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Icon Religion

By accumulating Icon Faith Faith and Holy Site districts, a Civilization can found a Pantheon and eventually a full Religion. In turn, spreading a founded Religion can bring many benefits to a Civilization, and even win the game with a Religious Victory.

Progression[ | ]

As a Pantheon/Religion progresses, it also acquires Beliefs---bonuses granted by that Religion. Note that:

  • Once a Belief is chosen, it cannot be chosen again by any Religion.
  • A Religion may only have up to one Belief of any category.

Founding a Pantheon[ | ]

Accumulating 25 Icon Faith Faith (on Normal speed) allows a Civilization to found a Pantheon---a sort of proto-Religion. This allows the selection of a Pantheon Belief.

Pantheons are tied to Civilizations rather than Religions---all cities owned by a Civilization automatically have that Civilization's Pantheon.

Founding a Religion[ | ]

Acquiring a Great Prophet allows a Civilization to found a Religion at a Holy Site district or the Stonehenge Wonder (which grants a Great Prophet for free). This allows the selection of a Follower Belief, plus one other Belief of another category.

Note that the number of Great Prophets is limited, so not every Civilization may be allowed to found a religion. The total number of Great Prophets is half the number of Civilizations, rounded up.

Arabia will automatically receive the last Great Prophet when the next-to-last-one is claimed, if they have not claimed one already.

Evangelizing a Belief[ | ]

Up to two Apostles may be expended to add one additional Belief each; they must have at least three charges (the base starting number) left to do so.

Launching an Inquisition[ | ]

An Apostle with at least three remaining charges may also be expended to unlock the purchase of Inquisitors with Icon Faith Faith. These defensive Religious units have a bonus to Religious Strength in friendly territory and can eliminate other religions from friendly cities.

Losing Your Religion[ | ]

If another civilization's religion is the majority in one of your cities, you will not be able to purchase religious units of your own in that city. If you do not have a majority in any of your cities you will not be able to purchase ANY religious units.

So be careful to not let other religions take over all of your cities!

Since Dec.2019 the mechanic has been changed somewhat. It is possible to "reanimate a dead religion" via a Rock Band with a specific perk. If a city is converted to another religion you can hire religions units from the new majority. In very rare cases it is possible by losing religious fights with your religious units (but with the foreign belief) to lower the support of the foreign religion in adjacient cities and gain back the majority of your religion.

With the May.2020 addition of the Vatican City religious City State, it is now also possible to "reanimate a dead religion" if you founded one by using Great People to release bursts of religious pressure from your founded religion on your cities.

Beliefs[ | ]

Pantheon[ | ]

Belief Effect
Dance of the Aurora The Icon Holy Site Holy Site District gets +1 Icon Faith Faith from adjacent Tundra Tiles.
Desert Folklore The Icon Holy Site Holy Site District gets +1 Icon Faith Faith from adjacent Deserts Tiles.
Divine Spark +1 Icon unitcommand activate great person Great Person Point from Icon district holy site Holy Site (Icon unitoperation found religion Great Prophet), Icon district campus Campus (Icon unitoperation scientist action Great Scientist), and Icon district theater square Theater Square (Icon unitoperation writer action Great Writer) Districts
Fertility Rites City growth rate is 10% higher.
God of Craftsmen +1 Icon main production Production from Icon Mine Mines over Strategic Resources.
God of Healing Increases healing by +30 in your Icon Holy Site Holy Site District, or any adjacent Tiles.
God of the Forge +25% Icon main production Production toward Ancient and Classical military Units.
God of the Open Sky +1 Icon Culture Culture from Icon Pasture Pastures.
God of the Sea +1 Icon main production Production from Icon Fishing Boats Fishing Boats.
God of War Bonus Icon Faith Faith for each enemy Unit killed within 8 tiles of a Icon Holy Site Holy Site District you own equal to 50% of their strength.
Goddess of Festivals +1 Icon main food Food from Icon Resource Wine Wine, Icon Resource Incense Incense, Icon Resource Chocolate Cocoa, Icon Tobacco Tobacco, Icon Resource Coffee Coffee, and Icon Resource Tea Tea Icon Plantation Plantations.
Goddess of the Harvest Harvesting a Resource or removing a feature receives Icon Faith Faith equal to the other yield's quantity.
Goddess of the Hunt +1 Icon main food Food from Icon Camp Camps.
Initiation Rites +50 Icon Faith Faith for each Barbarian Outposts cleared.
Lady of the Reeds and Marshes +1 Icon main production Production from Marsh, Oasis, and Floodplains.
Monument to the Gods Construct Ancient and Classical Wonders 15% faster.
Oral Tradition +1 Icon Culture Culture from Icon Resource Bananas Bananas, Icon Resource Citrus Citrus, Icon Resource Cotton Cotton, Icon Resource Dyes Dyes, Icon Resource Silk Silk, Icon Resource Spices Spices, and Icon Resource Sugar Sugar Icon Plantation Plantations.
Religious Idols +1 Icon Faith Faith from Icon Mine Mines over Luxury and Bonus Resources.
Religious Settlements Border expansion rate is 15% higher.
River Goddess +1 Icon Amenities Amenity to cities if they have a Icon Holy Site Holy Site District adjacent to a River.
Sacred Path The Icon Holy Site Holy Site District gets +1 Icon Faith Faith from adjacent Rainforests Tiles.
Stone Circles +2 Icon Faith Faith from Icon Quarry Quarries.

