Why I Like Civ VI: Religion

Let's get this out of the way so that I can get on with my usual gushing: Religion in Civilization VI needs some work. Religion just has too many problems with it right now to be competitively viable - which means that, in PvE, the only reason you can use it is because the AI is designed to do so as well. The opportunity cost of building Holy Sites in the early game dramatically outweighs the potential benefits to be gained from religion - but paradoxically, doing so is the only guaranteed way of getting a religion at all. To put into perspective how weak religion is, Kongo outpaces nearly all of the other AI in nine games out of ten, simply because they CAN'T invest in religion at all - in spite of Kongo otherwise being, at best, a B-Tier Civ in terms of their unique benefits.

Now that's out of the way. Those of you who came in here to hear me bash religion may leave now.

In Civilization VI, Religion is one of the (unfortunately) few (for now) ways that the player has to interact with the other AI in ways other than outright war. Sending missionaries and apostles into other parts of the world is a great way to explore the cities of other civilizations, and see what their layouts look like - they act as scouts deep in enemy territory. What's more, they represent a way for you to spread your influence in the diplomatic game. Converting another Civ to your religion - as long as they don't already have one of their own - nets you a nice little diplomatic bonus with them.

The various bonuses that can be gotten through religion are also pretty flavorful and fun. The Follower Bonus that you pick when you first found your religion, in particular, helps me to characterize my Civilization.

The Holy War Casus Belli is a delightfully villainous (in a Lawful Evil sort of way) way to start conflicts, while reducing Warmonger Penalties - and importantly, War and Religion go well together, in both real life and in Civilization. One of the most effective ways in real life that religion has spread is via conquest - whether the conqueror is Ahsoka or Charlemagne - and this remains true in Civilization VI. If you're feeling especially sadistic, you could launch an inquisition, and send inquisitors into your enemy's territory to convert cities as you conquer them, then end the war immediately, and give all your opponent's cities back - now purged of their heathen beliefs. I did this very thing to Phillip II in one of my recent games, and the result was delightful.

Faith is also one of the currencies of the game, along with actual currency, and it can be a surprisingly effective way to play the game. Faith works as a great way to earn great people in the categories in which you have comparatively few great person points, if you don't want to place the relevant districts in abundance. Religion represents a way to augment whatever strategy you're going for, or round out a strategy that is already really lopsided in one direction. And if you happen to go for Theocracy, and haven't spent too much faith on apostles and missionaries yet, your ability to spend your faith amassed so far on Military Units can represent a big mid-game power spike, that is especially attractive to folks who already get a lot of faith (Saladin or Peter), or to people who already hit a big midgame powerspike (Victoria) - or both (Phillip II).

I think my favorite thing about religion has probably got to be Relics. Relics are like the Ninjas of the Northern Wind (which is a reference you won't get unless you played Heroscape back in the day) - they are really cool, but only kinda good. Relics represent some of the most culturally important artifacts in the world - unlike the Great Works of Art, or Writing, these are objects of singular importance to the belief systems of entire people groups. They're objects that are attractive symbols of unity across social boundaries. Mechanically, the tourism bonus that they provide is large enough that if you are generating enough faith, Mont St. Michel's ability could easily grant you as much tourism with its ability as the entire rest of your cultural victory engine - and my favorite memories so far are of the games where I grabbed all sixteen of the relics.

Once again, Religion needs a lot of work. Competitively, it's a joke mechanic. It's the sort of thing that you would only play against other humans if you were already so much better at the game than them that you could afford to be playing with one hand behind your back. But on the other hand, it represents a fun secondary mechanic, either to round out your main strategy, or to augment it even further in an all out bid for supremacy. But it also represents, just like War, an integral part of the human experience. Everyone serves something. Everyone worships something. Call it God, call it reason, call it country, call it the cosmos. Just like humans fight each other over earthly things, they come together over heavenly things - and when we come together about heavenly things, it makes the world a better place for everyone. And even if it's mechanically kinda weak, I think it's pretty great that that's how religion works in Civilization VI too.