Religious allusions in Final Fantasy

The Final Fantasy series has drawn inspiration from various real-world religions, and incorporated elements of them into the fiction that makes up the series.

Final Fantasy (Series)
The recurring summon Leviathan is based on the biblical sea monster Livyatan (לִוְיָתָן). Interestingly, though the word simply 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 and in Talmud. In Christianity, the Leviathan was portrayed as a demonic avatar of Satan, described by Thomas Aquinas as a 'demon of envy'.

Similarly, the Behemoth is a biblical land beast, again 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, is based on the god Shiva of the Hinduism religion, although the god is considered male.

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. This is an interesting allusion, as the Tower of Babil houses a great power from the moon, and both God from the Genesis story and the Giant of Babil had the intention of 'confounding' humanity, so to speak.

Kain Highwind's name is from the Genesis story of Cain and Abel (קין והבל Kayin v'Hevel), in which Cain, in his jealousy and envy of his brother, betrayed him by slaying him (fratricide). This is somewhat reflected in the story element wherein Kain repeatedly betrays his adoptive brother, Cecil Harvey (coincidentally to Cecil's real brother, Golbez). Kain's ultimate weapon is also Abel's Lance, an obvious biblical allusion to the story of Cain and Abel.

Interestingly, when the SNES version was released outside of Japan, several changes were made such as The Tower of Prayers which became Tower of Wishes and the removal of Rosa's Pray ability.

Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VII draws heavily from Lurian Kabalā (Jewish Mysticism). The main antagonist's name, Sephiroth, is Hebrew in origin (ספירות Sfirót) and means 'Counting', or 'Enumeration'. Many have compared this aspect to the name to the Sephiroth Clones, each given their own number. The name Jenova has been shown to have Hebrew and Latin components. One is taken from the ineffable Hebrew name of God, יהוה (yud-hei-vav-hei), which is 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'.

Sephiroth factors in through Kabalism. The ten aspects of God and creation are known as Sephiroth, and are often arranged in a unique pattern known as the Tree of Life. These aspects are "Crown, Wisdom, Understanding, Benevolence, Strength, Beauty, Eternity, Splendor, Foundation (Vessel) and Royalty (Kinghood).

Sephiroth summons Meteor in order to create a huge wound to the Planet, thereby condensing the entire Lifestream at the Northern Crater, which would 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.

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.

Final Fantasy IX
The character Freya Crescent is named after the Nordic Goddess Freyja (lit. 'Lady'), whom among other things, was associated with war, death, and love.

Final Fantasy X
The downfall of Yevon alludes to the idea that organized religion is corrupt, and has followers worshipping lies.

The Church of Yevon is comprised of leaders, known as maesters, which include Seymour Guado, Wen Kinoc, and Kelk Ronso. There is also a grand maester, Yo Mika. These positions are comparable to the Catholic roles of Cardinals and Pope, respectively.

Final Fantasy XIII
The concept of l'Cie is an allusion to Hinduism. According to the principle of samsāra, life on earth is a curse, and ideally a sentient being must eventually ascend, over many lifetimes, to nirvāna, a more ideal, though not earthly, state of being. Nirvāna is comparable to Crystal Stasis in this respect.

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 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).