History Main / ReligionIsMagic

* By WordOfGod, TheForce in ''Franchise/StarWars'' is supposed to represent spirituality or religions in general or something (Creator/MarkHamill described it as "Religion's greatest hits."). That makes sense when you think about how the Jedi regard it, but when you look at what they can do with it, it makes it seem like an overdose of this trope. It even gets called an outdated religion by an Empire guy who gets the iconic Force-choke, and Vader is disturbed by his "lack of faith." KnightTemplar Vader! ''[[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Jedi_Path:_A_Manual_for_Students_of_the_Force_%28real-life_book%29 The Jedi Path]]'', an in-universe textbook, has a number of endnotes. In one of them, the writer noted that the Jedi tend to be smug and inflexible, but they have a reason. The Force is essentially God, even if no one in-universe calls it that. When two Jedi discuss the Force, they're discussing God - and they can call on it to perform, basically, miracles.

* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndTheWitchsGhost'' had a field day with this one. (Or possibly ''several'' field days.) First, it treats UsefulNotes/{{Wicca}} as an inherited trait with one character claiming she's one-sixteenth Wiccan. [[WitchSpecies Second, it automatically treats Wiccans as good while witches (and warlocks) are automatically evil.]] Third, it implies there were Wiccans around in the 1600s (and probably living in a Puritan village, no less!).\\

Faith and power have always gone hand in hand, and not just power in the spiritual and social senses -- religion and magic were the ''same thing'' for [[TheOldestOnesInTheBook most of the world's history]]. Every religion's most devoted practitioners are associated with supernatural powers -- often by people within the religion itself, and almost universally by those outside it. Going the other direction, having magical powers has, historically, meant that person was associated with some sort of supernatural entity, whether calling upon the gods or consorting with evil entities. The exception is Greek mythology, where magic was the "art of controlling the secret forces of the cosmos", but even their priests still begged their gods and other higher powers for favor.

* ''Literature/BazilBroketail'': Witches are also worshipers of the Great Mother, and also seem to be a branch of clergy themselves with those like Lessis having high ranks in the Temple while called "Sisters" like nuns (although they aren't sworn to celibacy), fighting in the goddess's cause against evil.

* Willow on ''Series/{{Buffy|TheVampireSlayer}}'' claimed to be a UsefulNotes/{{Wicca}}n, but it was a catch-all for "witch". In the episode "Hush", she's actually disappointed that a student Wiccan group is focused more on their faith, or rather the seemings thereof, rather than raw magical power, and in a combined LampshadeHanging and TakeThat, calls them, "a bunch of wanna-blessed-be's."

* ''Literature/BazilBroketail'': Witches are also worshipers of the Great Mother, and though not clergy themselves are tied closely to them, fighting in the goddess's cause against evil.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' largely plays this straight (like most fantasy MMORPG settings), but subtly subverts it too; there are resistance stats for all schools of magic, but no way of resisting 'Holy' damage. While it actually ''does'' have a resistance stat, and there are many StandardStatusEffects that would affect it the same as any other magic types, there are scant few methods and equipment to specifically resist holy magic.

The modern idea of a 'wizard' -- somebody who can just ''do'' magic entirely on their own, whether born with the gift or trained in mystic arts -- originated in ancient Greece, where it eventually died out, only to later redevelop in the 20th century, and was not solidified until ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' made a strong distinction between Priests and Wizards ("divine" and "arcane" magic, respectively). The increasing importance of science and technology in our world has trained people to think of even amazing and wonderful events as being under human control and within human understanding, and our concept of magic has similarly changed into something closer to "[[ClarkesThirdLaw science we don't understand]]", with [[MagicAIsMagicA comprehensible, repeatable rules]], rather than begging for favors from entities greater than us.

