Religious allusions in Final Fantasy

The Final Fantasy series has drawn inspiration from various real-world religions and mythologies, and incorporated elements of them into the fiction that makes up the series.
==In the series==
The recurring summoned monster, Leviathan, is based on the biblical sea monster Livyatan (לִוְיָתָן). Though the word means "whale" in modern Hebrew, it has been interpreted to be a fearsome sea monster from various biblical passages, and is mentioned multiple times in the Tanakh. In Christianity, the Leviathan was portrayed as a demonic avatar of Satan, described by Thomas Aquinas as a "demon of envy".
The Behemoth is a biblical land beast mentioned in the Book of Job. Though in modern Hebrew it lacks the visceral connotation of the English, Behemot means "beasts" and has been interpreted accordingly as a vicious and dangerous creature.
Odin is based on a Nordic god of the same name, and is often depicted with a horse. Several other summons and monsters from the series are based on gods and goddesses—Shiva, for instance, may be based on the god Shiva of the Hinduism religion, although the god is considered male.
Some items, weapons and equipment in most Final Fantasy games are references to Greek and Roman mythology, like Zeus' Wrath, Hades equipment, Hermes Sandals, Minerva Bustier, Artemis Bow and Arrow and Perseus Bow.
The word Eidolon, the localized name of summoned monsters in some games, is a Greek term used throughout the Bible for false gods or idols, explained to be either nothing at all, or demons.
==Individual allusions==
===Final Fantasy===
In the original Japanese Famicom version, many of the towns contained churches, known as "Clinics" in the North American NES version due to Nintendo of America's policy on religious references. The churches have a cross on the steeples, and are run by priests that wear outfits similar to the Pope. Other religious references in the Japanese version are the addition of Star of David replaced with different imagery in the crystal rooms of the Four Fiends, as well as crosses that lead up to Bahamut. The game's main antagonist, Chaos, is based on the Devil/Satan from Abrahamic religions.
===Final Fantasy II===
Final Fantasy II alludes to the Abrahamic religions, as towards the end the party travels into Pandaemonium, the palace of Hell depicted in Paradise Lost. In Pandaemonium, the party encounters several demons from demonology, like Beelzebub and Astaroth. In Soul of Rebirth, the party travels to Araboth, the highest heaven which contains the throne of God. While not in the game itself, the novelization Final Fantasy II Muma no Meikyū indicates the Emperor had sold his soul to Satan for his magical powers.
Although not in the game itself, the FMV opening for the PlayStation version has a church steeple collapsing during the Empire's attack.
The Emperor's Japanese name, Kōtei, is an allusion to the legendary monarch in Chinese mytho-historical tales, including the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, and the Cosmological Five Forms of the Highest Deity, known as the Yellow Emperor. He is purported to be the ancestor to all the Chinese and the initiator of the Chinese civilization, as well as being accredited to various inventions, including football and the calendar.
===Final Fantasy IV===
The Tower of Babil refers to the biblical Tower of Babel (מגדל בבל Migdal Bavel) built by a united humanity with the intention of reaching the heavens. The Tower of Babil houses the Giant of Babil, a great power from the moon, and both God from the Genesis story and the Giant of Babil had the intention of "confounding" humanity.
Kain Highwind's name is from the Genesis story of Cain and Abel (קין והבל, Kayin v'Hevel), in which Cain, in his jealousy of his brother, betrayed him by slaying him. This is reflected in Kain repeatedly betraying his adoptive brother, Cecil Harvey (coincidentally to Cecil's real brother, Golbez). Kain's ultimate weapon is Abel's Lance, a biblical allusion to the story of Cain and Abel.
The concept of yin and yang may be represented by Palom (a Black Mage) and Porom (a White Mage). The concept of yin yang says the two depend on one another, perhaps shown in the twins' ability, Twincast.
In western culture, white and black traditionally symbolize the dichotomy of good and evil, as seen in the elements of Holy and Dark, and Cecil's progression from a Dark Knight—wearing black armor and wielding Dark elemental weapons—to a whiteclad Paladin with White Magic abilities.
When the SNES version was released outside of Japan, several changes were made, such as the Tower of Prayers being named Tower of Wishes, and the removal of Rosa's Pray ability. The Holy spell was renamed to "White". A new save point graphic was made for the Sylph Cave and Land of Summons' save points that were changed from a Star of David to a tile with an "S" marked on it.
The Star of David also appears for the Dispel graphic in the Super Nintendo version; in subsequent versions, it was modified to an octagram.
===Final Fantasy VI===
Kefka's final battle with the Returners mirrors the Divine Comedy, which entails Dante's journey from Hell, to Purgatory, to Heaven, and eventually meeting God face-to-face where He tells him the meaning of life.
The first tier of the Statue of the Gods consists of Long Arm, Short Arm and Visage, which is based on Dante's journey in Hell. Visage represents Satan in the center of Hell, as Satan was depicted as a demon entrapped up to the waist in ice, which may explain Visage's weakness.
The second tier represents Purgatory in Divine Comedy, where souls suffer if they had committed any of the Seven Deadly Sins until they are spiritually purified.
The third tier represents Paradise or Heaven. The Rest and Lady portions of the final battle with Kefka are based on the Pieta statue, depicting Mary holding Jesus shortly after he died on the cross. It is further alluded to in the Japanese version, where Lady's name is Maria.
At the end of the journey, Dante meets God in the Empyrean, which the background for the final battle against Kefka represents. Kefka's final form resembles the devil with a pair of angel wings and a halo.
The original name for what is later referred to as Heartless Angel, Fallen One, alludes to a name of one of the fallen angels, Lucifer, better known as Satan or the devil.
