Due to its prerequisites and potential friction against the neighboring civilizations in the process, a Religious Victory can be quite tricky to win for players of Civilization 6, especially when they are trying to earn it in a multiplayer game session. Other experienced human players will immediately be alert for any kind of attempt to win with a Religious Victory.
However, some civilizations can gain a Religious Victory out of their sheer advantage that no other players can stop, even when they can gain a slight advantage. Between their massive Faith output and reliable ways of spreading religion, these civilizations can be relied on to consistently earn a Religious Victory.
Updated September 21, 2024 by Matt Weideman: The vast number of leaders in Civilization 6 thanks to the multiple expansion packs is truly impressive, and it can be difficult to figure out which leader a player might want to try out next. This list was expanded to include a few more entries, suggesting leaders that can be used to achieve a Religious Victory, even if they may seem like they are more suited to a different strategy at first glance.
13 Gran Colombia
- All units get +1 movement speed, including religious units
- Promotions don’t end a unit’s turn, even for new Apostles
While domination is the more obvious path to victory for Gran Colombia, their simple yet effective civilization ability is surprisingly helpful for a Religious Victory. All units, including Apostles, Missionaries, and Gurus get a bonus to their movement speed which gives them an edge when multiple leaders are racing to convert cities.
Since Apostles start with a free promotion, they normally have to wait a turn before they can leave their home city. However, Simón BolÃvar’s units don’t end their turn when they are promoted, so Gran Colombian Apostles can start moving as soon as they are made. The extra turns of movement can make the difference in a close race to a Religious Victory, which makes it a decent fallback option for players to keep if Domination Victory becomes too difficult.
12 Spain – Philip II
Colonize Foreign Continents and Use the Spanish Inquisition
- Inquisitors get an extra charge and remove all followers of foreign religions
- Trade routes get extra Gold, Faith, and Production, and this boost is larger for intercontinental routes
Philip II has a phenomenal defense against other players vying for a Religious Victory in his mighty Inquisitors. They remove 100 percent of foreign religions in the city when they are used, which means that players don’t have to worry as much about their cities being converted by foreign missionaries. Instead, they can use just a small handful of Inquisitors to slow other players down while spreading their empire onto a different continent than where they started.
Spain is particularly powerful when crossing continental boundaries because crossing these lines means buffs to new cities they found and international trade routes. This is where Spain truly shines, as the extra yields to Faith from this ability will make it easy to snowball into a Religious Victory or give them an edge in a different type. Philip II players who are fortunate enough to spawn near two different continents can start this snowball effect very early on and quickly become impossible to defeat when it comes to religion.
11 Indonesia – Gitarja
Quickly Spread Religion Along the Coast
- Religious units embark and disembark at no extra cost
- Coast and Lake tiles boost Holy Site Adjacency bonus and add extra Faith
Indonesia gets many different boosts when settling on the coast or near lake tiles. Since they start out on the coast, they have a very strong start to the game, which makes gunning for a Religious Victory an easy route to take. Gitarja’s religious units don’t spend movement when embarking or disembarking, so they move faster from one landmass to another than other civilizations’ units.
Indonesia also gets a boost to Faith from coastal and lake tiles, which means that they start generating faith on the very first turn, just by settling their first city. These tiles also give a slight boost to Holy Site Adjacency, which also helps the early start to spreading Indonesia’s religion. Gitarja’s combination of boosts makes for an easy way to get an early lead on a Religious Victory, especially when playing on a map with islands or lots of coastal territory.
10 Japan
Build Holy Sites Quicker Than Others
- Build Holy Sites, Theater Squares, and Encampments in half the time
- Gain bonus adjacency for each adjacent district to +1 instead of +0.5
One of the best ways to acquire a quick Religious Victory is to build a large number of Holy Sites to gain Faith, and playing as the Japanese under Hojo Tokimune is one of the best ways to do it. His unique ability enables various districts to be built at half the time, including the precious Holy Sites for a Religious Victory. The quick construction of Holy Districts can also enable them to quickly acquire a strong Pantheon that is usually taken at the first few turns.
