As a result of all your hard work, your Followers will eventually give you stone slabs and the power to make Doctrines in Cult of the Lamb. There are 20 available Doctrines you can pick from, but certain Doctrines will always be better than others.
Cult of the Lamb Doctrines for the afterlife
Tier one Doctrines
When it comes to choosing your first afterlife Doctrine, you’ll be faced with two choices:Belief in Sacrifice(which makes your cult gain twenty Faith each time you perform theSacrifice of the Fleshritual) or theBelief in AfterlifeDoctrine, which reduces the severity of the Faith penalty that happens when a Follower dies from natural causes or illness.
The better choice isBelief in Sacrificebecause it lets you sacrifice Followers without worrying about the steep penalty. This is a good way to manage Faith as you build your cult.
Tier two Doctrines
The options for tier two include theRitual of ResurrectionandFuneral. Unless you are frequently performing sacrifices,Funeralis the better bet as each funeral gives +20 Faith.
The Ritual that’s unlocked withRitual of Resurrectioncosts 150 Bones at minimum, and resurrected Followers can die once they’ve been brought back, which isn’t worth it for most players.
Tier three Doctrines
To give the cult a permanent +5 Faith for every elder that’s alive, chooseRespect Your Elders. If you want a bigger boost to Faith and are willing to kill for it, go forThe Good Die Young. This Doctrine grants +10 Faith whenever an Elder kicks the bucket from unnatural causes (like sacrifice, murder, or consumption). If an Elder lives long enough to die of natural causes, there is a -20 Faith penalty.
The higher Faith bonus makesThe Good Die Youngthe better choice, especially when you consider that the Elders do not contribute as much as their younger peers.
Tier four Doctrines
Strategically placing graves will almost always makeGrieve the Fallenthe better pick overReturn to the Earth. WhileReturn to the Earthturns bodies into fertilizer,Grieve the Fallengives +2 Faith to the cult every time a Follower passing by the graves stops to mourn.
Cult of the Lamb Doctrines for law and order
If you have a surplus of bones, choosePraise Virtuewhich unlocks theRitual of Ascensionso that you can send Followers to their death while increasing Faith and Loyalty for all the remaining cultists.
If you think you can be sneaky and don’t want to waste bones, pickPunish Sin. This Doctrine lets you murder Followers. Just don’t get caught because you’ll have to deal with a huge Faith penalty.
This is the level where you must literally choose between love and war.Ritualistic Fight Pitlets you pin two Followers against each other in a fight to the death. This option lets you eliminate irritating Followers and boosts the cult’s Faith.
Belief in Original Sinmakes the Faith penalty smaller for each imprisoned non-dissenting Follower. There is no bonus to jailing non-dissenters, so pickAbsolution,which gives the cult +10 Faith every morning as long as no one is in jail.
That being said, we think the better option is usually theWeddingDoctrine, which lets you marry one of your Followers for +30 Faith. Daily kisses give extra Loyalty. While you can be polygamous, the Faith for each wedding is reduced by five for each spouse that’s alive. You will lose Faith for each new marriage if you have more than six spouses.
If you would like to designate a Follower to gather Coins from everyone, chooseTax Enforcer. By the time you get to this level, the number of coins gathered doesn’t make a huge difference, so the better option is usually theLoyalty Enforcer, who wears a very fancy hat and boosts the Loyalty of everyone they talk to.
Cult of the Lamb Doctrines for possessions
Both options for tier one are good early on in the game but take longer when you have more than six Followers.Extort Tithesis usually the best first option as it will give you a free Coin from every Follower you interact with daily.Bribe Followerlets you buy Loyalty for three Coins per Follower each day.
As you move through the game, you will constantly build and upgrade Shelters, so pickMaterialismwhich gives a Faith boost each time you upgrade sleeping quarters.
False Idolsgives a Faith bonus when Decorations are completed, but these take up both space and resources.
ChooseRitual of Enrichment. This Doctrine lets you spend Faith to receive a large amount of coins. By using this Doctrine before your daily sermon, you’ll earn back the Faith you lost and make bank simultaneously.