The modern idea of a 'wizard' -- somebody who can just ''do'' magic entirely on their own, whether born with the gift or trained in mystic arts -- originated in ancient Greece, where it eventually died out, only to later redevelop in the 20th century, and was not solidified until ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' made a strong distinction between Priests and Wizards ("divine" and "arcane" magic, respectively). The increasing importance of science and technology in our world has trained people to think of even amazing and wonderful events as being under human control and within human understanding, and our concept of magic has similarly changed into something closer to "[[ClarkesThirdLaw science we don't understand]]", with [[MagicAIsMagicA comprehensible, repeatable rules]], rather than begging for favors from entities greater than us ([[DealWithTheDevil though that may still be an option]]).

* ''Manga/RozenMaiden'' as manga only Kirakishoo's artificial spirit is Sufi!

* In S. M. Stirling's ''Literature/{{Emberverse}}'' series this mostly takes the form of visions and exorcism. Members of Asatru, the Catholic Church, Buddhism, Wicca, and First Nations religion all receive the first, the latter are performed by Juniper, a Wiccan high priestess and Father Ignatius, a Catholic paladin and well as Rudi who is basically KingArthur reborn as a Wiccan.

Faith and power have always gone hand in hand, and not just power in the spiritual and social senses -- religion and magic were the ''same thing'' for [[TheOldestOnesInTheBook most of the world's history]]. Every religion's most devoted practitioners are associated with supernatural powers -- often by people within the religion itself, and almost universally by those outside it. Going the other direction, having magical powers has, historically, meant that person was associated with some sort of supernatural entity, whether calling upon the gods or consorting with evil entities. The exception is Greek mythology, where magic was the "art of controlling the secret forces of the cosmos", but even there priests still begged their gods and other higher powers for favor.

* The angels in ''Anime/SteelAngelKurumi'' apparently run on a combination of advanced technology and Taoist magic, to the point where the title character's creator had to travel back in time to find a Taoist priest powerful enough to activate her and her [[spoiler:combined Angelic/Demonic heart]]. Then again, it seems a lot of it is based on personal spiritual power; it's implied that the reason Nakahito can't [[ElementalPowers mess with the elements]] like his brother is because powering Kurumi takes too much already.

* ''Manga/GhostHunt'' features Taoism, Shintoism, Catholicism and modern metaphysics all used to exorcise spirits. Each is useful in different circumstances.
* A major element of ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'', where each religion appears to have its own brand of magic, since mages identify themselves by which church they belong to. Kaori being a part of a combination Christian/Shinto church effectively allows for her to combine magic styles. In contrast, the series' users of PsychicPowers are influenced by science. Any and all religious objects (crosses, Aztec sacrificial knives, clerical vestments, etc) are enchanted with powerful magic.

* In Marvel's short-lived [[ComicBook/TheNewUniverse New Universe]] line back in the mid 80s, which was supposed to be more like the real world than the normal Franchise/MarvelUniverse, voodoo magic still "worked". The "magic" was all [[RetCon retconned]] as [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Paranormals]] who were [[DoingInTheWizard unaware of their powers]].

* Franchise/SpiderMan foe Kraven the Hunter's former lover, the now deceased Calypso, was a rather memorable villain herself and a practitioner of ''voodoo'', who clearly could use black magic, apparently having [[HumanSacrifice sacrificed her younger sister]] to gain unholy powers. Mostly she was able to charm and enchant victims (including the Lizard, who she used as an UnwittingPawn, and made his regeneration powers [[TookALevelInBadass far more potent]] in the process) and after her first apparent death, she possessed Gloria Grant, using her to perform some unholy ritual to restore her own body to life. [[spoiler:(Hasn't been able to do the same thing twice, apparently, as she was murdered by Kraven's son Alyosha.)]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' the "shadow man" proclaims his skills with voodoo, hoodoo, and things he ain't even tried. He appears to be a basic fortuneteller and minor peddler of spells, until his plans get under way.