Moreover, the Japanese innate perk of having more bonus adjacency than other civilizations makes them one of the strongest civilizations to try winning a Religious Victory. By having well-planned cities to build a huge adjacent bonus for several Holy Sites, Faith generation will not be a problem at all for them to spread their religion. With these bonuses, players will need to pay close attention to what districts Japan is currently building in a game of Civilization 6.
9 Arabia – Saladin (Vizier)
Found a Religion No Matter What
- Arabia is guaranteed to get a Great Prophet
- Arabia’s worship building is 90 percent cheaper and boosts Faith, Science, and Culture
Arabia’s ability guarantees that they receive the last Great Prophet, which means that they don’t have to race to build Holy Sites in time to recruit one. Because of this, Arabia players can focus on Science, Gold, or Production in the Ancient and Classical eras and still get to found a religion, giving them a well-rounded start.
Arabia’s worship building is cheaper as well, which means that they can easily stack their cities with them and boost their Faith output very quickly. Since Arabia’s Science output is boosted by cities that are converted to their founded faith, players are highly motivated to spread their religion as quickly as possible. This also means that Arabia can easily aim for either a Science or Religious Victory and pivot between them as needed without losing momentum.
8 Ethiopia
Rapidly Generate Faith Through Various Means
- Cities founded on Hills gain Science and Culture equal to 15% of their Faith output
- Each improved resource tile in a city grant +1 Faith
- International Trade Routes grant +0.5 Faith for each resource in the origin city
As one of the civilizations that can generate a massive amount of faith, Ethiopia becomes one of the contenders that can suddenly achieve a Religious Victory if their efforts in generating Faith are left unchecked. They can generate Faith through various means, including improving resources and having international trade routes from a city with improved resources. This will allow them to focus on building cities near useful resources, be it luxury, strategic, or even bonus resources, as it allows their Faith generation to snowball on a high scale.
Moreover, they can focus on generating Faith while still acquiring Culture for powerful policies and Science for the best technologies in Civilization 6, as long as the cities are founded on hills. With these bonuses, a game with Ethiopia will need closer attention as they will be able to achieve victory silently without other players noticing their slow but steady approach to spreading their religion to the world.
7 Khmer
Acquire Huge Faith Generation with Productive Cities
- Cities with Aqueducts receive bonus A menity and Faith for every population
- Able to build Prasat on a Holy Site instead of a Temple, which grants more Faith than the normal Temple and 0.5 Culture for every population, and provides 10 Tourism if the city has 10 or more population, and 20 Tourism for more than 20 population
Having productive cities with a huge population is always one of the most important things to do in Civilization 6. Consequently, these productive cities will be able to produce the desired yield for the player to acquire their victory type, which in this case, is the Religious Victory. The Khmer can provide such a solution with its rapidly growing cities and unique Prasat building.
By having their cities near rivers and placing an Aqueduct near them, the Khmer are able to acquire a lot of Faith generation for every population of the city. Moreover, the unique Prasat also generates more Faith than the usual Temple, making it more convenient for them to acquire more Faith in the long run and enhance their Religion as a result.
6 India – Gandhi
Benefits From Other Religious Beliefs in Cities
- Cities receive follower beliefs from all Religions in them, not just the majority Religion, and gain +1 Amenity for each Religion in the city
- Missionaries can spread Religion for 2 more charges
- Religion pressure from trade routes is doubled
In a Civilization 6 game, a player can expect to compete with other civilizations in all aspects of the game, including in the Religion part, as other civilizations will be trying to spread their Religion as well. India can use this to their advantage, as its cities receive all the follower beliefs of all Religions, not just the biggest Religion.
Moreover, their Missionaries can spread Religion with 2 more charges, which is incredibly useful when trying to gain a Religious Victory. India can also try to convert cities passively via their trade routes, as the pressure is doubled due to their unique Civ ability.
5 Georgia – Tamar
Use Dramatic Age Policies For a Religioous Advantage
- With Dramatic Ages, gain additional Wildcard policy slots in all governments. Able to use Dark Age policy cards as well during other ages
- Without Dramatic Ages, dedications chosen at the beginning of a Golden or Heroic Age also grant Normal Age bonuses
- Increased production towards Walls by 50%
- Able to build Tsikhe instead of Renaissance Walls, which have lower production costs and generate Faith. Doubles all bonuses while in a Golden Age
Achieving a Golden Age or at least a Normal Age during a game of Civilization 6 is crucial as it allows the player to gain more advantages and keep their civilizations snowballing into the newer ages. This doubly applies to Georgia, as their bonuses are tied to Golden Ages, which in turn can be used to gain more advantages by using either Dedications or Wildcard bonuses dedicated to Religious Victory.