When trying to convince Terra to support the Returners' cause, Banon speaks of a box someone opened that unleashed the evils of the world, but contained within it a single ray of light, hope, and asks her to be their hope. This alludes to the Pandora's box of Greek mythology where Pandora was given a beautiful container and told to not open it, but was compelled by curiosity. When she opened it, all evil contained escaped into the world, but at the bottom of the box remained a Spirit of Hope named Elpis.
Christian crosses can be seen carved on tombstones in the graveyard in the town of Thamasa, including the memorial of "General Leo".
===Final Fantasy VII===
Final Fantasy VII draws from the Lurian Kabalā, a medieval variant of Jewish Mysticism with similarities to Gnosticism. Gnosticism originated as a Roman-era fusion of Christianity and Ancient Greek philosophy, and its adherents were said to have knowledge of the "true" nature of the world.
The Cetra strongly resemble the Hebrew people, Gnostics, and the Ainu. All have been persecuted, with the Gnostics' beliefs dying out. Traces remain in Jungian psychology, which also relates to Cloud's journey into the Lifestream to confront the buried shadow aspects of his mind. Hojo's Reunion Theory, where entities infused with Jenova's cells will reunite with Jenova/Sephiroth at the North Crater, stems from Gnosticism, namely the concept of each human having a fragment of God.
Both belief systems, Gnosticism and Kabbalah, proclaim that all humans have inside their bodies a spark of divine light from the Absolute, which returns there upon death. This Absolute is an infinite wellspring of spiritual energy, knowledge, and goodness, mirroring the function of the Lifestream. The Kabbalah states the Absolute is the Abrahamic God, whereas early Gnostics believed him to be an incompetent or malicious false god known as the demiurge ("artisan" in Ancient Greek) who merely believed himself the uncreated deity because he was shielded from the Absolute by his "mother", an emanation from the Absolute (known as an Aeon) who fell from the skies. This demiurge, trapped in the material world, cannot create anything good, and instead corrupts the sparks of light, just like Jenova's corruption of the Lifestream and of human beings.
The name Jenova has Hebrew and Latin components. One is taken from the ineffable Hebrew name of God, יהוה (yud-hei-vav-hei), often romanized into Yahweh or Jehovah, although the original pronunciation is no longer known. This is combined with the Latin word nova, meaning "new". Thus Jenova is, in a sense, a "new god", like the demiurge when created by his mother.
As Jenova is Sephiroth's "mother" yet is also implied to be virtually one and the same, their relationship is similar to the mainstream Christian view of Jesus Christ's relationship with Jehovah, as he is considered both the Son of God and Son of Man. Depending on how one counts the Remnants' and Sephiroth's will, this also alludes to the Holy Trinity, the "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" in Christian dogma.
Sephiroth factors in through Kabbalah. His name is Hebrew in origin (ספירות Sfirót) and means "counting", or "enumeration". This aspect can be compared to the Sephiroth-clones, who are each given a number. The ten aspects of God and creation known as Sephirot are often arranged in a unique pattern known as the Tree of Life. These aspects are "Crown, Wisdom, Understanding, Benevolence, Strength, Beauty (known in Hebrew as "Tifaret"), Eternity, Splendor, Foundation (Vessel) and Royalty (Kinghood)", though some lists differ slightly.
Sephiroth summons Meteor to create a wound to the Planet, thereby condensing the Lifestream at the impact site to allow him to ascend to Godhood. It is said in the Zohar that "If one tried to pour all of infinity into a vessel, the vessel would break." It would fissure, and the universe would rupture into a flowing, yet familiar pattern (the Tree of Life). This principle would also apply to Ultimecia's desire to unite all of existence and reform it to her liking in Final Fantasy VIII.
In Sephiroth's rebellion, he tries to capture the Promised Land, a heavenly place of myth, for himself. The Promised Land is based on the Biblical tale of Moses where he was ordered by God to lead the Israelites out of slavery to a land which God promised that they would find. Due to their disbelief, they never found it, and traversed the middle-east for forty years.
Sephiroth's final form, Safer∙Sephiroth, may be based on Biblical descriptions of a Seraph. In Isaiah 6, the Seraphim are described as Celestial, six-winged beings that circle the throne of God. However, the origin of the name Safer∙Sephiroth is Hebrew; the boss's name as written in Japanese is ; "safer" can also be transliterated as "sefer", "sapher", and "sepher". "Sepher" (סֶפֶר) is Hebrew for "book"; thus, Safer Sephiroth (Sefer Sfirot) translates to "Book of Numerations". Thus it may also refer to the 10 Kabbalistic Sefirot, the ten aspects of creation according to Jewish Mysticism.
Sephirot are the ten attributes through which God appears, and Aerith may be tied to one such attribute, chesed, meaning kindness or love. It is a virtue which contributes to a concept translated as the healing of the world and the concept suggests man's responsibility to repair and transform the world. The Talmud says "the Torah begins with chesed and ends with chesed", and Aerith is the first and last character seen in the main events of Final Fantasy VII (excepting the epilogue). Those who embody chesed go "above and beyond that which is normally required", and chesed is the first of the sephirot of the attribute of action; in other words, the initiation of action. This is similar to how Aerith ventures off alone to summon Holy. The gematria (a numerological system for assigning numbers to words) of chesed is 72; Aerith's birthday is the 7th of February.
In similar vein, Barret may be tied to gevurah, associated with judgment and strength. From the Bahir, "This is the left hand of God." The right hand of God being chesed. Cloud, Barret, and Aerith were the first player characters designed for the game, with Aerith and Barret possibly representing chesed and gevurah. The metaphor may be embodied in Barret, who has lost his right hand, but retains his left.
Tifa is named after Tifaret, which represents Beauty, Spirituality, Compassion, and Balance (which is shown when Tifa helps Cloud piece together his memories). 
