Religion

Religion is the belief in and worship of a deity. Various people and civilizations in the world follow a vast array of religions, and various allusions to gods, devils, and religion have been made through architecture and speech.
==Religious Beliefs==
===God in Skypiea===
In Skypiea, the title of "God" refers to the ruling body of the sky islands. God is generally looked at as a governing class of sorts. However, other than the title itself, the position of God holds no religious or divine overtones, being a regular physical being who is neither all-powerful nor perfect. The first known man to hold this position was Ubau, who governed four hundred years prior to the current storyline, and Gan Fall held the position of the previous God eight years prior, before Enel took over. Enel took this title too seriously, matching some of the "all powerful" and "omniscient" traits prior to his defeat by Luffy, and naming most of his lightning-based attacks after thunder gods of various religions. After Enel was gone, Gan Fall reclaimed the title.
===Gods in Shandora===
In Shandia (at the times when they lived on Jaya), people worshipped giant pythons (e.g. Kashigami) as their "Gods", and even made human sacrifices to them under the guidance of a Pantri. During those sacrifices, they would call upon the Gods of Land, Sun, Forest and Rain to hear their plea. This practice ceased when Mont Blanc Noland and his crew arrived at Jaya and cured the tribe of Tree Fever.
===Gods in Arabasta===
In Arabasta, the title "God" refers to the strongest guardians of the royal family. Pell and Chaka (the two head guards under Igaram of the Arabasta Kingdom) often refer to themselves as the "Guardian Gods" of Arabasta and the royal family. Their Zoan-type Devil Fruit transformations (a falcon and jackal respectively) resemble the two Egyptian gods Horus and Anubis, the two strongest gods in the Egyptian pantheon.
Sea Cats are seen as holy animals with a strong taboo against harming them, as seen when Zoro, Luffy and Sanji wanted to kill a Sea Cat for food, but were prevented from going through with it by Vivi. Like Pell and Chaka's Zoan transformations, this mirrors Ancient Egyptian beliefs, specifically reverence for cats.
===The Satanic Cult from Namakura Island===
In Namakura Island, there is a Satanic cult that worships the Devil. The cultists on the island were trying to summon Satan, another name for the Devil, but instead ended up 'summoning' Brook.
===World Government and Red Line===
*World Nobles consider themselves to be gods, due to them being descendants of the twenty kings who founded the World Government, and their legal right to do as they please and living in the Holy Land Mary Geoise (which Doflamingo refers to as "Heaven") furthered their belief in their divinity. When Donquixote Homing declared himself human and requested to have his World Noble status rescinded, the others declared his action sacrilegious and traitorous, severing all ties with him.
*Members of the lunarian tribe, which used to live on the Red Line, were once known as "gods" before their kind went almost extinct. Whitebeard once mentioned to Marco a that supposedly existed on top of the Red Line, long before the Holy Land of Mary Geoise existed. Marco has speculated about the connection between said "kingdom" and the lunarians.
===Fish-Man Island===
*The Flying Dutchman and its captain, Vander Decken, were said to be cursed by God for the captain's atrocious acts after suddenly going deranged and killing his crew one stormy night, as well as spitting at God. They were cursed, forever to sail the ocean, never able to make landfall.
*The royal family of Ryugu Kingdom is based off of deities of the sea: King Neptune is named after the Roman God of water and the sea, Queen Otohime is named after the daughter of Ryujin, the Japanese God of the sea, and Princess Shirahoshi is the current form of the Ancient Weapon, Poseidon, which is named after the Greek God of the sea, earthquakes, and horses.
*Hody Jones and his subordinates believe that they were chosen by the heavens to obliterate the human race and to change the entire culture of the Fish-Men race when they got their hands on the Energy Steroids.
===Wano Country===
*The people of Wano Country believe that white boars are the agents of gods. A giant white boar was known as the Mountain God.
*Oden mentioned . Shaka is the Japanese name for the Gautama Buddha.
===Nika===
Nika is a legendary figure from ancient slave folklore, said to be a warrior who would fight for the slaves' freedom, bringing joy and laughter to them. Nika thus was worshiped as the Sun God, but it is unknown if he truly existed or if modern slaves are even aware of him. Despite being merely a legend, the World Government seemingly forbids the story from being shared.