Alms for the Poorlets the Lamb spend coins to increase the Faith and Loyalty of the Followers.
Unless you’ve chosenThe Glory of ConstructionDoctrine from the work and worship section,Devoteesis better thanSacral Architecturebecause it gives a higher Faith bonus when preaching.
Sacral Architectureboosts the Faith bonus when you finish building construction, but you’ll find yourself usingDevoteesmore often.
Related:How to beat Valefar in Cult of the Lamb
Cult of the Lamb doctrines for sustenance
Ritual Fastgives you the power to make it so that your Followers don’t need to eat for three days. During this time, they won’t experience Starvation, which is super helpful for crusades.
Feasting Ritual, on the other hand, boosts Faith and fills hunger.
Both options have merit, so the one you pick will depend on your play style. If you plan to go on more crusades, pickRitual Fast.
Grass is one of the game’s most abundant resources, makingGrass Eater Traitarguably one of the game’s best Doctrines. This trait will remove all penalties when Followers eat Grassy Gruel and effectively solve any food shortages you may have.
Cannibal Traitgives +5 Faith whenever someone eats food made with Follower Meat. Follower meat is not as accessible as grass, which makesGrass Eater Traitthe better pick.
The option you pick here depends on if you want to unlock the whole game. If you do,Ritual of Sea’s Bountymakes completing theFisherman’s questeasier as it becomes more likely you’ll bring in rare fish.
Ritual of the Harvestmakes all of the village seeds mature instantly, so you don’t have to wait for plants to grow. If you’re playing for efficiency over completeness,Ritual of the Harvestis the way to go.
The two options for tier four areSubstances EncouragedandBelief in Prohibitionism.Substances Encouragedallows the Brainwashing Ritual to give a +20 to Faith in addition to normal boosts, whereasBelief in Prohibitionismmakes the Followers work and pray 10% faster constantly.
Belief in Prohibitionismdoes increase the chance that they’ll get sick after the Brainwashing Ritual, but the blanket efficiency boost makes it the better choice.
Cult of the Lamb Doctrines for work and worship
For a better long-term choice, pick theFaithful Trait,which generates Devotion 15% faster than normal and provides a boost to your overall income.
TheIndustrious Traitmakes Followers collect and finish tasks 15% faster than normal. Both options have their perks, but theFaithful Traitis better in the long term as it makes it easier to unlock advanced buildings.
You get more flies with honey, and you’re able to get more Faith with inspiration than intimidation.
Inspire Followersswaps out the Bless action for Inspire. This choice boosts both Faith and Loyalty.
Intimidate Followersalso swaps out the Bless action but gives you Intimidate instead of Inspire. Intimidate gives less Faith and Loyalty but does make the intimidated Follower work 10% faster for two days.
It’s hard to intimidate your entire cult enough to make theIntimidate Followersboost worth it.Inspire Followersalso lets your Followers level up faster, which results in more combat power.
If you choseSacral Architectureearlier on, pickThe Glory of Construction. This Doctrine gives you a Ritual that immediately finishes all the buildings under construction. If you need a huge Faith boost and haveSacral Architecture,The Glory of Constructionis the way to go.
For all other playthroughs, pickRitual of Enlightenment.This Doctrine boosts the Devotion that the Shrine and Tabernacles generate for three days. This Doctrine also speeds up your progress regarding the Divine Inspiration tree, so it’s typically the better pick.
Glory Through Toilis almost always the better choice. This Doctrine gives you a Ritual that will make Followers work for three days straight without experiencing Exhaustion or the need to sleep.
Holy Daymakes your Followers stop working and pray for one full day. Even though it gives +80 to Faith, it’s not worth the loss of a full day’s work.
There are a bunch of Doctrine options in Cult of the Lamb, but with our guide, you may move confidently into your role as cult leader.
Looking for moreCult of the Lambcontent on Pro Game Guides? Check outHow to beat the One Who Waits in Cult of the Lamb.