An easy way to remember which resources go with Goddess of Festivals or Oral Tradition: is it psychoactive?

  • Yes: Goddess of Festivals. (Including Incense.)
  • No: Oral Tradition. (Including Spices---they are not of the Dunean variety.)

Follower[ | ]

Any City with a majority religion benefits from that religion's Follower Belief, regardless of whether its owner founded that religion.

Exactly one Follower Belief must be chosen when founding a religion, plus one other Belief.

Belief Effect
Divine Inspiration All world Wonders provide +4 Icon Faith Faith.
Feed the World Shrines and Temples provide Icon main food Food equal to their intrinsic Icon Faith Faith output.
Jesuit Education May purchase Icon Campus Campus and Icon Theater Square Theater Square District Buildings with Icon Faith Faith.
Religious Community Shrines and Temples each provide +1 Icon housing Housing.
Reliquaries Icon Relic Relics have triple yield of both Icon Faith Faith and Icon Tourism Tourism.
Work Ethic +1% Icon main production Production in cities for each follower of the Religion in that city.
Zen Meditation +1 Icon Amenities Amenity in cities with 2 specialty Districts.

Founder[ | ]

Unlike other Beliefs, the benefits of Founder Beliefs accrue solely to the Civilization that founded that Religion.

Belief Effect
Church Property +2 Icon main gold Gold for each city following this Religion.
Lay Ministry Each Icon Holy Site Holy Site or Icon Theater Square Theater Square District in a city following this Religion provides +1 Icon Faith Faith or +1 Icon Culture Culture respectively.
Papal Primacy Type bonuses from City-States following your Religion are 50% more powerful.
Pilgrimage +2 Icon Faith Faith for every city following this Religion in other Civilizations.
Stewardship Each Icon Campus Campus or Icon Commercial Hub Commercial Hub District in a city following this Religion provides +1 Icon main science Science or +1 Icon main gold Gold respectively.
Tithe +1 Icon main gold Gold for every 4 followers of this Religion.
World Church +1 Icon Culture Culture for every 5 followers of this Religion in other Civilizations.

Enhancer[ | ]

Enhancer Beliefs help a Religion spread... sometimes by force.

Belief Effect
Crusade Combat Units (of the founder) gain +10 Icon map pin strength Combat Strength near foreign cities that follow this Religion.
Defender of the Faith Combat Units (of the founder) gain +10 Icon map pin strength Combat Strength near friendly cities that follow this Religion.
Holy Order Missionaries and Apostles are 30% cheaper to Purchase.
Itinerant Preachers Religion spreads to cities 30% further away.
Missionary Zeal Religious Units ignore Icon Movement Movement costs of Terrain and features.
Monastic Isolation Your Religion's pressure never drops due to losses in Theological Combat.
Scripture Religious spread from adjacent city pressure is 25% stronger. Boosted to 50% once Icon tech printing Printing is researched.

