You're free to make up whatever crazy gods you want for your own character. There [i]are[/i] established religions and faiths, some more tolerant than others and others that are less tolerant than some. But you could totally play as a priest who worships the busty kraken-woman of the depths or whatever else you had in mind. While there might not be any sort of "inquistion" that'd actively hunt heretics, there're definetely islands and nations that have ... [i]Stabile[/i]... churches, and they don't usually take kindly to faiths besides their own.

As for the question about pirates from other medias, as I said in the FAQ. You [i][b]can[/b][/i] play as Luffy if you really, really, really, really, really, really wanna/hafta, but I'd personally really, really, really, really, really truly prefer if you didn't.

If you have other questions, let me know. :)

[h2][b]EDIT:[/b][/h2]

Oh, and when I say I'd prefer you don't use pirates from other pirate-media, I don't mean as face-claims. I'm perfectly fine with people using Luffy or Nami or any other anime-pirate as their appearance. What I'd prefer people to avoid is using the established personality of said characters as their own personality - basically, someone taking Luffy's appearance AND trying to roleplay as Luffy, or copy his mannerisms, basically.... Plagiarism.