Civilization VI: Fastest Religious Victory Civs, Ranked

Mastering Religious Victory in Civilization VI: A Guide to Swift Faith Accumulation

Securing a Religious Victory in Civilization VI can be surprisingly swift, particularly if you're not facing intense religious competition. Several civilizations excel at generating Faith, rapidly acquiring Holy Sites, and achieving a dominant religious presence. This guide highlights the top contenders for a fast Religious Victory, focusing on strategies that maximize their unique strengths.

While some civilizations offer more reliable paths to Religious Victory, these leaders can achieve it quickly under the right conditions and with a focused Faith-based strategy.

Theodora – Byzantine Empire

Leader Ability: Metanoia: Holy Sites gain Culture equal to their adjacency bonus. Farms gain +1 Faith from Hippodromes and Holy Sites.

Civilization Ability: Taxis: +3 Combat and Religious Strength for each converted Holy City. Killing a unit spreads your religion to the controlling civilization or city-state.

Unique Units: Dromon (Classical ranged unit), Hippodrome (replaces Entertainment Complex; grants Amenities and a free Heavy Cavalry upon completion and for each building within the district).

Theodora's strategy centers on religious warfare. The Byzantine ability boosts combat and religious strength with each converted Holy City, and conquered units spread your religion. The Hippodrome facilitates rapid conquest across all eras by providing free Heavy Cavalry. The Culture bonus from Holy Sites accelerates Civic tree progression, allowing for quick access to Theology and Monarchy for additional Policy Slots.

Winning Strategy: Combine Domination and Religious strategies. Focus on combat engagements to spread your religion, utilizing the Crusades founding belief for extra combat strength against units of your religion. Convert cities before invasion, leveraging their religious influence and the damage dealt by units of your faith. Combine this with Missionaries and Apostles for rapid Holy City conversions.

Menelik II – Ethiopia

Leader Ability: Council of Ministers: Cities founded on Hills gain Science and Culture equal to 15% of their Faith output. +4 Combat Strength for units on Hills.

Civilization Ability: Aksumite Legacy: Resource improvements gain +1 Faith per copy. International Trade Routes gain +0.5 Faith per resource in the origin city. Archaeologists and Museums can be purchased with Faith.

Unique Units: Oromo Cavalry (Medieval Light Cavalry unit), Rock-Hewn Church (+1 Faith per adjacent Mountain or Hills tile; provides Tourism from Faith after Flight; spreads +1 Appeal).

Menelik II's strength lies in his Leader ability. Founding cities on Hills provides a balanced approach, generating Science and Culture alongside Faith. This allows for simultaneous advancement in multiple areas without sacrificing progress in any one.

Winning Strategy: Focus on settling cities on Hills. Construct Rock-Hewn Churches near mountains and hills for maximum Faith bonuses. Acquire multiple copies of Bonus and Luxury Resources and engage in trade with resource-rich civilizations. Prioritize Culture alongside Faith to unlock policies boosting religious influence early.

Jayavarman VII – Khmer Empire

Leader Ability: Monasteries of the King: Holy Sites gain Food equal to their adjacency bonus, +2 adjacency from Rivers, +2 Housing near Rivers, and trigger a Culture Bomb.

Civilization Ability: Grand Barays: Aqueducts provide +1 Amenity and +1 Faith per citizen. Farms gain +2 Food near Aqueducts and +1 Faith near Holy Sites.

Unique Units: Domrey (Medieval Siege unit), Prasat (+6 Faith, Relic slot, extra Housing, Culture, and Food with certain beliefs). +0.5 Culture per citizen.

Jayavarman VII excels at both Cultural and Religious victories. His Leader ability is key to a fast Religious Victory. Placing Holy Sites next to rivers generates significant Faith, Housing, and Culture.

Winning Strategy: Prioritize Holy Site placement next to rivers. Construct Aqueducts for Amenities and Faith. Utilize Wonders like the Great Bath and The Hanging Gardens to boost growth and mitigate negative effects of river adjacency. Produce Apostles (and Missionaries) to rapidly convert Holy Cities.

Peter – Russia

Leader Ability: The Grand Embassy: Trade Routes with advanced civilizations grant +1 Science and +1 Culture for every 3 Technologies or Civics they lead in.

Civilization Ability: Mother Russia: +5 extra tiles when founding a city. Tundra tiles grant +1 Faith and +1 Production. Units are immune to Blizzards; warring civilizations suffer double penalties in Russian territory.

Unique Units: Cossack (Industrial Era), Lavra (replaces Holy Site; expands by 2 tiles in the nearest city when a Great Person is spent there).

Peter offers one of the fastest Religious Victory paths. Russia's ability to gain extra tiles upon city founding, coupled with the Faith and Production from Tundra tiles, allows for rapid expansion.

Winning Strategy: Settle on Tundra tiles, utilizing the Dance of the Aurora pantheon for increased yields. Use Settlers (with the Magnus promotion) to expand widely. Construct Lavras and utilize Great People to expand city borders. Build St. Basil's Cathedral for further Tundra tile bonuses. The combination of rapid expansion and high Faith output enables a swift Religious Victory.