<p>There appear to be a few religions in Amestris (or potentially a few views or denominations belonging to a single religion), and we can see actions from several people that denote a religious following.</p>
<h1>Truth and God</h1>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/t7fir.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/t7firm.png" alt="Truth and God" /></a></p>
<p>Ironically, the being who is canonically referred to God seems to have little to no religion based around it (the same for Truth). They are essentially all-powerful beings of nature, but garner little attention from those outside alchemy (who are generally atheists).</p>
<h1>Letoism</h1>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/AI33O.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/AI33Om.jpg" alt="Father Cornello in front of his subjects" /></a></p>
<p>In the town of Lior, a priest, Father Cornello, has been given a Philosopher's Stone by an at-the-time undisclosed party. Leaving his fellow Lior citizens unaware of this, he manages to garner a lot of attention through miracles (smaller ones in <em>Brotherhood</em>, though much more effective and large ones in the 2003 anime). These miracles, according to Cornello, are from the Sun God, Leto, around whom the religion is based.</p>
<p>In <em>Brotherhood</em>, after Cornello is debunked, Letoism disappears. The 2003 anime handles it differently, and one could say that the religion lingers on.</p>
<h1>Ishvala</h1>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/w9ZSC.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/w9ZSCm.jpg" alt="An Ishvalan monk, and Scar's master" /></a></p>
<p>Among the Ishvalans (those who remain, and their society prior to the war), there is a common belief in the Earth God Ishvala, who is said to be the one true creator, much like you could consider a typical god in a monotheistic religion. His teachings prohibit the use of alchemy, though some of his followers have stepped around this teaching and, in some cases, broken it entirely.</p>
<p>A note: The Ishvalan religion borrows many traits from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism" rel="noreferrer">Judaism</a>, but I won't go into detail here.</p>
<h1>Other religions</h1>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/fwA5U.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/fwA5Um.jpg" alt="Clara in her nun uniform" /></a> <a href="https://i.sstatic.net/xSVxM.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/xSVxMm.jpg" alt="Clara's church" /></a></p>
<p>In the 2003 anime, Ed and Al end up in Aquroya, where they meet a woman named Clara. There are signs later that she is not fully committed to this religion (though her churchgoers are), and not much is said about it, except that (according to Clara) Ed and Al's bickering &quot;goes against God's will.&quot;</p>
<p>There appear to be few mentions of religion outside of Letoism, Ishvala, and this small religion in Aquroya; I would wager a guess that any other mentions of &quot;God&quot; (by non-alchemists) belong to this same unnamed religion. It appears to borrow traits from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholicism" rel="noreferrer">Catholicism</a> (or Christianity as a whole), which would line up with early 1900s in Germany, if I recall correctly.</p>
<p>The Eastern Sage and the Sage of the West are also regarded somewhat as religious figures, the latter described as being a man of gold (his hair and eyes, and also a reference to alchemy's properties with regard to gold).</p>
<p>In Xing, a religion similar to Buddhism has developed, it would seem, which talks about chi and the flow of energy in the earth (referred to as the Dragon's Pulse). Likely, being a monarchy, there is also a god atop their structure, though I don't believe he is ever mentioned.</p>

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2013-09-18T12:27:22.730Z
Very good compilation! Here have some fake internet points!
Madara's Ghost
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2013-09-18T02:12:44.990Z
2013-09-18T02:12:44.990Z
2020-06-17T09:17:53.303Z
Cattua
<p>Occasionally, especially when talking about human transmutations, Amestrians mention God, mainly with the idea of human transmutations being a transgression against God. An example of this is when Olivier Armstrong is talking about the three tenets for state alchemists and is answering the question of why human transmutations are forbidden.</p>

<p>It doesn't seem to me like this is a reference to "Truth", seeing as very few people seem to know about "Truth", who is essentially the God within the gate. Is there some specific religion's God that this is reference to, or it is a sort of generic God=nature? Is there a stated religion within Amestris?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-09-14T19:26:57.417Z
Do you mean "believers of a God" or an entity called "God" apart of Truth?
Braiam
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2013-09-14T19:58:09.837Z
Would the Leto-Cult count here?
Vogel612
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-09-14T20:00:35.970Z
"Believers in God", because they all seem to reference God in the same way that religious people now do, but presumably virtually nobody knows about Truth-as-God.
kuwaly
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-09-14T20:16:16.817Z
As I consider a more complete answer, I will just remind anyone reading that there is the Ishvalan belief system (very similar to Judaism) present in their portion of Amestris, even after the war.
Cattua
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2013-09-16T08:06:53.280Z
also possibly interesting is the belief in the sage of the west.
Vogel612
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-09-16T16:31:16.773Z
Don't know if it matters, but the Sage of the West is Van Hohenheim.
kuwaly
<fullmetal-alchemist-series>
Is there a religion in Amestris?
# Is there a religion in Amestris?
Posted by: username_0 on 2013-09-14
Occasionally, especially when talking about human transmutations, Amestrians mention God, mainly with the idea of human transmutations being a transgression against God. An example of this is when Olivier Armstrong is talking about the three tenets for state alchemists and is answering the question of why human transmutations are forbidden.

