Religion in Death Note is very prominent. Throughout the series we see the rise of a new religion from general distrust and avoidance. In the beginning of the series the media did not acknowledge Kira, calling the killings a succession of unexplained deaths among the world’s most hardened criminals.
We see the publics response- some praising him online, but not in public, and gradually as support for Kira grew accepting him became justifiable.
We are given clear messages for his teachings, who will be punished, and spokespersons are assigned to inform the public what Kira wants.
Even after Light's death the religion of Kira persist, as we are shown hundreds of followers awaiting his return.
Rarely in media are we able to see the rise of a religion from the beginning.
The message of the series is more difficult to determine.
The issue with trying to interpret this 108 chapter manga, or 37 episode series, at face value or in a black-and-white senses is that that is simply not possible.
There is no purely good character and no purely evil character. For every character that appears on one extreme there is another to balance it out, and so many more characters caught somewhere in the middle.
To claim that Death Note's message is that it is right to kill someone to make the world a better place- and that is the message younger audience will take away from it goes to show how much we tend to underestimated the average viewer. Light is not portrayed as a role model, rather as someone slowly driven mad. Despite this his methods statistically work, as crime rates decrease while he was acting as Kira. However, that does not suggest that the ends justify the means.
Easy answers are not given in Death Note you are forced to give thought to the implications of each decision of the characters and draw your own conclusion.
The question remains is Death Note anti religion?
If you believe that the teachings of a serial killer are not a good representation of religion, and that in this world once you die you go to a place called Mu (nothingness), it is tempting to say that Death Note is anti-religion. There is no heaven, no hell, and regardless of your actions once you die that is the end.
However like everything in death note things are not that simple.
Despite the reader knowing there is no heaven or hell the majority of the characters are not aware of this, and likewise we the readers know little about the Mu or what happens after someone dies in this world. Instead we watch different characters either accepts Light as a god or renounce him as a false god.
Moreover, the followers of Kira's religion are not condemned or shown in a bad light instead they are understood by the adversaries of Kira as those who genuinely believe and simply want to feel safe and protected from evil. No one is ever punished for supporting kira.
Misa does kill some who criticize kira but Light generally does not kill innocent people for speaking there mind only those who are acting against him.
In the end Death Note is a story of good vs evil, right vs wrong, and the idea of justice without ever giving a clear answer to what character is truly on the side of good, or if their ideology is right. The viewer is left to determine this for themselves.
Religion is more of a background influence shaping the world of Death Note. It is neither good nor bad simply something that exist. For this reason I personally feel that Death Note's message is indifferent to religion. It is neither a good thing or a bad thing, and instead focused on the corruption and perseverance of humans. Others who watch this series may feel it is immoral or anti-religion, or they many feel it is very pro-religion. Whatever interpretation you take from this series there is likely support for either.