The other party members share similarities to different Sephira, with Cloud as Keter (Crown, representing Leader), Red XIII as Chokmah (Wisdom), Yuffie as Hod(Splendor), Cait Sith as Binah(Understanding), Vincent as Netzach (Eternity), and Cid as Yesod (Foundation). The Planet itself could represent Malkuth (Kingdom).
Aerith grows flowers in an abandoned church in the Midgar Slums, reminiscent in structure to a Catholic or Lutheran church. The flowers grow from a hole where the pulpit would have stood. Aerith is part of a race able to talk to the Planet. A similar concept of a "chosen people" being able to speak to God is present in Judaism and Christianity, and the Pope is supposedly chosen to deliver God's will to the world. Sephiroth holds a similar, though much darker, belief about himself being the chosen one, chosen to rule the Planet. The connection is strengthened when Aerith prays at an altar to get the Planet to cast Holy. After her death, she travels through the Lifestream, easing the passage of departed souls, and working against Sephiroth. As such, she can be likened to Jesus Christ, a saint, and/or a guardian angel, although angels traditionally are not born of the souls of the departed.
Tifa's bar, 7th Heaven, is named for a concept in both Jewish and Gnostic belief, whereby the Throne of God is located above the seventh circle of heaven. Tifa herself is possibly named after a concept from the Judeo-Gnostic Kabbalah, the "Tiferet", the emanation of God concerned with beauty and strength.
The Jenova-mutated form of Professor Hojo, Helletic Hojo, is a misromanization of "Heretic Hojo", referring to Heresy, a concept in various religions where people interpret beliefs in a religion that goes against the norm of the religion.
Final Fantasy VII holds many references to Norse mythology, particularly in names. Midgar comes from Midgård, the Realm of Mankind, and is depicted as the most advanced city in the world in terms of technology and man-made devices. Nibelheim comes from Niflheim, the realm of mist and darkness, where Hel, also called Helheim, is located. Helheim, a Norse underworld, is ruled by the goddess Hel, who was the sibling of Fenrir. Fenrir is a hell hound known for his great strength, and during Ragnarok, the event that would herald the end of the world, he would rise up and kill Odin, the king of the gods. In Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Cloud is associated with Fenrir, a wolf, which is also the name of his motorcycle. Cloud is notable for his strength, was born and raised in Nibelheim, and the one to strike down Sephiroth who wanted to become a god after absorbing Jenova's cells and the knowledge of the Lifestream. This event draws parallels with Ragnarok, as the Meteor was about to destroy the Planet had Cloud and his friends not intervened to stop Sephiroth. However, in the myth, Fenrir is killed as retribution by Odin's son Vidar.
The Lifestream is similar to Abrahamic descriptions of Heaven, as it houses the secret to eternal life. The Lifestream is constantly flowing and changing, but never disappearing. By joining it, people are returned to a state of innocence, where all that remains are God and His garden. The Lifestream is also similar to Japan's indigenous religion, Shinto, which purports that all things have souls. In Final Fantasy VII, all living things have souls, which contribute to the overall soul of the Planet after they depart and "Return to the Lifestream". The Planet breeds new life from this soul in a process similar to reincarnation, although in Hinduism, the individual soul joins the overall soul only upon reaching enlightenment.
The monster Skeeskee, which has a somewhat hellish appearance, grants 222 EXP upon defeat and always appears in groups of three, for a total of 666 EXP. In the New Testament, 666 was described as "the number of a man" associated with the beast, and in popular culture is known as a symbol for the Antichrist or the Devil.
====Final Fantasy VII remake project====
Kazushige Nojima has cited he studied Buddhism's Yogachara and Carl Jung's collective unconscious theory when writing the scenario for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Ultimania These are philosophical perspectives often interpreted as forms of idealism that posit that reality is entirely a mental construct or that there is an "ideal form" of reality. Opposite to materialism/physicalism, idealism asserts the primacy of consciousness as the origin and prerequisite of all phenomena; this may include not only human experience, but also "Absolute Experience" or the experience of a God. Though Yogachara, East Asian Yogācāra, and Jung's collective unconscious are non-theistic philosophies in the real world, in the Final Fantasy VII series Sephiroth appears to use his knowledge of the way the world truly works to attain Godhood for himself.
Yogachara posits the existence of a "root consciousness" that lacks subject-object distinctions and yet originates all experiences, each mindstream projecting its own world out of their underlying root consciousness. Ultimate reality is ineffable and only knowable through meditative realization by yogis ("yogacaras"). In the world of Final Fantasy VII, this could mean that only Sephiroth, Cetra, and planetologists might have insight of this ultimate reality, the lifestream or "the promised land". Cloud seemingly experiencing a different reality from the others in the ending of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth could also be related to this philosophy.
The power of the mind or memories are shown to be able to manifest reality in a way that can still be physically interacted with, such as when Tifa falls into the lifestream and experiences her childhood memories, or Aerith calling the reality where she goes out with Cloud one final time "her dream", but Cloud is able to bring a physical object back from there regardless (the white materia). Both the Cetra and Sephiroth have a way of warping reality for the experiencer, such as the Cetra's trials at the Temple of the Ancients that force participants to re-experience their painful memories of personal loss, or the various visions Sephiroth traps Cloud in to manipulate him. In the final battles Sephiroth exists in all realities at the same time, whereas the party is divided (Barret, Tifa, Red XIII, and Cait Sith in the normal world, Zack in a world that is about to be destroyed by the Meteor, Cloud and Zack together in the "edge of creation", and Aerith and Cloud in a white void, a way consciousness inside the lifestream has been depicted in the Final Fantasy VII series).
