User blog comment:Mrlmm0605/Let's Talk Bleach! - Part 4: Yhwach/@comment-1351982-20150622214556

Glad I'm not the only one who saw the religious connection. I'm not a religious person persay (I would call myself a person of faith rather than a member of a certain group) but looking back some of the religious connections in Bleach are unmistakable. The Quincy I think are actually based on the real-life Kakure Kirishitan, secret Christians who practiced their faith secretly when it was banned in Japan. The romaji pronunciation and the kanji for Christian キリシタン and Quincy クインシー are similar. I think the Soul Society represents traditional Japan and the Quincy the new "race." Much like the genocide of the Quincy, Christians were murdered and even crucified (perhaps the connection of the Quincy cross) and much like the the Quincy hid away for hundreds of years. There are more potential connections to Christianity in Japan and other religions, but I'll leave that option open if people want to hear it.