It doesn't seem to me like this is a reference to "Truth", seeing as very few people seem to know about "Truth", who is essentially the God within the gate. Is there some specific religion's God that this is reference to, or it is a sort of generic God=nature? Is there a stated religion within Amestris?
**Tags:** fullmetal-alchemist-series
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Do you mean "believers of a God" or an entity called "God" apart of Truth?  
> **username_2**: Would the Leto-Cult count here?  
> **username_0**: "Believers in God", because they all seem to reference God in the same way that religious people now do, but presumably virtually nobody knows about Truth-as-God.  
> **username_3**: As I consider a more complete answer, I will just remind anyone reading that there is the Ishvalan belief system (very similar to Judaism) present in their portion of Amestris, even after the war.  
> **username_2**: also possibly interesting is the belief in the sage of the west.  
> **username_0**: Don't know if it matters, but the Sage of the West is Van Hohenheim.  
---
## 1 answers
### Answer by username_3 on 2013-09-18. Score: 8
There appear to be a few religions in Amestris (or potentially a few views or denominations belonging to a single religion), and we can see actions from several people that denote a religious following.

# Truth and God

[![Truth and God](https://i.sstatic.net/t7firm.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/t7fir.png)

Ironically, the being who is canonically referred to God seems to have little to no religion based around it (the same for Truth). They are essentially all-powerful beings of nature, but garner little attention from those outside alchemy (who are generally atheists).

# Letoism

[![Father Cornello in front of his subjects](https://i.sstatic.net/AI33Om.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/AI33O.jpg)

In the town of Lior, a priest, Father Cornello, has been given a Philosopher's Stone by an at-the-time undisclosed party. Leaving his fellow Lior citizens unaware of this, he manages to garner a lot of attention through miracles (smaller ones in *Brotherhood*, though much more effective and large ones in the 2003 anime). These miracles, according to Cornello, are from the Sun God, Leto, around whom the religion is based.

In *Brotherhood*, after Cornello is debunked, Letoism disappears. The 2003 anime handles it differently, and one could say that the religion lingers on.

# Ishvala

[![An Ishvalan monk, and Scar's master](https://i.sstatic.net/w9ZSCm.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/w9ZSC.jpg)

Among the Ishvalans (those who remain, and their society prior to the war), there is a common belief in the Earth God Ishvala, who is said to be the one true creator, much like you could consider a typical god in a monotheistic religion. His teachings prohibit the use of alchemy, though some of his followers have stepped around this teaching and, in some cases, broken it entirely.

A note: The Ishvalan religion borrows many traits from [Judaism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism), but I won't go into detail here.

# Other religions

[![Clara in her nun uniform](https://i.sstatic.net/fwA5Um.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/fwA5U.jpg) [![Clara's church](https://i.sstatic.net/xSVxMm.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/xSVxM.jpg)

In the 2003 anime, Ed and Al end up in Aquroya, where they meet a woman named Clara. There are signs later that she is not fully committed to this religion (though her churchgoers are), and not much is said about it, except that (according to Clara) Ed and Al's bickering "goes against God's will."

There appear to be few mentions of religion outside of Letoism, Ishvala, and this small religion in Aquroya; I would wager a guess that any other mentions of "God" (by non-alchemists) belong to this same unnamed religion. It appears to borrow traits from [Catholicism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholicism) (or Christianity as a whole), which would line up with early 1900s in Germany, if I recall correctly.

The Eastern Sage and the Sage of the West are also regarded somewhat as religious figures, the latter described as being a man of gold (his hair and eyes, and also a reference to alchemy's properties with regard to gold).

In Xing, a religion similar to Buddhism has developed, it would seem, which talks about chi and the flow of energy in the earth (referred to as the Dragon's Pulse). Likely, being a monarchy, there is also a god atop their structure, though I don't believe he is ever mentioned.
> **Comments:**
> **username_4** (2013-09-18): Very good compilation! Here have some fake internet points!  
---
