Is Cid Atheist?

[wayfarer]

God, FFVII has really been out a long fucking time hasn't it? If this is the lvel of irrelevant discussion we've been reduced to.

Yep. Over ten years.

 

[Alex]

O RLY?

 

[wayfarer]

nah i was just jokin' with ya

 

[megas_sephiroth]

No, he believes in Jenova.

http://oskitty.deviantart.com/art/Kefka-vs-Sephiroth-001-47747953

That's hilarious.

Spoiler

Get off my porch!

. Poor Sephy.

 

[Purple]

Is there even a God in the FFVII world?

Who do they worship btw? And what the hell was Aerith's church for?

 

[wayfarer]

churches exist, but their overall significance is questionable, cuz they're always empty.

EDIT: maybe its for dramatic effect

 

[Cthulhu]

Probably, yeah. Dramatic / environmental / mood effect. Regardless of the practice of religion, churches always have a certain atmosphere about 'em.

 

[Ravynne Nevyrmore]

But it would be stupid for them to put churches in for the dramatic effect and then not back it up with a reason for being there that makes them dramatic in the first place. That would be like if they showed us all the telescopes in Cosmo Canyon but then said that the Planet was actually contained in a cardboard box and there is no outer space.

Besides, references to "God" are made. So I think it's safe to say there's a monotheistic religion on the map somewhere. Maybe it's only contained to the Midgar/Kalm area. Maybe the whole Lifestream belief is mostly contained around Cosmo Canyon and wherever the Cetra were, and then Wutai has its own polytheistic religion, too. That wouldn't be entirely unrealistic.

 

[Cthulhu]

That would be like if they showed us all the telescopes in Cosmo Canyon but then said that the Planet was actually contained in a cardboard box and there is no outer space.

You might be on to something there.

IS THE PLANET REALLY ACTUALLY CONTAINED IN A CARDBOARD BOX? IS THERE NO SPACE? IS THE CAKE TRULY A LIE? FIND OUT, IN THE NEXT EPISODE OF 'THE TRUTH OF FINAL FANTASY VII'.

I think that the churches and any references to religion (i.e. Aerith's prayer pose and whatnot) were all added only to create an atmosphere. I also think that all references to 'God' in one way or another - that is, assuming they're used as exclamations or figures of speech and whatnot - are all added to tweak the narrative, instead of confirming the existence or believed existence of any deity in the game. I mean, there's plenty of non-religious people going 'ahmygawd!11' all the time, especially in the States.

 

[megas_sephiroth]

I think that the churches and any references to religion (i.e. Aerith's prayer pose and whatnot) were all added only to create an atmosphere. I also think that all references to 'God' in one way or another - that is, assuming they're used as exclamations or figures of speech and whatnot - are all added to tweak the narrative, instead of confirming the existence or believed existence of any deity in the game. I mean, there's plenty of non-religious people going 'ahmygawd!11' all the time, especially in the States.

I agree with that, I think the word "god", in FFVII, is used as a figure of speech and are not proof of any kind of religion or that Cid, or anyone else for that matter, belives in God or in some kind of religion.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

That...doesn't really make much sense. Especially considering that Wutai actually does have a belief system around the Water God and the Da-Chao. While religion isn't an important party of the setting, its kinda ridiculous to assume that the word 'god' is just a figure of speech or something, it must be indicative of some sort of belief structure somewhere.

 

[Ravynne Nevyrmore]

While religion isn't an important party of the setting, its kinda ridiculous to assume that the word 'god' is just a figure of speech or something, it must be indicative of some sort of belief structure somewhere.

This.

I say things like "oh my god" all the time even though I don't believe in any god. But the word is in my vocabulary because religions that worship God do exist in the world I live in. For the FF7 crew to use figures of speech that make reference to a god, they would have to be familiar with the concept of God (or at least any god) even if they don't hold the belief themselves.

 

[wayfarer]

I mean, there's plenty of non-religious people going 'ahmygawd!11' all the time, especially in the States.

guilty as charged. and i basically agree with the last few posts.

 

[Midnyte92]

I never thought about religion in FFVII, it didn't really matter to me, but i'd say there is some sort religion in this world. but over all I don't the creators ever cared on religion in the world or if there athiest

 

[Edley]

Never really thought of it before. In terms of religions / belief systems they reference:

The Cetra: Pantheistic, The Planet as god not a man-deity but a force that guides and shapes life and death. (Cosmo Canyon and The Study of Planet Life would probably fall under this).