The Gomu Gomu no Mi, originally known as the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika before the World Government renamed and reclassified it to hide its true nature, is a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit that allows the user to become an incarnation of Nika.
===Gods of the Seven Stars of Asuka===
The are the deities of Asuka Island.
Centuries ago, on the , three princes of Asuka fell in love with the priestess of that time. To win her, they brought their family symbol the Shichiseiken and fought for it. Their battle spread throughout the kingdom and the Shichiseiken absorbed the blood and hate becoming a cursed sword, destroying the kingdom. Its influence taking over the region, the priestess took all the hate from the sword and sacrificed herself. The princes, having vowed to atone for their sins, were granted three jewel orbs from the gods that seals the Shichiseiken once every hundred years before it regains enough strength on the Night of the Red Moon. For the to work, the jewels would need to be purified before bringing them to three towers, Komon, Tonroh and Hagun, and erect a barrier around the island.
===The Divine Breath===
Some time in the distant past, the Wandering Clan discovered the Divine Breath. Due to it's immense power, the Clan split into two groups regarding how to treat it, with one group studying it and the other worshipping it. Despite their differences, the two groups remained respectful of each other.
While most details of the early religious practices around the Divine Breath are unknown, the religious group were known to sing songs to praise it, with the Sunlight of Salvation being one of them.
When the Divine Breath was discovered by the Wandering Clan, Rita Suerte managed to communicate with it, and set up an amicable relationship between the Clan and the Divine Breath. Due to this, she was named the . This role would be passed down, with each subsequent Sky Priestess being required to pass a trial Memoria based on Rita's experiences. Eventually, this role was passed down to Lim, who is the current Sky Priestess. Lim is a descendant of Rita, though whether or not this is a prerequisite for the role is unknown.
With the Divine Breath and Large Mukashic Cube having been destroyed, the role of the Sky Priestess has ended, and Lim has become the last in the line.
==Religious Workers==
==Other Mentions of God or Religion==
*Several others have "God", "Demon", or other religious theme as part of their monikers:
**Gin, known as the "Man-Demon".
**Sengoku, known as "The Buddha".
**Laffitte, known as the "Demon Sheriff".
**Doc Q, known as the "Death God".
**Donquixote Doflamingo, known as the "Heavenly Yaksha".
**Kalgara was regarded as "Shandora's Demon".
**Oars was regarded as a "Devil".
**Urouge, known as the "Mad Monk".
**Wadatsumi, known as the "Giant Monk".
**Vergo, known as the "Demon Bamboo".
**Gambia, known as the "Missionary". Oda revealed in an SBS that he practices "Luffy-senpaism".
**When a light from a collapsed ceiling shined on Usopp after he freed everyone from Sugar's powers, people started to believe he was a messenger sent from heaven and started calling him "God Usopp". "God Usopp" will remain as his nickname on his Wanted poster.
**Charlotte Amande, known as the "Demon Lady".
**Lu Feld, known as the "God of Fortune".
**Carmel would be regarded as the "Holy Mother" due to her nun disguise.
===Devils===
*Devil Fruits and their users are said to be cursed by the Demons of the Sea.
*When Usopp witnessed Kuro's superhuman speed and cruelty to even his own subordinates, Usopp became horrified and regarded Kuro as a "devil" who lived among them for three years.
*Nami, Usopp, and Chopper encountered a three-headed dog on Thriller Bark and identified him as Cerberus.
*Zoro's attacks often include references to devils. Examples are , or . His Nine Sword Style is focused on a race of demons from the Hindu mythology, called Asura.
===Gods===
*The Ancient Weapons, Pluton, Poseidon, and Uranus are all named after Greco-Roman Gods.
*When Luffy declared his goal to becoming Pirate King, Buggy mocked him by saying that would then make him (Buggy) the "God of Pirates".
*Dorry and Brogy mentioned the god of Elbaf.
*Sanji has made many references to a possible God. In Loguetown, after lightning struck the scaffold Luffy was on and saved him from Buggy (calling the event "Divine Intervention" in the Funimation dub), Sanji asked Zoro about his beliefs, but Zoro did not give him an answer. During the Skypiea Arc, Zoro claimed he never prays to God and does not care whether one exists or not. After defeating Jabra of the CP9, Sanji mentions God again, saying "God creates food, and the Devil creates seasonings".