Practitioners of Yogachara have differing views on the existence of multiple mindstreams, some asserting reality consists of multiple minds (pluralism) and others asserting that existence of other minds cannot be definitively established, and ultimate reality is a single multifaceted non-dual existence. In the world of Final Fantasy VII, Sephiroth wants to create "eternity" and all to be one with him (Sephiroth Reborn's assessment reads: "He seeks to pierce through the layers of existence and reunite fragmented space-time. He shall rule over the planet and create eternity."), whereas Aerith asserts a pluralist view, saying at the Temple of the Ancients that eternity does not exist and chastising Sephiroth in the final battle for desiring an existence that is akin to eternal loneliness.
The "layers of existence" in Sephiroth Reborn's assessment that Sephiroth wants to bring to Reunion, which are also depicted on-screen with the different realities the player experiences in the final battles, may be rooted to the central Yogachara theory of the mind: the eight consciousnesses. These are the five sense-consciousnesses (of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and bodily sense), the mind (thoughts and ideas), the manas (the defiled self-consciousness; obsession of the self that mistakenly considers the substratum consciousness to be a true Self), and the storehouse or substratum consciousness (simultaneity of all the modes of cognitive awareness).
====Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-====
Angeal Hewley sprouts two white feathered wings like those of angels as they are often depicted. His first name is a respelling of the word "angel". Angeal having two white wings is done in contrast to Genesis Rhapsodos. Having two white wings makes him more akin to a heavenly angel, while Genesis has one black wing, representing fallen angels.
Genesis is named after the Biblical account of creation and has a black wing much like Sephiroth. He is often seen offering a Banora White apple to people he wishes to join him, a reference to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden where the possessed serpent tempted them to eat a fruit containing knowledge of Good and Evil. Similarly, Genesis was the first to learn about the "sin" of the Jenova Project, but unlike Sephiroth, he achieves salvation, as well as spiritual and physical healing, from the gift of the goddess.
Angeal Penance uses attacks named after the Seven Deadly Sins, a part of Christian ethics and the Catholic culture: Defense of Lust, End of Gluttony, Charge of Greed, Rage of Sloth, Unleashed Wrath, Thunder of Envy and Wings of Pride. Penance is the repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Anglican Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.
Minerva's presence as the personification of the Lifestream reflects the role of Sophia in Gnostic belief, an Aeon made from the pure energy of the divine realm of light known as the Absolute, who was fragmented and trapped inside the bodies of human beings. The name Minerva is the Roman name of Athena, the wise Greek goddess of war strategy and crafts, a play on the name Sophia meaning "wisdom" in Greek.
====Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children====
The title refers to the Christian belief in the advent, or second coming of Jesus Christ to restore life and take the pious to the Kingdom of Heaven. The plot focuses on the inevitable rebirth of Sephiroth and the collection of those infused with Jenova cells into the Lifestream so he may take control of the Planet.
Cloud seeks forgiveness regarding Aerith's and Zack's deaths and cure his Geostigma. This mirrors the Christian belief that for one to be forgiven of sins, they must present themselves before God/Jesus and ask for forgiveness, the ultimate reward being "Eternal Life". That "Eternal Life" aspect is Cloud being cured of the fatal disease and being forgiven. At the end Aerith cures everyone's stigma via the Great Gospel. This is taken from the Christian premonition that when Satan has risen to power and the world is at its worst (Sephiroth has returned and the world is suffering from the stigma), Jesus will present himself and heal those who believe in him of their sins.
The additions of "stagnant Mako", which make up Chaos, and "negative Lifestream", controlled by Sephiroth, imply a sort of Hell or karma to the story's reincarnation system. It most closely resembles Hell in Hoshi o Meguru Otome, where souls who don't move on are said to be suffering, in this case of their own grief and regrets. Wailing emanates from the stagnant Mako. Thus, Sephiroth's "negative Lifestream" alludes to Abrahamic descriptions of Hell, as it reflects the belief of an evil being, such as Satan, who corrupts humans and reaps their souls when they die.
Sephiroth sprouts a single black wing during his battle with Cloud, which was retained from his Safer∙Sephiroth form. It is meant to symbolize him as a fallen angel, specifically Lucifer, as fallen angels are often depicted with black wings in art. This is conducive with his Hades-like role in the film.
The scene where Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo infect the children with black water containing negative Lifestream is similar to a Christian baptism, though darker, and possibly Satanic. Cloud curing Denzel's Geostigma through the pool of water in Aerith's church is also similar to a Christian baptism in the name of Jesus. This defies Kadaj's "negative" baptism, which simply took control over the children, but did not cure them. This relates to faith in Christian doctrine, showing that its practices are only beneficial when performed correctly and for the right reasons.
====Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-====
Vincent Valentine's primary weapon in both Advent Children: Final Fantasy VII and Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-, the three-barreled Cerberus handgun, refers to the three-headed guard dog of Hades in Greek mythology. His other weapons, Hydra and Griffin, also refer to creatures of Greek mythology.
Weiss's subtitle, the Immaculate, as well as his being born untainted by the negative Lifestream, alludes to a concept in the Catholic church of one born free of Original Sin, believed to be the Virgin Mary, who gave birth to Jesus Christ.
Chaos, the harbinger of death and destruction on a global scale who works with Omega, resembles the ends time figures associated on the Day of Judgment in Christian Eschatology.
===Final Fantasy VIII===
Omega Weapon's attack Megiddo Flame may refer to the final battle at the end of time in Abrahamic religions, Armageddon. The word itself is based on the mountain of Megiddo in modern-day Israel, where the battle is alleged to take place.
Rinoa's Limit Break, Angel Wing, has her sprout white feathered wings like those of angels as depicted in most works. Angels and angel wings are Rinoa's motif, with her having the wings printed on the back of her duster, her dog's name is Angelo, her ultimate weapon is made of interlocking white feathery wings, and she is associated with a single white feather, which she uses to seek out Squall who is trapped outside of time. As a sorceress she is a mirror opposite of Ultimecia in many ways, and the latter's design may thus allude to that of a fallen angel.