Moreover, the Tsikhe which replaces Renaissance Walls, enables Georgia to safely focus on acquiring Faith without having too much reliance on the military side of the game, as it safeguards them from any attempted invasion from warmongering neighbors.
4 Poland – Jadwiga
Convert Cities With Innocous Culture Bombs
- Able to take other city’s territory via Culture Bombs by building an Encampment or a Fort. Cities that have their territory taken are instantly converted to Poland’s Religion.
- Relics grant more Gold, Culture, and Faith bonuses.
- One military policy slot is converted into a Wildcard policy slot.
Although Poland is a strong civilization to play, players will need to focus on one victory type only, as the all-rounder bonuses might divert a player’s focus on one victory type. With their unique ability to take other civilizations’ territory and convert them instantly to their Religion with Culture Bombs, Poland can safely convert cities without generating Grievances.
Moreover, acquiring Relics will be more beneficial for Poland players to focus on generating more bonuses in Gold, Culture, and Faith, making it easier for them to build Missionaries and Apostles to convert other civilizations’ cities.
3 Byzantine – Basil II
Fight Ferociously Under a Religious Banner
- Increase combat and religious strength for all units for each Holy City converted to Byzantium’s Religion
- Byzantium’s Religion is spread when a unit from an enemy civilization or city-state is defeated
Earning a Religious Victory can also translate to a perilous time of war against other civilizations, as they tend to not appreciate having another Religion invade their cities, provided that they have their own Religion as well. However, the Byzantines relish these warmongering tendencies, as their unique ability allows them to convert other civilizations’ cities for every victory they earn.
Moreover, Byzantines are incentivized to invade other Holy Cities, as it empowers their combat and religious units after taking each of them. Although it might look like warmongering at first glance, it is more beneficial for Byzantium to go along the path of a Religious Victory due to its unique bonuses.
2 Mali – Mansa Musa
Buy a Way Into Religion Dominance Via Faith and Gold Dominance
- City Centers gain bonus Faith and Food for every adjacent Desert tile
- Mines lose 1 Production, but gain 4 Gold in return
- May purchase Commercial Hub buildings with Faith
- Able to build Suguba instead of a Commercial Hub, which discounts all purchases made with either Gold or Faith
Although settling in Desert tiles might not be beneficial for other civilizations, Mali prefers it over other tiles due to their bonuses, as their city centers benefit from every adjacent Desert tile. The bonus Faith and Food facilitate a Religion rush, as they will be able to both find a Pantheon and Religion quickly with their generation.
Moreover, their strong economy allows them to simply buy their way into advancement, and it will be discounted as well through the Suguba. Aside from buying buildings and units, the extra Gold can be used to acquire luxury resources as well. All in all, Mali players are expected to dominate the economic climate of a Civilization 6 game.
1 Russia – Tsar Peter
This All-Rounder Civilization Is Great For a Religious Victory
- Founded cities start with five additional tiles
- Tundra tiles provide additional Faith and Production
- Able to build Lavra instead of Holy Site, which can be built for less Production and grants extra points in acquiring cultural Great People if there is a building in the district
Veteran players of Civilization 6 will not be surprised and will be up for a difficult game when they see Russia is on their map. This civilization can easily focus on multiple victory types, including a Culture Victory, due to their outrageous unique abilities and tendency to settle on Tundra tiles, which other players might avoid instead. The large swathe of land that comes with each city also gives Russia a wide range of choices for where to build their districts, helping them maximize Holy Sites and beyond.
With their Lavra, Russia is also able to rush the Dance of the Aurora Pantheon to gain more Faith. This allows their Lavra to get 1 Faith from each adjacent Tundra tile. This makes them able to easily build large numbers of Missionaries and Apostles to convert other cities rapidly. With maximized districts and easy access to missionaries, Russia is a religious victory powerhouse.