*There is also a reference to sea gods: Before entering the Florian Triangle, the crew picked up a barrel with the banner saying "Sea god's houzen" (former treasure). It was actually a trap from Thriller Bark. However, it seems that some sailors do put alcohol and reserves into floating barrels as an offering to the guardian deities of the sea. It seems to be customary that if someone picks one up, they may have the contents, though they will need to replace the 'offerings' and put the barrel back into the sea. It should be noted that Usopp had equipment used for exorcism at that time, which included crosses.
*Bartholomew Kuma has a bible in his hands and always carries it with him.
*At Sabaody Archipelago, Caribou addresses a god of some sort, stating "Oh God, forgive him!" and referring to a Marine soldier as "sinful", although Caribou may be using this as a twisted justification for murder.
*Gild Tesoro developed a god complex, due to his absolute control over his city of gold.
===Crosses===
*Dracule Mihawk has weapons modeled after crucifixes.
*Carne was wearing a pendant shaped like a cross around his neck before joining the Baratie.
* In Cocoyasi Village, a cross marks Bell-mère's grave.
* Some of the Baroque Works mercenaries in Whisky Peak were dressed as nuns, one of them attacking with gas hidden in a cross. Additionally the tombstones on the cactus mountains are cross shaped and at least one building in Whisky Peak is shown to have crosses at the top of its towers.
*Gecko Moria wears a cross around his neck.
*Robin is shown to wear a pendant shaped like a cross on the cover of the Chapter 457.
*The graves in Arabasta are cross-shaped. The graves in Thriller Bark, as well as the ones in Fish-Man Island's Sea Forest are also shaped like crosses.
*Chopper holds out a crucifix when he sees Kin'emon's severed head. The crucifix looks identical to the one he and Usopp used when meeting Brook.
*Kuma's shirt bears a cross-like design.
*In the Sorbet Kingdom, the church is decorated with crosses, inside and outside. The graves are also marked with crosses.
**One of Bonney's childhood bullies once pulled out a crucifix against her, thinking she would be weakened by it akin to a vampire.
===Figures===
*In Episode 459, a nun can be seen praying "Dear Lord... Where is this world headed?"
*When the Gates of Justice opened, a light shined on Buggy while he held a staff which caused the prisoners to think of him as a messenger of god, the scene mirrors the splitting of the seas by Moses.
*In the Zou Arc, a sheep mink going by the name of "Pastor" Yomo is introduced, indicating that there may be a religion on Zou, though it is unknown what kind.
*Sanji's and Pudding's wedding ceremony was officiated by a priest.
===Locations===
*The first half of the Grand Line is called Paradise.
*Heaven is mentioned several times.
**Kumadori mentions his mother in heaven.
**Dagama claims that the body of his king, Elizabello II, is truly a gift from the heavens due to his inhuman strength and fighting power.
**Clapp describes the death of his wife to Kuma as her going to heaven.
*Hell is mentioned many times, most notably in Impel Down.
**One of Emporio Ivankov technique is called Hell Wink.
*The afterlife is mentioned several times.
**In Whisky Peak, Nami jokingly mentions she is going to Blazes after being told she would "pay in the afterlife".
**Souls are a known aspect in the world of one piece, with Brook's Yomi Yomi no Mi and Big Mom's Soru Soru no Mi being major manifestations of souls.
***Four hundred years ago, the Shandians believed the souls of their ancestors resided in a forest of white trees that was present on Jaya at that time.
**Lao G's soul was seen leaving his body with a halo.
**Kikunojo mentions the wound she inflicted upon Kurozumi Kanjuro will follow him to the afterlife.
**In Wano Country, during the Fire Festival, a paper lantern is released which is believed to reach those lost, as they watch over the living from above.
*A Marine mentions seeing the under the effects of Jewelry Bonney's "NDE" technique. In the Viz translation, he instead mentions the Styx.
==Anime and Manga Differences==
The anime has occasionally censored religious imagery based on real-life religions, particularly Christianity. For example, a nun in Flevance is shown with a cross necklace or rosary during her death in the manga, but in the anime this is replaced with a generic pendant. Another instance is the grave of Vinsmoke Sora, which is in the shape of a cross in the manga, but altered to a different design in the anime.
==References==
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