These ''could'' be intended as a TakeThat at "fluffy bunnies" or "[=McWiccans=]." Many of these "wanna-blessed-be's" think that Wicca actually ''is'' an inherited trait, and that the Salem witch trials as part of the "Burning Times" in which innocent women were burned at the stake for practicing the "old religion". In reality, both innocent men and women were accused of devil-worship and not pagan religious practices. The confusion comes in because at many times in history they were treated as synonymous. In Salem, the execution method of choice was hanging, not burning--although Giles Corey was pressed to death in the effort to extract confession.

** Actually, they are all treated as slightly different things, or different kinds of magic; for instance, at the start Egg Shen is asked if he believes in magic-he says he believes in Chinese black magic. Shortly after he says he also believes in monsters, ghosts and sorcery.
* By WordOfGod, TheForce in ''Franchise/StarWars'' is supposed to represent spirituality or religions in general or something (Creator/MarkHamill described it as "Religion's greatest hits."). That makes sense when you think about how the Jedi regard it, but when you look at what they can do with it, it makes it seem like an overdose of this trope. It even gets called an outdated religion by an Empire guy who gets the iconic Force-choke, and Vader is disturbed by his "lack of faith." KnightTemplar Vader! ''[[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Jedi_Path:_A_Manual_for_Students_of_the_Force_%28real-life_book%29 The Jedi Path]]'', an in-universe textbook, has a number of endnotes. In one of them the writer noted that the Jedi tend to be smug and inflexible, but they have a reason. The Force is essentially God, even if no one in-universe calls it that. When two Jedi discuss the Force, they're discussing God - and they can call on it to perform, basically, miracles.

* In S. M. Stirling's ''Literature/{{Emberverse}}'' series this mostly takes the form of visions and exorcism. Members of Asatru, the Catholic Church, Buddhism, Wicca and First Nations religion all receive the first, the latter are performed by Juniper, a Wiccan high priestess and Father Ignatius, a Catholic paladin and well as Rudi who is basically KingArthur reborn as a Wiccan.

* In ''Literature/MonsterHunterInternational'' all teams have at least one person of devout faith for dealing with those monsters, such as vampires, affected by faith. So far they've had a Mormon, a Baptist and an orc shamaness who is also a powerful healer.

** Discworld priests do not gain any magical abilities from serving the gods (who are real and can and do interfere in human affairs), except for a measure of protection against spontaneous lightning bolts. This is probably because the gods of the Disc just don't care: they are portrayed as the equivalent of absentee landlords - Om lost almost all his believers and power without realizing it, because he never paid any attention to the religion that worshiped him.

** The books also makes {{MacGuffin}}s out of a few religious artifacts. The three Knights of the Cross carry swords and in each sword one of the nails that pierced Christ is in the hilt. The Shroud of Turin is the plot of a whole book. In ''Skin Game'', set ten years after the ShroudOfTurin escapade, [[spoiler:the other items from the crucifixion and resurrection, an “ancient wooden placard”, a “circlet woven from thorny branches”, a “clay cup”, a “folded cloth” (the real Shroud), and a “knife with a wooden handle and a leaf-shaped blade”,]] are found and described as ''weapons''. ThirtyPiecesOfSilver is the basis for a whole arc. Also, the Knights of the Cross can wield faith-magic that Harry can't touch, despite one of them continuously stating that he is [[FlatEarthAtheist agnostic]].

* ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'': The magic used by priests is different from the magic used by laymen in that the priest uses "faith" in place of "will power" in the Three Laws of Magic system. A sufficiently devout priest can even ignore a lack of {{mana}} under the right circumstances. Lady Sias Daichi, for instance, can cast high level earth and gravity magic in Ceiha (a land without mana) because she lives like a cloistered nun on Mount Daichi.

* Very much so in ''Literature/ChanceAndChoicesAdventures''. Praying to God can summon crows to drive away your enemies, or conjure invisible warriors to stave off would-be ambushers. Native American mysticism is also real, but apparently is [[OneMythToExplainThemAll also a manifestation of the Christian God's power]].

