The indigenous Aztecs of central Mexico founded the Aztec religion. Human sacrifice is practiced in connection with several religious festivals in the Aztec calendar, as it is in other Mesoamerican religions. The Aztecs would frequently combine deities borrowed from various geographic locations and peoples into their own religious rites, as their polytheistic religion contains numerous gods and goddesses.

The Aztec religion divides the globe into thirteen heavens and nine earthy strata or netherworlds, according to their cosmology. The first heaven and the first terrestrial layer overlap at the Earth's surface, bringing heaven and terrestrial layers together. Each level is associated with a different collection of gods and celestial bodies. The Sun, Moon, and Venus are the most prominent celestial entities in Aztec religion (both as "morning star" and "evening star"). "People of the Sun" was a common nickname for the Aztecs.

Many of the Aztecs' most important deities are still revered in the modern world. These deities are known by several names, including Tlaloc, Quetzalcoatl, and Tezcatlipoca, and have been revered by various societies throughout Mesoamerica's history. Tlaloc, the rain deity; Huitzilopochtli, patron of the Mexica tribe; Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent and god of wind and learning; and Tezcatlipoca, the sly, elusive god of fate and fortune, are all important deities to the Aztecs. Tezcatlipoca was also associated with sorcery and war. Tlaloc and Huitzilopochtli were venerated in shrines at the top of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan's biggest pyramid (Templo Mayor). The wind god Ehecatl, who was an aspect or form of Quetzalcoatl, was honored with a third statue on the plaza in front of the Templo Mayor.