User blog comment:Pryamus/Lore: Christian / Satanic symbols in Diablo/@comment-58609-20150520224925

This is one of those 'things' that I could swear I read, but don't take my word on it. From what I recall, the difference has an in-universe reason for it, that the Crusader symbol is the true Zakarum symbol, and that the crosses, while existing in-universe, represent a corrupted version of the symbol. We see them in D1/D2 because of how Zakarum changed over time, whereas by D3, the church has tried to repair its image, people are turning away from it, etc. Don't quote me on this though.

What we know is an actual explanation is this. Make of it what you will.

But to be honest, the crosses always bugged me in D1, and D2 to a lesser extent.No, it's not out of any religious offense or whatever, but that they literally made no sense in the Diablo universe. I can get what Schaefer's getting at in the interview, that they're evoking real-world imagery, but the cross has meaning in real-world imagery because there's actual meaning behind it (Jesus on the cross, the idea of sin in Abrahamic religion, etc.). Yes, Zakarum is based off the Catholic church with a bit of Islam/Mormonism thrown in (the whole Akarat/prophet thing), as Zakarum has its own tenants, and last we heard Akarat didn't die on a cross or anything, and doesn't even have a deity...why are crosses even here? The Crusader symbol doesn't necessarily invoke feelings by its design, but I honestly prefer it as the Zakarum symbol because it feels consistent with the universe, or rather, as something unique to the universe rather than thrown in.

And in case anyone's wondering, yes, the crosses bugged me in WC1/2 for the same reason - that they made no sense in the context of the actual universe.