Wutai: Polytheistic, Several minor gods that are used to explain various aspects of life.

Shinra/World at Lage: Monothestic, (Use of the word God by Barret, Cid, Yuffie, and minor characters) Belief in a borrowed spiritual concept (The Promised Land).

Sephiroth/Jenova: Autotheistic, Regardless of belief in an external deity, the belief in one's right or duty to become perfect or Godlike.

Obviously Aerith prays to the planet, and one of the Highwind crew members tells Cloud and Co. that he's praying for their safety, so the concept of prayer exists. Houses of worship exist, but because so much of the story is about man vs. planet, it's not touched on.

I guess to answer the question, Cid would not be a man of great faith.

 

[Masamune]

Could it be that Shinra themselves put a clamp down on organized religion, as they began their subjugation of the world?

 

[Makoeyes987]

I don't think really care, to be honest. Why would they?

 

[Masamune]

Because in the right hands, religion is a powerful tool, and it doesn't look good for Shinra who are sucking God's holy creation dry. Best for them to nip that kind of thing in the bud before it could escalate.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

I see what you mean, and that's been done a lot of times by governments in the real world as well. However, considering that many people have no idea, and never knew the Lifestream is more than just glorified gasoline, I don't think Shinra had a hand in clamping down religion. I think religion is there, but it's just not an important theme of the game.

 

[Masamune]

I see what you mean, and that's been done a lot of times by governments in the real world as well. However, considering that many people have no idea, and never knew the Lifestream is more than just glorified gasoline, I don't think Shinra had a hand in clamping down religion. I think religion is there, but it's just not an important theme of the game.

All it would take is one person to inform an organized religion (particularly one with a political agenda), and the wheels would be set in motion. Being the totalitarian regime they are, it wouldn't surprise me that Shinra covered every base.

 

[ForceStealer]

Except, you know, every single one of their experiments

(That's a rip on Shinra, not you )

 

[Ravynne Nevyrmore]

However, considering that many people have no idea, and never knew the Lifestream is more than just glorified gasoline, I don't think Shinra had a hand in clamping down religion.

I think that's just because ShinRa and the religion in question existed in separate parts of the world, for the most part. That belief system was biggest in Cosmo Canyon, right? I don't recall ShinRa having a huge presence in Cosmo Canyon, if any at all.

On the other hand, AVALANCHE started in Cosmo Canyon and seems to have gone to Midgar purposely to stop ShinRa.

Now as for the folks in Midgar, of course among that huge population you'd have some that hold the beliefs of Cosmo Canyon and the Cetra, like Aeris and those from AVALANCHE who midgrated over there. But the majority probably didn't know much about that "religion," much as I don't know shit about, say, Hindu, having grown up in a predominantly Catholic neighborhood.

 

[Neo Bahamut]

To the 1st 2 posts: I think Cid is probably an atheist. No, it doesn't particularly "matter," other than for the atmosphere of the game.

Think about how bleak & hopeless most peoples' lives in FFVII are. Coupled with that, they're in a massive industrial revolution.

To use Midgar as an example, for its juxtaposition of different Lifestyles, here's what I think:

Those above the Plate think they don't need God.

Those below the Plate think God has abandoned them.

This is, of course, not a definite statement from Square, & is up for debate, but it's my impression, given the atmosphere of the game.

It also doesn't help God's/Gods'/Goddess's/Goddess' case much that the only known church is abandoned.

I'm really more interested in Wutai's religion, since it's the only definitely established one.

Disclaimer: I'm well aware of the massive stereotyping I did to reach this conclusion. Firstly, every stereotype comes from somewhere. It's true that statements like "you're just a rebellious teenager" are usually utter bullshit, but if you go to YouTube, you will find that it DOES happen. Atheism is like any other philosophy: Not all of its adherants have the right idea. Secondly, it's an oversimplification of reality. You can attribute several beliefs to modern day naturalists, & you're not being fallacious, just so long as you recognize that you're describing a subculture surrounding naturalism, & not naturalism itself, you aren't making a sweeping generalization.

 

[muchmoxie]

Probably. It's more likely he's an Atheist than a Christian, that's for sure.

 

[Alessa Gillespie]

Probably. It's more likely he's an Atheist than a Christian, that's for sure.

dood, does Jesus even exist in the FF world?