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Achieving a Religious Victory in Civilization 6 can often be the quickest path to victory, particularly when fewer players are also pursuing a religious strategy. The game features several civilizations that focus heavily on generating Faith, but some are particularly adept at securing a swift Religious Victory.
These top Faith civilizations in Civ 6 excel at rapidly generating Faith, swiftly capturing other Holy Sites, and are generally well-equipped to achieve the fastest Religious Victory in Civilization 6. While other civilizations might secure Religious Victories more consistently, these leaders can do so remarkably quickly under the right conditions and with a focus on Faith-centric strategies.
Theodora - Byzantine
Easily Convert Cities While Conquering Them
Theodora Leader Ability: Metanoia
Holy Sites also grant Culture equal to their Adjacency Bonus. Farms gain +1 Faith from Hippodromes and Holy Sites.
Byzantine Civ Ability: Taxis
+3 Combat and Religious Strength for all units for every Holy City you have converted, including Byzantium. Whenever you kill a unit, your Religion spreads to its controlling Civilization or City-State.
Unique Units
Dromon (Classical Ranged unit), Hippodrome (replaces Entertainment Complex, grants Amenities and a free Heavy Cavalry unit on completion and for every building in this district).
Theodora, the leader of the Byzantium civilization, heavily emphasizes religious warfare to spread her religion. The Byzantine civilization ability grants extra Combat and Religious Strength for every Holy City you convert (including your own), and whenever you kill an enemy unit, your Religion spreads to their associated civilization.
The Hippodrome facilitates quick conquests across every age by providing free Heavy Cavalry units as you establish and expand this district. Theodora's bonus to Culture generation from Holy Sites accelerates your progress through the Civics tree, where you should prioritize rushing the Theology and Monarchy civics for additional Policy Slots.
Theodora is ideal for a combined Domination and Religious strategy. You don't need to conquer every civilization; simply engage in combat, defeat their units, and easily spread your religion.
Select the Crusades founding belief for extra combat strength against units following your religion, and convert outlying cities before invading them. Your religious influence will continue to emanate from the city, units that follow your religion will take more damage, and they will spread your religion upon death. By killing enemy units and sending regular Missionaries and Apostles to the target Holy City, you can convert it extremely quickly.
Menelik II - Ethiopia
Settle On Hills To Harvest Faith Without Sacrificing Culture or Science
Menelik II Leader Ability: Council of Ministers
Cities founded on Hills gain Science and Culture output equal to 15% of their Faith output. +4 Combat Strength for all units on Hills.
Ethiopia Civ Ability: Aksumite Legacy
All Resource improvements receive +1 Faith for every copy. International Trade Routes grant +0.5 Faith for every resource in the origin city. Archaeologists and Museums can be purchased with Faith.
Unique Units
Oromo Cavalry (Medieval Light Cavalry unit), Rock-Hewn Church (extra +1 Faith for every adjacent Mountain or Hills tile, provides Tourism from Faith after getting to Flight, spreads +1 Appeal to surroundings).
Menelik II might seem like a complex Faith leader at first glance, but his strategy is straightforward. As the leader of the Ethiopia civilization, he gains extra Faith from multiple copies of non-strategic resources and from trading with cities rich in Luxury Resources.
However, it's his Leader ability that makes Menelik II capable of achieving quick Religious Victories. Found all your cities on Hills to gain 15% of your Faith output as Science and Culture in each city. This allows you to prioritize Faith without falling behind in Culture or Science.
As Menelik II, you can easily secure the first Pantheon and Religion by focusing on producing Faith buildings over other victory paths. Build Rock-Hewn Churches next to mountains, ideally surrounded by Hills or Mountain tiles, to maximize your Faith bonus.
The strategy is simple: collect as many copies of Bonus and Luxury Resources as possible, engage in trade with civilizations that have these resources, and establish your settlements on Hills to balance your outputs. By prioritizing Faith alongside Culture as a secondary focus, you'll quickly progress through the Civic tree and unlock policies that enhance your Religious influence earlier than other civilizations.