Worship[ | ]

These Beliefs grant the ability to construct, or purchase with Faith, a third building in Holy Site districts after the Shrine and Temple.

All Worship buildings give at least +3 Icon Faith Faith, plus some other benefit (which may include more Icon Faith Faith).

Saladin's special ability reduces the Icon Faith Faith cost of the building by 90%.

Belief/Building +3 Icon Faith Faith Other effects
Cathedral +3 Icon Faith Faith +1 Icon Faith Faith (additional), 1 slot for Religious Art
Gurdwara +3 Icon Faith Faith +2 Icon main food Food
Meeting House +3 Icon Faith Faith +2 Icon main production Production
Mosque +3 Icon Faith Faith Missionaries and Apostles +1 Spread Religion charge
Pagoda +3 Icon Faith Faith +1 Icon housing Housing
Synagogue +3 Icon Faith Faith +2 Icon Faith Faith (additional)
Wat +3 Icon Faith Faith +2 Icon main science Science

Spreading Religion[ | ]

Followers[ | ]

Each Icon citizen Citizen in each city may follow a Religion, or no religion. If a majority of Icon citizen Citizens in a city follow the same religion, the city is considered to follow that religion.

Religious pressure[ | ]

Cities exert religious pressure on other nearby cities. Over time, this may convert Icon citizen Citizens to the same religion.

Conjecture: Each city also has an internal pressure that affects only that city, which is determined by how much Spread Religion power has been spent in that city.

Theological Combat[ | ]

If one religious unit destroys another in Theological Combat, all nearby cities get +250 power for the religion of the winning side and -250 power to the religion of the losing side.

Religious units[ | ]

  • Unlike other units they heal only when on or adjacent to a Holy Site of their own Civilization (?).
  • They can enter foreign territory without Open Borders, which can allow them to function as spies and scouts in peacetime.
  • All religious units are tied to the religion their city had at the time they were purchased.
  • The cost of religious units increases for each one of that unit purchased.
Religious unit summary
Unit Base Icon Faith Faith cost Icon Religious Strength Religious Strength Notes
Missionary 75 Icon Faith Faith 100 Cannot initiate Theological Combat
Apostle 200 Icon Faith Faith 110 Starts with a choice of one of two random Promotions
Inquisitor 75 Icon Faith Faith 75 +35 Icon Religious Strength Religious Strength in friendly territory
Eliminates other Religions when spreading religion in a friendly city

Great Prophet[ | ]

Icon unit great prophet Great Prophets are used solely to found a Religion. After this they play no further part in the game.

Missionary[ | ]

Icon unit missionary Missionaries are a cheap way to spread religion when unopposed. However, they may not initiate Theological Combat and have relatively low Religious Strength, and are therefore easily destroyed by Apostles.

Apostle[ | ]

Icon unit apostle The most important religious unit (other than the Great Prophet), Apostles serve a variety of functions:

  • They are the only unit that can Evangelize Belief or Launch Inquisition.
  • They are the only religious unit that can launch effective attacks into hostile religious territory.
  • With a choice between two random promotions on purchase, they have the possibility of being able to perform additional functions.

Inquisitor[ | ]

Icon unit inquisitor Inquisitors may be purchased only after an Apostle is expended to Launch Inquisition and act as defensive units. They eliminate all other religions in friendly cities when spreading religion. While all but useless on the offensive due to their very low base Religious Strength, they gain a large bonus in friendly territory.

Theological Combat[ | ]

Religious units may attack other religious units (but not regular Combat units) even if the two civilizations are not at war. This works just like conventional combat. Religious units do not benefit from Icon map pin strength Strength bonuses that specifically apply to Combat units, but they do benefit from Icon map pin strength Strength bonuses that are not specific to Combat units.

Religious units are immediately destroyed if attacked by a Combat unit, including Barbarians. Combat units may not attack Religious units unless they are at war.

Religious Victory[ | ]

To win a Religious Victory a Civilization needs to found a Religion, then have a majority of cities in every Civilization following that religion.

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