Fujin alludes to a Japanese wind god. This is why Fujin is associated with wind magic, and why she has the Guardian Force Pandemona. Raijin alludes the Japanese thunder god, and he uses thunder-based attacks, and is healed by thunder based attacks directed towards him. In Chinese Buddhism, a legend states that Fujin and Raijin were originally evil demons who opposed Buddha. They were captured in battle with Buddha's army of heaven, and have worked as gods since then.
The Guardian Force Quezacotl is based on the Quetzalcoatl, one of the major deities in ancient Mesoamerican mythology. Quetzalcōhuātl means in the Nahuatl language "feathered serpent". Due to the many civilizations worshiping the same deity using different names for it in the span of almost 2,000 years, the exact attributes and significance of this god vary. Most stories agree upon Quetzalcoatl being the god of the morning star and being known as the inventor of books, the calendar and the giver of maize to mankind. The worship of Quetzalcoatl was, in some religions, connected with human sacrifices, while in others, opposed to them.
===Final Fantasy IX===
Freya Crescent is named after the Nordic goddess Freyja (lit. Lady), who among other things, was associated with war, magic, death, and love. As a throwback to previous Final Fantasy games, the town of Lindblum has a church.
===Final Fantasy X===
Much of Final Fantasy X is based on how religious organizations can be corrupt and misuse people's faith to support an evil cause. Yevon presents itself as Spira's saving faith, but comes apart as a corrupted and manipulative religion centered on minimally appeasing the masses to maintain the status quo while committing heresies in the background. Yevon's downfall resembles the religious skeptic's argument that certain religious organizations are corrupt, and have their followers worshiping lies. Yevon resembles a theocracy; one that exercises authoritarian political power, rather than solely administrating its doctrinal affairs. Like Final Fantasy VII (which the developers confirmed being connected to Final Fantasy X) there are strong Gnostic undertones to the portrayal of spirituality in Spira.
The Yevon Temple draws inspiration from many real-world religions, such as Shintoism (practices and temples), Buddhism (iconography and ritualistic disciplines), Islam (pilgrimages) and Catholicism (hierarchical structure and rigid doctrine). A most notable influence appears to be derived from the faith of Jodo Buddhism, a branch of Buddhism centered on the doctrines and practice of Amitābha Buddha, where its founding story describes the monk Dharmākara ascending to Buddhahood and discovering the power to establish a buddhakṣetra, a realm beyond reality founded by a Buddha's own merits. Naming his world the Pure Land and becoming Amitābha Buddha, he vowed to make his world a paradise to which all peoples of his faith can enter and transcend into Buddhahood with ease to help the rest of the world.
Adapted into Japan, Jodo became popular with the common castes due to its simplicity in comparison to Shingon and Nichiren, and its influence reached into the Imperial Court; by the times of the establishment of the Tokugawa Shougunate, Jodo had reached its loftiest height of power for over the span of 264 years. Many of Yevon's aspects, from its founder's backstory, its control over the world, and reign of influence, also tie in with the East Asian design direction and Yevon's incarnation within the game.
Yevon comprises of leaders known as Maesters, which include Seymour Guado, Wen Kinoc, and Kelk Ronso. These positions are comparable to the Catholic roles of cardinals, and Grand Maester Yo Mika's wardrobe resembles the Pope's.
Yuna resembles a miko of Shinto religion, having been raised in the ways of her religion and travels to do good in the world. To further the elements of Japanese religions, the pyreflies are based on the concept of human souls appearing as fireflies.
Seymour Guado envisions himself as a messiah as he offers the promise of a better life for the people. His goals are more akin to the Hindu deity Shiva, intending to destroy everything to save it. He can be compared to a false prophet, as he preaches for unification yet tricks the people of Yevon and plans to become Sin with the intention of destroying Spira. When he is killed he assumes a pose similar to how Jesus is often portrayed on a crucifix. Seymour also goes on to "rise from the dead" by becoming an unsent.
Gnostics believed all humans have a fragment of divine light, corresponding to the pyreflies in Final Fantasy X, inside them. Only by rejecting the material world and recognizing all life stems from the Pleroma/the Absolute can the fragments return to the source (i.e. the Farplane), bringing their memories of life with them. This overlaps with Seymour's nihilistic worldview, in that he attempts to free people's souls from the pain of life, though he attempts to kill them rather than enlighten them.
The Roman Catholic Church persecuted the Gnostics as heretics, and the Gnostics' esoteric knowledge of how to return to the source of life was mostly eradicated, dooming the fragments of divine light, in the Gnostics' eyes, to keep cycling (a key theme in Final Fantasy X) into the material world. Similarly, the true nature of Sin and the destruction it wreaks was subsumed by the Yevonite church, who created a doctrine to fit their ideals, perpetuating their organization and, by extension, Spirans' suffering.
Gnostics believed in aeons, manifestations of the Absolute formed from its divine light, like how the aeons are made of pyreflies in Final Fantasy X. One of the aeons, Anima, is a concept of the eternal feminine in the psychology of Carl Jung, who was inspired by Gnosticism. The name "aeon" has its root in the Greek deity of the unending cyclical nature of time, "Aion".
Sin is a transgression of a religious or moral law, especially when deliberate. Yu Yevon created Sin as a bodyguard and for power, thus exhibiting lust, pride, and greed (and possibly more): three of the Seven Deadly Sins. Sin may also be a representation of the Christian concept of "original sin", as the Maesters state it can never be vanquished because humanity will never be that pure. Grand Maester Mika knows that worshiping Yu Yevon is insufficient and that Sin will be reborn.