* In ''Literature/APracticalGuideToEvil'' the priests of the House of Light can perform miracles if their faith is strong enough: they can cure wounds and diseases, erect barriers, (and also can use "Light" offensivly, though most have sworn oaths against it). Named priests take it to another level, with them being able to resurrect the dead, heal all not-instantly-lethal wounds on people around them or kill dozens of mages at once through these miracles. On the side of evil, the drow use "Night" to empower themselves in various ways in service of their twin-godesses, the Sve-Noc.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' largely plays this straight (like most fantasy MMORPG settings), but subtly subverts it too; there are resistance stats for all schools of magic, but no way of resisting 'Holy' damage. While it actually ''does'' have a resistance stat, and there are many StandardStatusEffects which would affect it the same as any other magic types, there are scant few methods and equipment to specifically resist holy magic.

* ''VideoGame/{{Runescape}}'' offers "prayers" for a variety of effects, such as increased regeneration, boosted stats and protection from various forms of attack. However, its Magic skill also allows the player to "Summon the Wrath of [Insert Deity Here]" through spells like [[BoltOfDivineRetribution Saradomin Strike]], [[{{Hellfire}} Flames of Zamorak]] and Claws of Guthix.
* Praying to the [[CouncilOfAngels Good Elder Powers]] in ''VideoGame/NexusClash'' grants predictable, albeit random, benefits. There's even a skill tree that makes prayer quicker, easier and more rewarding.

*** Now there are two other classes with Divine power source. Avengers are like Divine assassins with power to turn invisible, phase through walls and teleport. Invokers are kind of like Divine Wizards who shoot searing light and summon angels.

** 4th Edition also introduces the "primal" power source (created to thematically distinguish the Druid from the Cleric; in previous editions both were considered "divine"), which is kind of this trope applied to spiritualistic religions and crossed with GaiasVengeance. Primal characters pay respect to spirits born of and reflecting aspects of the world, from famous ancestors to the seasons to the World Tree, and their powers have a very "nature" feel to them. A Warden might call upon the spirit of the mountains to turn themselves into living stone, for example.

** Paladins have always run the gamut of this due to the fact that they are religiously themed but not necessarily bound by the strictures of a god. What gives a paladin their power is their Oath, a way to consolidate everything that the paladin in question believes in and wants to achieve with their power. As such, changing or breaking one's Oath is possible and only alters how ones powers manifest.

* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' has the dark plane of [[GothicHorror Innistrad]], where humanity uses faith-powered magic provided by Archangel Avacyn to fight against the worlds monsters. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] somewhat in that Avacyn's powers are not the only form of magic on the plane. Various forms of regular sorcery, shamanism and necromancy also exist.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Ironclaw}}'' each major religion has its own system of magic, the Phelan have {{Druid}}s, Lutarism has the Blessed (both of whom draw power from animistic spirits), and the Church of [[CrystalDragonJesus S'allumer]] has clerics who perform WhiteMagic. Though in S'allumer's case there is some doubt that the spells actually come from the holy light and not the caster's own power like most non-religious magic, but a rare few priests can perform sacerdotal prayers that definitely are and even fewer manifest apparently miraculous "charisms". Zhonggese wizards on the other hand follow the more typically Eastern view that powers come from enlightenment, with Taoists explicitly as one of the more common varieties.

