1 Culture respectively.
Pilgrimage - +2 Faith for every city following this Religion in other civilizations.

Holy Site district

+1 Great Prophet point per turn.
+2 Faith from each adjacent natural wonder.
+1 Faith from each adjacent Mountain.
+1 Faith from every 2 adjacent Woods tiles.
+1 Faith from every 2 adjacent district tiles.
+2 Faith per citizen working this tile.
+1 Faith from international Trade Routes.

Lavra district (Russia only, replaces Holy Site)

Your city border grows by one tile each time a Great Person is expended in this city.
+2 Great Prophet points per turn.
+1 Great Writer point per turn.
+1 Great Artist point per turn.
+1 Great Musician point per turn.
+2 Faith from each adjacent natural wonder.
+1 Faith from each adjacent Mountain.
+1 Faith from every 2 adjacent Woods tiles.
+1 Faith from every 2 adjacent district tiles.
+2 Faith per citizen working this tile.
+1 Faith from international Trade Routes.

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. Finally, here's the Culture Victory, Foreign Tourism, and Domestic Tourism explained in depth.

Buildings and Improvements

Shrine - Allows the purchasing of Missionaries. +2 Faith, +1 Citizen slot, +1 Great Prophet point per turn.
Temple - Allows the purchasing of Apostles. +4 Faith, +1 Citizen slot, +1 Great Prophet point per turn, +1 Relic slot.
Colossal Head - +2 Faith. +1 Faith for every 2 adjacent Rainforest. +1 Faith for every 2 adjacent Woods (tile improvement, if the Suzerain of La Venta).

Unique Buildings and Improvements

Stave Church - +4 Faith, +1 Citizen slot, +1 Great Prophet point per turn, +1 Relic slot (Norway, replaces Temple).
Tlachtli - +2 Faith, +1 Amenity from Entertainment, +1 Great General point per turn (Aztec, tile improvement).
Madrasa - Faith equal to the adjacency Science bonus of its district. +5 Science, +1 Housing, +1 Citizen slot, +1 Great Scientist Point per turn (Arabia, Campus district building replacing University)
Sphinx - +1 Faith, +1 Appeal, +1 Culture, +2 additional Faith if next to a Wonder (Egypt, tile improvement).
Stepwell - +1 Faith if placed adjacent to a Holy Site, +1 Food, +1 additional Food if placed next to a Farm, +1 Housing (India, tile improvement).
Kurgan - +1 Faith, +1 Gold, +1 Faith for each adjacent Pasture (Scythia, tile improvement).
Mission - +2 Faith, +2 Faith if on a different continent than your Capital city, +2 Science if built next to a Campus, +2 Science with Cultural Heritage Civic (Spain, tile improvement).