Starfield religions guide – all three religions

Want to know more about the Starfield religions? Everything from missions, perks, and even which enemies are hostile to you can be influenced by what religion you choose, so making sure you’re clued up on each one will be important.

Each religion has unique interactions with certain Starfield factions, so you’ll want to know about each of those, too. And if you want to find out more about some of the perks on offer from religions and beyond, check out our Starfield traits guide. Let’s go through every Starfield religion.

What are religions in Starfield?

Starfield religions are belief systems held by certain NPCs throughout the game, which the player can align themselves with. Similarly to the game’s factions, they offer unique missions and perks, each coming with their own positives and negatives. While factions have played a role in Bethesda games like Fallout and The Elder Scrolls before, an out-and-out religion system is a new and exciting addition to the RPG gameplay.

Just like with factions like Constellation or the Crimson Fleet, certain NPCs will interact with you differently depending on what religion you follow. Certain enemies that would normally be hostile towards you can potentially be completely bypassed by following the same religion, so depending on what areas you plan to explore, choosing a specific religion can be a big benefit.

What religions are in Starfield?

There are three unique religions in Starfield. These are:

• The Enlightened
• House Va’ruun
• Sanctum Universum

The Enlightened

The Enlightened are less of a religion in the traditional sense, and more of a philosophy. Rather than believing in a faith, they put their stock into science and knowledge, and are heavily focused on the use and development of new technology. While they don’t believe in a higher power, they believe that humanity’s ability to develop new technology should be used to care for one another, and make humanitarian outreach a core tenet of their beliefs. Following them will also give you access to the organisation’s store, but you won’t be able to buy from the Sanctum Universal.

House Va’ruun

One of Starfield’s more mysterious religions, their founding mythology stems from a story about a passenger of a colony ship speaking to an apparent celestial entity known as the Great Serpent during a grav jump. Following this, they pass on the message to a guard: “Get onboard, or be devoured when the Great Serpent encircles the universe”.

Joining the House Va’ruun also provides you with an interesting trait, where jumping will provide you with extra health and endurance, but not jumping for a while will start to reduce them. Followers of the Great Serpent can also be somewhat fanatical, and it’s possible to be attacked by followers of the religion if you yourself are not following it, too.

Sanctum Universum

The most popular of the three religions across Starfield’s populace, followers of the Sanctum Universum, called ‘Universals’, believe in using science to find God. They believe that a God exists somewhere in the universe, and that humanity’s development of space exploration is God asking humanity to find them. 

Thanks to their proliferation throughout the galaxy, you can receive discounts from traders all over by following this religion, so it could be a great choice for those looking to make a bit of extra coin. Like the Enlightened, you gain access to certain Sanctum Universum shops, but lose access to the opposing Enlightened shops.

How do you choose a religion in Starfield?

During the character creation process, you will have the opportunity to choose a religion, and a perk specific to the religion you choose.

Is religion important to Starfield’s story?

Religious tensions and conflicts are a backdrop for some of the events of the game, but don’t play an active role in the main quest. Instead, players have to seek out specific quests centred around religions, if that’s what they want to do. With how ingrained certain religions are in many of the game’s major factions like the United Colonies and the Freestar Collective, the religion and politics of Starfield are intertwined.

That’s everything you need to know about every Starfield religion. To prepare yourself to explore the vast universe of Bethesda Games Studios’ latest RPG, check out our Starfield tips and tricks, the best Starfield ships, the best Starfield spacesuits, where to get the Mark 1 spacesuit, and how to use a boost pack to get around on planets.