** Touhou also treats Taoism as a magic system first, and philosophy/religion second.

** In most settings, light and [[WhiteMage healing magic]] are said to originate from clerics, bishops, and priests invoking the the power of and worshipping the respective gods or holy beings of their setting.[[note]]Naga for Archanea, Jugdral, and Ylisse, Mila for Valentia, Ashera for Tellius, [[spoiler:Sothis]] for Fódlan, etc.[[/note]] Elemental and dark magic ordinarily do not have this requirement.[[note]]Elemental magic originates from intangible spirits of the elements that an elemental mage channels, while dark magic is based on gaining forbidden, dangerous knowledge.[[/note]]

* The ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' series is built around this trope. The priest class does all the healing. In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'', your main healer used to be a member of the clergy, and has maintained his healing powers. In general, all [[StealthPun saving]] is done via a church, where confessing to a priest allows "The Goddess" to grant you respite from your journey, allowing you to save and quit. The priests also offer a number of other services- namely; Divination (which tells you how much experience you need to level up), Purification (which removes curses), Benediction (which removes poison), and ''Resurrection'', which does exactly what it says it does. Priests have the power to bring people back to life. Wowzers.

* Buffs in ''VideoGame/RuneScape'' come from prayers. One adds to their pantheon to get more, and deepens their faith (i.e. grinding their Prayer stat) to make them better.

* As mentioned in the beginning of this article, the magi were originally the Zoroastrian priests of Persia. More accurately, it is a Greek word that refers not necessarily to the actual priests, but to the Greeks' perception of them.

* Worth noting that several prominent Catholic clergymen had reputations as alchemists and/or magicians during the medieval period... including Robert Grosseteste (Bishop of Lincoln), Roger Bacon (a monk) and ''Pope'' Sylvester II.

-->''Does the [[AC:Lord]] delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the [[AC:Lord]]? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams! For rebellion is like the sin of divination; and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.''

* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessationism_versus_continuationism cessationist versus continuationist]] debate within Christianity comes down mainly to this trope. The cessationist argument is that God used to bestow spiritual gifts upon His followers, including speaking in tongues, prophecy, HealingHands, and altered states of consciousness, but stopped at the end of the Apostolic Age when the last of UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}}' apostles died, as humanity now had the path to salvation through Jesus and the miracles already performed had sufficiently proven the Christian doctrine. This is the position of the Calvinists and the various Protestant theological traditions descended from such. The continuationist position, meanwhile, is that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are still bestowed to this day. While the Catholic Church and many non-Calvinist Protestant denominations have held to a "soft" continuationism claiming some miracles still occurred, the Pentecostals and the charismatics in the 20th century fully embraced it and took it much further, building large portions of their theology and worship around the belief in spiritual gifts.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Ironclaw}}'' each major religion has its own system of magic, the Phelan have {{Druid}}s, Lutarism has the Blessed, and the Church of [[CrystalDragonJesus S'allumer]] has clerics who perform WhiteMagic. Though in S'allumer's case there is some doubt that the spells actually come from the holy light and not the caster's own power like most non-religious magic, but a rare few priests can perform sacerdotal prayers that definitely are and even fewer manifest apparently miraculous "charisms".

* ''LightNovel/WagayaNoOinarisama'' is practically dripping with Shinto magic; most of the main and supporting characters can use it in one form or another. The title references the god Inari and the god Ebisu is a supporting character, both figures from Shinto religion.

* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' has the dark plane of [[GothicHorror Innistrad]], where humanity uses fate powered magic provided by Archangel Avacyn to fight against the worlds monsters. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] somewhat in that Avacyn's powers are not the only form of magic on the plane. Various forms of regular sorcery, shamanism and necromancy also exist.