Jayavarman VII - Khmer
Place Holy Sites Next To Rivers For Enormous Faith Gains
Jayavarman VII Leader Ability: Monasteries of the King
Holy Sites grant Food equal to their Adjacency Bonus, gain +2 Adjacency from Rivers, +2 Housing if built next to a River, and trigger a Culture Bomb.
Khmer Civ Ability: Grand Barays
Aqueducts provide +1 Amenity, and +1 Faith for each Citizen in the city. Farms get +2 Food if placed next to an Aqueduct, and +1 Faith next to a Holy Site.
Unique Units
Domrey (Medieval Siege unit), Prasat (+6 Faith, Relic slot, extra Housing, Culture, and Food with certain beliefs). +0.5 Culture for every Citizen.
As the leader of the Khmer civilization, Jayavarman VII is excellent for achieving fast Cultural victories, particularly when focused on gathering Relics. However, he truly excels at securing quick Religious Victories.
Players often underestimate the power of his Leader ability. By placing a Holy Site next to a River (which the Khmer are likely to start near), it generates substantial Faith, adds Housing, and expands your territory with a Culture Bomb. As the Khmer, you gain an extra Amenity from Aqueducts and a full point of Faith for every citizen in the city. The Prasat unique building boosts Culture based on citizens and provides a significant +6 Faith per turn when constructed.
To leverage these advantages, place all your Holy Sites next to rivers, prioritize building Aqueducts, and construct Wonders like the Great Bath and The Hanging Gardens to boost your Growth and mitigate the effects of river adjacency.
For the rest of the game, focus on developing your Holy Site and continuously producing Apostles (or several Missionaries) to convert other Holy Cities rapidly and peacefully.
Peter - Russia
Bonus Faith On Tundra + Dance Of The Aurora = Game Over
Peter Leader Ability: The Grand Embassy
Trade Routes with other Civilizations grant +1 Science and +1 Culture for every 3 Technologies or Civics they are ahead of Russia.
Russia Civ Ability: Mother Russia
Gain 5 extra tiles on founding a city, Tundra tiles grant +1 Faith and +1 Production. Units are immune to Blizzard, but civilizations at war with Russia suffer double penalties inside Russian territory.
Unique Units
Cossack (Industrial Era), Lavra (Replaces Holy District, expands by 2 tiles in the nearest city whenever you spend a Great Person there).
Russia is an exceptionally versatile civilization in Civ VI, capable of achieving any victory type. Peter, however, stands out as the top choice for Religious Victory by a significant margin.
As the leader of Russia, Peter benefits from extra Science and Culture when establishing Trade Routes with civilizations that are ahead of Russia in either the Tech or Civic tracks. While this helps bolster these yields, Russia's true strength lies in its civilization ability.
When playing as Russia, you gain additional tiles upon founding a city and can build the Lavra, which replaces the Holy Site. Expending a Great Person in a city with a Lavra expands your borders by two tiles. Coupled with the extra Faith and Production from Tundra tiles, this makes Russia exceptionally powerful.
Peter's civilization starts with a bias towards Tundra zones, allowing you to immediately leverage the Faith and Production bonuses from these tiles. Rush the Dance of the Aurora pantheon to further enhance the yields from Tundra tiles, and use Settlers (with the Magnus promotion to prevent Population loss) to expand widely across the Tundra.
By the time you establish a Lavra in your fourth city, your Faith output will likely be significantly higher than that of other civilizations. Continue developing these Holy Sites, aim for St Basil's Cathedral for additional Tundra bonuses, and construct numerous Builders to harvest the new resources your Great People will unlock through territorial expansion.
Peter enables some of the fastest Religious victories in Civ VI. By maximizing the potential of Tundra tiles and fully utilizing your Lavras, you can achieve an early win through your overwhelming Faith output.