The summoner's pilgrimage is a religious one, whereupon the summoner prays to shrines of departed spirits to receive their protection as spirit guides. The summoners are viewed as martyrs, a concept where one dies for their religion in the face of an enemy, physical or spiritual, and is exalted for it.
Valefor is a demon in the ars goetia (demonology text listing the names of all the demons and their orders). "He tempts people to steal and is in charge of a good relationship among thieves. Valefar is considered a good familiar by his associates till they are caught in the trap." He commands ten legions of demons, though her appearance in the game is different than the form in the aforementioned texts (lion with the head of a man or donkey). His description is reminiscent of the game in general, since the aeons are created by the fayth who, in turn, were created by Yu Yevon.
The story of Final Fantasy X has some allusions to Christianity. The Bible is separated into two primary parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The first book of the Bible is Genesis. Following Creation, man (Adam and Eve) disobeyed God, introducing sin into the world. Prior to the original sin death did not exist as Adam and Eve could eat from the Tree of Life. After eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the two were expelled from the Garden of Eden where the Tree of Life grew, and death was introduced to the world.
Death existed prior to Sin in Final Fantasy X, but Sin brought with it the "spiral of death," the cycle of sorrow and demise; because of Sin, everything in Spira revolves around death.
The Crusaders are named for the legions of the Catholic Church who fought the Muslims during the Crusades.
"Fayth" is an obsolete spelling of the English word, "faith". It is believed to be an intentional use, giving religious undertones to the fayth who are referred to as "children of prayer" in the Japanese. The Siddham Sanskrit script, the basis for the script of Yevon, is used in Japan mostly by the Shingon School of Buddhism that draws on early Hindu traditions.
One traditional concept is that deities manifest their thoughts or spiritual energy in the physical world on several different "wavelengths": Sound, Form, and Symbol. The form through which a deity can manifest is an anthropomorphic representation that is not the deity itself, but a living form humans can apprehend. The form physically expresses the deity's essence, in the same vein the aeons represent the fayth's dreams rather than their temporal bodies. In some Hindu and Buddhist practices one can invoke a deity through the physical representation of a statue, similar to the link between aeons and fayth. The fayth also sing the "Hymn of the Fayth", which may represent the "Sound" part of the different ways deities manifest in the physical realm in Shingon School of Buddhism.
"Fayth" is an obsolete spelling of the English word, "faith". It is believed to be an intentional use, giving religious undertones to the fayth who are referred to as "children of prayer" in the Japanese. The Siddham Sanskrit script, the basis for the script of Yevon, is used in Japan mostly by the Shingon School of Buddhism that draws on early Hindu traditions. 
One traditional concept is that deities manifest their thoughts or spiritual energy in the physical world on several different "wavelengths": Sound, Form, and Symbol. The form through which a deity can manifest is an anthropomorphic representation that is not the deity itself, but a living form humans can apprehend. The form physically expresses the deity's essence, in the same vein the aeons represent the fayth's dreams rather than their temporal bodies. In some Hindu and Buddhist practices one can invoke a deity through the physical representation of a statue, similar to the link between aeons and fayth. The fayth also sing the "Hymn of the Fayth", which may represent the "Sound" part of the different ways deities manifest in the physical realm in Shingon School of Buddhism. 
Themes within Final Fantasy X showcasing how religion is a manmade or at least cultivated concept may draw upon the Zen koan story of "The Practice of the Tying of the Cat". The story goes that a Buddhist temple became disturbed during meditation by the constant but innocuous meowing of a local cat that wandered the nearby area. The impatient head monk trapped the cat and tied it up while muffling it to keep it quiet. Unbeknownst to him or his laymen, the practice was continued even after their passing into the decades and even centuries, and later generations came to accept it to the point of calling it a holy practice and observing it to the point of scholarly discussion and thesis. Similarities in Spiran culture can be seen in the Zanarkand blitzball salute eventually becoming adopted as the Yevon salute of praise and respect, but more gravely, also in racial discrimination against the Al Bhed, the stigmatization of machina, and human sacrificial practice of the Grand Summoning.
The Life spell costs 18 MP to cast. In Jewish Numerology, the letters in the word 'Chai' (Hebrew for 'Life') add up to 18.
===Final Fantasy XIII===
The perspective of Cocoon's citizens onto Gran Pulse resembles the Christian perspective of the material world, where it is said to be a corruptible and malignant place, "an illusion to the glory of Heaven" that is Cocoon. The view is paradoxical in how the basis of Cocoon may be based on the Floating World of Japanese culture, where hedonistic and material pleasures are sought, the thesis of John B. Cobb, where the priority of wealth is have said to have overtaken even the pursuit of God in the Western world, and how years of corruption in the Christian church have come to greed and hypocrisy; from abuse of power to wayward gospels centered on gain and power through faith and zealousness, from the Prosperity Gospel and Christian Identity.
Barthandelus in his guise as Galenth Dysley, can be considered the Sanctum's version of the Pope while he is Primarch down to similar attire and the use of purples and whites. This similarity is further highlighted in the Japanese versions, where he was called "Grand Pope". Ultimately, Barthandelus is more like a false prophet who manipulates events and people to suit his kind's needs.
The concept of l'Cie may allude to principles within Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Bön, and other Indic religions. According to the principle of samsāra, life on earth is a curse, and ideally a sentient being must ascend, over many lifetimes, to nirvāna, a more ideal, though not earthly, state of being. The means of escaping samsāra are known as Atman, like a Focus. There are many paths to ascension, although it is never clearly stated which one a person must take. One of them is alluded to in Oerba, with Vanille's robot Bhakti. Bhakti comes from the word bhakta (love) and refers to the idea that one way to achieve salvation is through personal devotion to a deity (fal'Cie).
thumb|left|Fang and Vanille crystallized after summoning Ragnarok.