* For an inversion, St. Augustine asserted that the Church could not follow the Biblical command of "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live", because magic and witches did not exist and most "magic", such as astrology, did not actually work, so at worst witches were con artists and at best simply dumb. A side effect of this is that, contrary to popular belief, the Catholic Church originally held belief in witchcraft simply was a superstition, and claiming that Satan could grant a person such powers was heresy. It was only in the wake of the Black Plague that sanctioned witch hunts began (early on not by the Church, but secular authorities) and belief became eventually acceptable (with the Literature/MalleusMaleficarum falsely claiming endorsement by the Pope, but it was actually condemned, though the Papal Bull it [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summis_desiderantes_affectibus cited]] did recognize witches as real). However, even then witch trails were sporadic before the Reformation, with the Protestants holding witches must exist because the Bible references them. As a side effect of the religious wars, witch hunts then erupted in earnest from both the Catholic and Protestant sides. However, the Inquisition did not carry out most witch trials, aside from a few cases -- the Inquisitions targeted ''heretics''. They actually ''abandoned'' them much earlier than secular powers did, and became convinced that the prior position -- witches didn't exist -- had been correct. However, witchcraft sometimes overlapped with heresy, since witches were accused of Devil worship (such as performing orgies or murdering people as a sacrifice to Satan). In addition, "witchcraft" was vaguely defined and often covered crimes like poisoning. The word for it in Latin, "Maleficium", simply means "wrongdoing". Knowledge of poisons at the time was often considered a {{secret art}} akin to magic itself, hence the conflation.
* The bread and butter of an Egyptian priest consisted of enchanting amulets for sale to customers. There was a certain tendency throughout much of Egyptian history to assume that even the gods could be coerced into obedience with the right ritual observances. "Thou shalt not take the Lord's Name in vain" was in fact a Commandment against attempting to coerce the Hebrew god that way, despite the common notion that it means you aren't supposed to say "Oh my God." That idea is made doubly ridiculous by the fact that "God" is not YHWH's name. The commandment probably also has something to do with not swearing false oaths by God, or using God as an excuse to do evil things, like start wars (at least, wars he didn't tell you to start, which he was pretty big on in the Old Testament).
* Many Buddhist traditions include monks developing spiritual powers (flight, control of weather, etc) and gaining the ability to invoke and banish or bind spirits. As in the yogic traditions, these powers are seen as a potential distraction from achieving enlightenment and so are to be used sparingly. Additionally, relics of the Buddha and other enlightened individuals are supposed to have particular power.
** An interesting note is how matter of fact the treatment of the supernatural can be in some Buddhist traditions. For example, in many Tibetan monasteries part of the oath you take when you become a monk is that you are not a spirit disguised as a human being. Other monasteries are placed specifically to be bindings for demons, oracles and divination are fairly common practice for lamas, and there are many lamas who have repeatedly reincarnated and continued their teaching. Part of the reason China's destruction of monasteries and abuse of monks during the Cultural Revolution was so devastating was the loss of knowledge of the spiritual landscape and the whereabouts of reincarnated lamas.

* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessationism_versus_continuationism cessationist versus continuationist]] debate within Christianity comes down mainly to this trope. The cessationist argument is that God used to bestow spiritual gifts upon His followers, including speaking in tongues, prophecy, HealingHands, and altered states of consciousness, but stopped at the end of the Apostolic Age when the last of UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}}' apostles died, as humanity now had the path to salvation through Jesus and the miracles already performed had sufficiently proven the Christian doctrine. This is the position of the Calvinists and the various Protestant theological traditions descended from such. The continuationist position, meanwhile, is that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are still bestowed to this day. While the Catholic Church and many non-Calvinist Protestant denominations have held to a "soft" continuationism, the Pentecostals and the charismatics in the 20th century fully embraced it and took it much further, building large portions of their theology and worship around the belief in spiritual gifts.

The Bible began to split the two concepts apart -- it mentions followers of "false gods" being able to perform magic, usually in contrast to much more impressive miracles (though this can be said to be a type of magic) performed by God (and explicitly ''not'' performed by the prophet himself), but generally explains this as power granted [[DealWithTheDevil by the Devil]]. And if it is granted by the Devil, it must be [[MagicIsEvil evil]].

The Bible began to split the two concepts apart -- it mentions followers of "false gods" being able to perform magic, usually in contrast to much more impressive miracles (though this can be said to be a type of magic) performed by God (and explicitly ''not'' performed by the prophet himself), but generally explains this as power granted [[DealWithTheDevil by the Devil]].