Some say religion is the opium of the masses, but at the very least it's a mechanic you need to master in Sid Meier's Civilization 7. Your decision during the Antiquity Age is crucial, and your actions during the Exploration Age help determine how you proceed in the campaign. Here's our guide that discusses the best Pantheon and religious beliefs in Civilization 7.What are the best religious beliefs and Pantheons in Civilization 7 - Religion guideIf you've played Civilization games in the past, then you'll soon realize that the Civilization 7 religion system isn't as intricate as before. That said, it's still an integral part of each run, specifically during the Antiquity Age and Exploration Age:Antiquity Age - You can choose your Pantheon, a bonus that remains in effect throughout the campaign.Exploration Age - You can pick your Reliquary Belief, Founder Belief, and Enhancer Belief. These are important, especially if you plan to engage with the Cultural Legacy path/milestone. Best PantheonYou can unlock a Pantheon in Civilization 7 during the Antiquity Age. To do this, you must first study the Mysticism civic. This can take you well over a dozen turns, which is why luck plays a huge role. If you can find goody huts that reward culture, then you should have a decent shot at grabbing the Pantheon that you want.In any case, the best Pantheon in Civilization 7 is good ol' Fertility Rites, which grants +10% growth rate in cities with an Altar. Everything else, when compared to it, feels extremely situational. How to found and spread your own religionLater during the Exploration Age, you can found your own religion. This is done by studying the Piety civic and then building a Temple in your settlements. When you found your own religion, you may also select one Reliquary Belief and one Founder Belief.Likewise, take note that you can train a Missionary in any settlement that has a Temple. Missionary units have "Spread Religion" charges. All you need to do is move them to another settlement to convert that place to your religion.Note 1: You may also recruit Missionaries from settlements without any religion or those that another civ converted to their religion. The only important thing is that the settlement has a temple. For example, you can forward-settle a town close to another civ, buy a Temple using gold, and then buy Missionaries so they can start converting your opponent's territories.Note 2: Converting a settlement's population depends on the tile where you used the "Spread Religion" action. A good example is how large cities have separate urban and rural population. If you want to fully convert a city to your cause, then you need to use the action on (a) an urbanized district, and (b) a rural district, such as a mine or a farm. Best Reliquary BeliefThe Reliquary Belief you choose is very important, since it determines how you obtain holy relics whenever your Missionaries convert settlements. Similar to the Pantheon decision, we feel that there's only one viable option here: Icons.The Icons Reliquary Belief grants +2 relics whenever you convert a city-state for the first time. Depending on the map size, you're likely to discover half a dozen or so city-states across multiple continents. All that's left is to send out your Missionaries so you can have as many relics as you need. Best Founder BeliefsAmong the Founder Beliefs in Civilization 7, we suggest the following options:Interfaith Dialogue: +4 science for every foreign settlement following your religion.Tithe: +4 gold for every foreign settlement following your religion.Other choices are more terrain-based, and we feel that they're extremely situational or unnecessary. That said, two options provide powerful boons, but they're dependent on how the other civs have progressed:Stewardship: +8 culture, gold, and science for every tile that has a natural wonder in other civs' settlements following your religion.Shrines of the Kami: +4 culture, gold, and science for every wonder in other civs' settlements following your religion.Generally speaking, if an opposing civ has built several wonders, or if they have natural wonders in their realm, then they already have a huge advantage. However, Stewardship and Shrines of the Kami might help you catch up due to their bonuses. Best Enhancer BeliefsTo unlock Enhancer Beliefs, you need to study the Theology civic. You'll then be able to select from several available options. Here are our recommendations:Stella Maris: +2 movement to Missionaries when embarked; all naval units and embarked units gain +1 movement. This is great for exploring the rest of the world and conquering new lands.Conversion: Newly-founded towns in distant lands (i.e. other continents) start with this religion in place.Defender of the Faith: +5 combat strength in friendly settlements that follow your religion. This is a decent choice if you need to defend your realm.Dawah: Establishing a trade route to a settlement automatically converts it to your religion. This is a viable pick if you're creating multiple trade routes, since you won't need to send your Missionaries to those locations.That does it for our guide on the best religious beliefs and Pantheons in Civilization 7. Once the Exploration Age is over, you won't be engaging with this system anymore, assuming you're still going for a Cultural Victory. That's because you need to excavate artifacts using Explorers in the next era.Explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate your way to victory with the help of our Sid Meier's Civilization 7 guides hub.