Ascend Follower Ritual is a ritual in Cult of the Lamb.
Description[]
Ascends a follower to the heavens (and a grinder), removing the ascended follower and raising all other followers' Loyalty. Gain 15 Faith.
A level 1 Follower when ascended increases other Followers' Loyalty by 10. For each level, that amount is increased by +10, and is capped at 50.
Depend on your Cult's traits, ascended Followers also give extra resources. If your Cult has "Belief in Sacrifice" trait, the Follower will drop 
Bone and 
Follower Meat (but not necklaces). If your Cult does not, the Follower will drop 10 Sermon points.
This ritual does not trigger the Against Sacrifice trait, the Necessity of Sacrifice trait, and does not give progress towards the Weigher of Souls achievement.
Ascended followers can be resurrected in Ritual of Resurrection.
Sacrifice vs. Ascension[]
Without Belief in Sacrifice[]
| Resources | Sacrifice of the Flesh | Ascend Follower |
|---|---|---|
| Faith | -10 | +15 |
| Sermon Points | +40% (level 1) to +100% (level 4+) | +10 |
| Loyalty | 0 | +10 (level 1) to +50 (level 4+) |
| Gives Follower Meat/Bones | Yes | No |
| Gives Worn Necklace? | Yes | No |
With Belief in Sacrifice[]
| Resources | Sacrifice of the Flesh | Ascend Follower |
|---|---|---|
| Faith | +20 | +15 |
| Sermon Points | +40% (level 1) to +100% (level 4+) | 0 |
| Loyalty | 0 | +10 (level 1) to +50 (level 4+) |
| Gives Follower Meat/Bones | Yes | Yes |
| Gives Worn Necklace? | Yes | No |
Strategy[]
A very convenient and effective way to send off old followers without having to deal with the issues that come with a natural death or the faith losses other rituals and actions tend to come with. Loyal followers also give it a great knock-on effect, providing higher loyalty levels across the board when another Follower's time comes.
And if the follower was particularly valuable with a high loyalty level, it combines very nicely with the Ritual of Resurrection, offsetting the faith loss.
It also serves as an effective alternative (or addition) to Sacrifice of the Flesh for building up Sermon points. One distinctive difference though, is that an Ascended Follower will not leave behind any necklace they were wearing. However, if they are revived through the resurrection ritual, they will still be wearing the necklace they ascended with.