The idea of Ragnarok originates from the final war mentioned Norse mythology where the world is destroyed with only a handful of survivors, both divine and immortal, who repopulate the world as it is reborn. The characters of Fang and Vanille are based on the Ragnarok myth of Líf ("life") and Lífþrasir ("eager for life")—the humans who will survive Ragnarok, who sleep through earth's destruction and upon awakening will find the earth verdant again. Líf and Lífþrasir will become the progenitors of a new race of humans, and their descendants will inhabit the world. This is congruent with the idea that Fang was originally envisioned as a male character.
The idea of Ragnarok is thematically revisited in Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, with the merging of Gran Pulse and Valhalla marking a slow decline of the world and Lightning being tasked to guide the survivors to the new world that is about to be born.
The use of the Ark seems to differ from its religious use. According to world myths, a great flood was set to occur by a god who was disappointed in his creations. He planned to wash everything away to make way for a new age. The god deemed one of his creations pure and deserving a place in the new world free of evil, and so warned this person. In Abrahamic theology, this man was Noah, and in Mesopotamian tradition, he was called Uta-Napishtim, as well as Atrahasis and Zisudra among others around the world.
The man was told to create an Ark capable of carrying animals and the man's family upon the deluge. The humans did as they were told and survived the flood that destroyed all other land-life. As a reward, these patriarch were either promised by God never again to destroy the Earth by flood, or were given immortality for saving lives from the catastrophe.
In Final Fantasy XIII, the Arks are armories filled with living weapons in stasis, ready for the war on the Day of Reckoning. The Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy mythology infers that the Arks were designed for the war between Bhunivelze and Mwynn, once the unseen gate to Mwynn's residing place would be found.
Orphan is named after the Ophanim, a choir of angels described in Ezekiel's vision as fiery wheels covered in eyes, a description approximated by Orphan's design.
Orphan and the other fal'Cie's motives of getting the creator to return by destroying the world alludes to one theory within deism, popularized by Voltaire, that claims that God was like a clockmaker who wound the clock then left it on its own.
====Final Fantasy XIII-2====
In Norse mythology, Valhalla was a majestic hall in Asgard, where the gods and half of those who died in combat dwell. It was ruled by Odin, who appears as Lightning's Eidolon.
There is an NPC who quips, "Need an ark? I Noah guy!", a reference to the Biblical story in which a man names Noah builds an ark at God's command and places two of each type of animal within it to guard against their extinction due to a cataclysmic flood about to be unleashed by God.
Noel and Yeul have their names derived from French and alternate English name for Christmas, respectively. Yeul being continually reborn refers to the Hindu concept of samsara while playing on the resurrection of Jesus Christ with whom Christmas is directly connected with.
====Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII====
Various Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII aspects are based on Norse mythology. As alluded to in Final Fantasy XIII, the world will end in a great battle called Ragnarok, killing numerous gods, triggering many natural disasters, and a globe-spanning world war. After Ragnarok the world will be reborn, and the surviving gods and mortals will join to rebuild civilization in the new world.
Bhunivelze's matricide and banishing Mwynn to Chaos to supplant her position bears some similarities to the Greek myths, more specifically how the Olympian Gods overpower their Titan predecessors, especially Cronus (Saturn in the Roman myths) and take control of the mortals. He is called the God of Light, bearing some resemblance to Lucifer (Satan), known as the Light Bringer. Lightning and the souls of humanity casting Bhunivelze into the unseen realm in the explosive fires of the apocalypse also resembles Satan's ultimate fate in the Book of Revelations where he is cast into a lake of fire. Bhunivelze's partial crystallization immediately before the final blow also resembles how Satan was trapped waist down in a frozen lake in Dante's Divine Comedy. The concepts of a world destined to end, a world divided between the mortal realm and an invisible world of the afterlife, and a defeated goddess hiding in that invisible world, are also reminiscent of the Japanese Shinto creation myth. Bhunivelze's overall role of shaping the universe, yet being completely blind to souls/hearts, also resembled that of the demiurge from gnosticism.
Lightning is given the role of the savior, to shepherd souls to a new world. She is given the use of the Ark on Hope's Bhunivelze, in which to rest and release the souls of those she has saved. On the eve of the Apocalypse Fang and Vanille guide the souls of the dead to the Ark to escape the end of the world and await for their chance of being reborn in the new world.
The Soulsong and Vanille's intended use as a sacrificial offering can be compared to ritual purification and Jesus Christ's role as the Lamb of God, whose sacrificial death as a servant of God purged humanity's sins and purified them. As followers of Bhunivelze, the Order of Salvation sought to use Vanille as a sacrificial lamb and have her die in a ritual to destroy the dead and 'purify' the living of their burdens in preparation for rebirth in Bhunivelze's new world.
===Final Fantasy XIV===
There are two deities: Hydaelyn and Zodiark. While Hydaelyn can be seen as a Earth Mother-type goddess, linked to the aether, Zodiark is a slumbering deity whose revival is being sought by the Ascians through the primals. Needing to be worshiped like gods, sometimes manifested in the forms of deceased ones, or a fictional figure as in the case of Bahamut and Good King Moggle Mog XII, the primals prolong themselves on faith and aether, which weakens Hydaelyn as a consequence. There are also those who can transform into primal forms, like Ysayle Dangoulain and King Thordan.
While the Garlean Empire is not shown much, many among its invasion forces express a denouncing view on the divinities worshiped by residents of Eorzea to the point of committing iconoclasm as seen with Gaius van Baelsar.
Additionally, natives of Doma appear to worship an analogue of Shinto, as Oboro will explain to a budding Ninja that the gods of the Domans are all around them—"in the trees, in the soil, in the crashing waters before you."
===Final Fantasy XV===
Final Fantasy XV has various themes involving the battle between forces of light and darkness and life and death. Final Fantasy XV can be interpreted to have allusions to , , and , among others, most presently Noctis Lucis Caelum's journey as a messianic figure.
