Which Religion Should You Choose?

As is tradition with Bethesda titles, Starfield allows players to customize their character right from the start. Choosing specific origins and traits at the character creation screen will largely determine your experience in Starfield’s adventures and how the in-game characters will interact with you.

One of the important aspects of the game is choosing your religion to follow. There are three in Starfield, and your choice to join one will open some doors, close others, and also give you some specific loot that you can use in the game.

Which Religion Should You Choose in Starfield?

RPG games are all about creating your path and experience, and your choice of religion in Bethesda’s interstellar adventure is just one of the many parameters that will change your experience. Now, the changes aren’t massive, but it’s one of the aspects to keep in mind if you enjoy replaying a game and finding new paths and dialogue.

Starfield features three choices of religion: Enlightened, Universal, and Serpent’s Embrace. Your choice of religion will get you some exclusive gear, but what’s more important are the buffs and dialogue options that can have a direct impact on your playthrough, a bit like how choosing a specific class in Space Marine 2 will affect your gameplay style.

The religion you choose almost becomes the faction you join, as you are unable to then adopt another religion later in the game if you so wish. However, you can abandon your religion at any time, which will take away all the negative elements accompanying the association, along with all the positive buffs. Players can also choose to not have any religion at all, which should be a unique playthrough by itself.

Choosing your starting religion can seem a bit tricky, as you cannot possibly know what impact your choice will have on the story. Your choice begins at the trait selection screen, and the consensus usually chooses between Enlightened and Universal. However, Serpent’s Embrace might be a dark horse in this race, and we’ll tell you why soon.

The House of the Enlightened (Raised Enlightened)

It’s a bit odd to call those who deem themselves as Enlightened to be religious, as the ideology is focused on humans rather than any cosmic deity. Those who have grown up with this faith believe that humanity is responsible for its actions and progress. They choose to place their belief in the capabilities of the species and also strive to help humanity become better and achieve new heights.

They are very charitable and kind, with a lot of emphasis placed on community and working together as a united race. Members of this ideology are active contributors to several settlements, as they believe that humanity’s actions alone are enough to bring the race to a brighter future.

Choosing to be Raised Enlightened allows the player to access a unique cache of items. This chest can be found in the House of the Enlightened, which can be found in the Well in New Atlantis, one of the major settlements in Starfield. The loot isn’t all that great, as the chest has the following items:

• Charity in a Godless Universe: Part I
• Charity in a Godless Universe: Part II
• Charity in a Godless Universe: Part III
• Charity in a Godless Universe: Part IV
• Med Pack x6
• Heart+ x2
• Boom Pop! Cherry
• Inclement Weather Outfit: 10+ Health Boost

The Sanctum Universum (Raised Universal)

The next most popular choice of faith among Starfield players is to be Raised Universal. Unlike those who are Enlightened, the Sanctum Universum believes in the existence of a higher entity that resides somewhere in space. The belief is that this being bestowed advanced technology such as the Grav Drive into humanity’s hands so we can use it to find them.

It’s a newer belief system in the universe of Starfield, as it sprung into public knowledge mere years before the events of the game. However, it has managed to amass a large following in a very short space of time, and aligning with this faith offers the player access to another chest. Again, the loot isn’t something that will blow you away; it’s something you can choose to pick up.

You can find the chest in the Sanctum Universal Church in New Atlantis. You will find the chest waiting for you in the corner of the room once you enter the building. It might not be as rewarding as finding all of the PP Stickers in Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, but in this chest, you will find the following items:

• Addichrone x2
• Boom Pop! Orange
• Festive Neocity Poncho
• Med Pack x5
• Sanctum Universum, Vol 1 (book)
• Sanctum Universum, Vol 2 (book)
• Sanctum Universum, Vol 3 (book)

House of Va’ruun (Serpent’s Embrace)

The last religion in Starfield is one of the more controversial ones in the story. Many people across settlements consider the Serpent’s Embrace to be more of a cult than a faith and have been the inciters of the holy war known as the Serpent’s Crusade. Thus, there is quite a bit of skepticism when it comes to joining the group.

The House of Va’ruun follows the Great Serpent, an astral entity that was viewed by a colonist when they were in the process of a Grav Jump. The legend states that the Serpent demands to be worshipped, and will appear one day to eliminate all non-believers, making it very similar to the Roko’s Basilisk thought experiment.

While the cult was known to have started the war, they are now seeking to make amends and win the people’s good graces once more. Given the origin of this religion, a way to show one’s devotion to the Serpent is to Grav Jump regularly. We mentioned before that this religion may be a dark horse in the race, and the cause of this is the Grav Jumps.

Given the sheer scale of Starfield, you’ll be initiating fast travel quite often in the game, which is the sole requirement to activate the buffs associated with joining the Serpent’s Embrace religion. Each Grav Jump will buff your Health and Oxygen for four hours in Starfield. Joining this religion also allows special dialogue options during conversations to intimidate the person you’re addressing.

Now that you know what every religion offers, which one would you pick? Let us know your choice and why in the comments below, and check out our other Starfield guides to become a true conqueror of the stars!