===Final Fantasy XVI===
The final boss conjures a manifestation of the Tree of Sephirot when he merges with all the versions of his hivemind to achieve rebirth and become Ultimalius. During the spell, he stays in the middle of the glyph, into which the other Ultimas siphon their aether, and they emerge as Ultimalius, the final boss.
Ultima is a creator god who promises paradise to his followers, but is revealed to be self-serving and only covet paradise for himself. Being cast out from Ultima's favor is known as "sin"; in Ultima's eyes, mankind's greatest sin is the awakening of free will and straying from the path their creator laid out for them to forge their own. His most avid follower is Barnabas Tharmr, whose given name derives from Barnabas, one of the earliest Christian disciples in Jerusalem. He and Paul the Apostle undertook missionary journeys together, defended Gentile converts against the Judaizers and participated in the Council of Jerusalem. Elements of Ultima's character, namely his overall personality as well as his status as the creator of humanity and to a lesser extent his discovery of magic resembles the Demiurge from Gnosticism.
Joshua and Clive Rosfield both have messianic traits. Clive becomes Logos, taking on the burdens of the world to bring salvation. In Christianity, Logos is a name or title of Jesus Christ. Ultima's plan for him was to become Mythos, a term the ancient Circle of Malius interprets in ways that hearken to Christianity: "on some future day of reckoning, the incarnation of the lord would appear among mankind and remake the world; that the advent of this incarnation would be heralded by the emergence of several heavenly servants of great might; that the lord's faithful should rally these servants together in order to bring the incarnation into being; and that for their loyalty, they would be rewarded with the greatest gladness." Joshua, meanwhile, sacrifices himself to help Clive achieve salvation for mankind in ridding the world of Ultima, and his name becomes immortalized through legend. "Yeshua" is used in the New Testament, where it is transliterated from the Hebrew into Greek in the Septuagint as Iesous (Ἰησοῦς). Jesus is also named Iesous (Ἰησοῦς) in the original Greek manuscripts of the New Testament.
After Bahamut's rampage in Twinside, the citizens float lanterns down the river, and Kihel explains to Dion Lesage the ritual's purpose is to guide the souls of the departed. Water lanterns have been used in various cultures for thousands of years for varying meanings. In Japan, Tōrō nagashi is a ceremony in which participants float paper lanterns down a river, traditionally performed on the final evening of the Bon Festival in the belief it will help guide the souls of the departed to the spirit world.
===Final Fantasy Tactics===
A major antagonistic organization is the Church of Glabados, an allusion to the old Roman Catholic Church and the infamous Medieval Inquisition. The Church's Messiah, St. Ajora, alludes to Jesus Christ, although his actions were closer to that of a false prophet or the Antichrist. His comparison to a false prophet was indicated by his job class, "False Saint" or "Phony Saint".
Germonique's betrayal of St. Ajora to the proper authorities, exempting the more noble reasons behind the betrayal, were similar to Judas's betrayal of Jesus Christ to Pontious Pilate. The Lucavi, who possess humans upon death, refer to demonic possession. The Lucavi are explicitly referred to as demons, and their leader, Ultima, a fallen angel.
===Final Fantasy Type-0===
The world of Orience is stuck in a spiral of destruction and rebirth with the memories of past events being purged from the living. The world ends during Tempus Finis when the Rursan Arbiter, also known as the "Judge", deems whether an Agito has been born into Orience: if there is no Agito, the Judge commences the end of the world. This is akin to the Last Judgment, part of the eschatological world view of the Abrahamic religions and in the Frashokereti of Zoroastrianism. In Christian theology, it is the final and eternal judgment by God of the people in every nation resulting in the glorification of some and the punishment of others. The Judge resides in Pandæmonium, whose name derives from the castle of Lucifer and the capital of Hell in John Milton's Paradise Lost.
Within Buddhist cosmology, the highest point of the mortal world is the Deva Realm, and its highest region is the Sixth Heaven. Seemingly a juxtaposition to mankind's traditional depiction of heaven throughout the world, the Deva Realm is said to be a place of endless indulgence and the Sixth Heaven is populated by demons and their leader Mara, the antithesis of Buddhist virtues who represents the negative aspects of the fleeting material world. Along with victimizing and agonizing mankind corporeally, Mara and his demonic followers control mankind through their desires for their own ends. Mara created the Desire Realm where the world of men is located, and is the master of its domain, in control of its illusions, sensual manifestations, and abstractions to misguide and corrupt its denizens in the unending cycles of karma and suffering. Able to resist and counter Mara's presence within one's life is one purpose of the Dharma and Buddhist Virtues, as transcending the Desire Realm leads one into Nirvana to be freed from these cycles and the malefic influence of Mara.
While Buddhism teaches mercy and compassion, and to incorporate virtue in the face of life's challenges, Buddha's teachings are not the only definite way, and one must achieve their own salvation within the course of their own lives. Buddhism's Middle Way is that of balance, including not being overtly indulgent only in the good things and to be expedient to others and oneself to help realize the way of one's enlightenment. Although Orience's alternate history sees the Second Orience War never occurring with an age of peace in its stead, such a timeline implies other unfortunate implications, such as ignorance of the threat of Bhunivelze and the destruction of Mwynn's universe in the wider scope of things. Through realizing the farce of the Crystals' desire to unify Orience through world wars to find the Agito, even after six hundred million cycles Class Zero fights without the temptation of becoming l'Cie to free Orience from the selfish affairs of the Fabula Nova Crystallis gods.
===Final Fantasy Adventure===
The Star of David appears on the magic circle in Wendel, but was modified to an octagram in the North American and European versions.
==Citations==
Category:Recurring story elements
Category:Allusions