Line #34 Main/PreacherMan


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3	%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
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7	[[quoteright:300:[[Franchise/SherlockHolmes https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/PreacherMan.jpg]]]]
8	[[caption-width-right:300:[[Music/DustySpringfield The only one who could ever reach me.]]]]
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10	A spiritual leader for the believers in a small community. In Westerns, the preacher is usually dressed semi-formally in a black broadcloth suit, and may sport a clerical collar, depending on denomination. (Many preachers will have "[[AmbiguouslyChristian no denomination given]]" for the broadest appeal.)
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12	When played straight, the preacher is a GoodShepherd, a force for reason and peace in the community. He usually understands that violence is an option the law has to take sometimes, but weighs heavily against it for civilians or for less-than-emergency situations. Don't think this makes the Preacher Man an easy target, though--when push comes to shove, they'll [[BadassPreacher fight]] for what's right with all their might. Even those who are [[ActualPacifist opposed to violence in all its forms]] can still [[BadassPacifist end a fight by putting themselves in the line of fire]], as few villains are either [[EvenEvilHasStandards impious enough to shoot a messenger of God]] or [[PragmaticVillainy stupid enough to shoot the one person in the town everyone would be willing to defend / avenge]].
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14	Towns too small to have their own church may share a "circuit rider" with other communities in the same fix. Like the CircuitJudge, the circuit preacher moves from place to place on a schedule so that any necessary weddings, baptisms, funerals or general preachifyin' can take place once a month. (In some places this fellow is referred to as a "traveling fire escape".)
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16	May come with a "preacher's wife", who is usually long-suffering. (Preachers weren't paid much in the WildWest, and had to work any time of day or night they were needed.) The [[PreachersKid son of a Preacher Man]] will most likely be either a saint or, if rebellious, a devil.
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18	Most often spotted at weddings, funerals and town meetings. May be called on by the mayor to deliver a SuspiciouslySpecificSermon.
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20	A preacher working the gritty small-town WildWest circuit may have a less-than-spotless resume, including struggles with the [[TheAlcoholic "demon in a bottle"]] and brushes with the law. Their battles with earthly temptation in their DarkAndTroubledPast may be what helped to guide them into their priestly vocation. To be fair, real life experience outside the seminary also makes them more understanding of the everyday issues faced by their flock.
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22	Watch out though, as many characters introduced as the Preacher Man are in fact a SinisterMinister or conman indulging in BadHabits to exploit the respect generally given a man of the cloth.
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24	In terms of rank, the [[AuthorityTropes authority tropes]] arguably equal are BadassPreacher, CorruptCorporateExecutive, IrishPriest, PedophilePriest, {{Schoolteachers}}, SexyPriest, SinisterMinister and TheVicar. For the next step down, see StudentCouncilPresident. For the next step up, see DeanBitterman.
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27	!!Examples:
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29	[[foldercontrol]]
30
31	[[folder:Advertising]]
32	* One of the western stereotypes on board the train in "Advertising/TheGreatCrunchieTrainRobbery" is a preacher reading his bible, although he turns out to be [[BadHabits an outlaw in disguise]].
33	[[/folder]]
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35	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
36	* Baskerville in ''Manga/EtCetera.''
37	* Nicholas D. Wolfwood in ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'', although he owes more to the Preacher With No Name than to any particular church.
38	[[/folder]]
39
40	[[folder:Comic Books]]
41	* ''ComicBook/{{Preacher}}'': Rev. Jesse Custer.
42	* ''ComicBook/{{Dollicious}}'' : Bay Leaf the pristess.
43	[[/folder]]
44
45	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
46	* Parodied (of course) by Reverend Johnson in ''Film/BlazingSaddles''. Among other things, he attempts to save Sheriff Bart from execution but desists when someone shoots a hole through his Bible.
47	* Rev. Gates in ''Film/TheBlot'' is rather poor himself, but still manages to distribute alms to hungry people in his congregation.
48	* Rev. Peabody in ''Film/BreakheartPass'' is a preacher being sent to minister to the men of Fort Humboldt. ([[BadHabits Or is he?]])
49	* Reverend Mitchell is a missionary in ''Film/DakotaHarris''.
50	* In ''Film/DeadInTombstone'', the preacher of Edendale has turned to drink since the town has become the WretchedHive that is Tombstone. But he still does his best to tend to the spiritual needs of his flock, and apparently has a vision regarding the coming of Guerrero to cleanse the town.
51	* In ''Film/TheGunfightAtDodgeCity'', Reverend Howard is Pauline's father and, although he disapproves of Bat Masterson as a gambler and gunfighter, supports his run at sheriff and he realises Bat is the only man to stand a chance of defeating Jim Regan.
52	%%* ''Film/HotFuzz'': "Fuck off, Grasshopper!"
53	* ''Film/LeftForDead'': Mobius Lockhardt was a preacher trying to bring the word of God to the mining town of Amnesty. However, he fell for the charms of the prostitute Mary Black and started an illicit relationship with her. When he broke off the affair to return to his wife, Mary became a WomanScorned and led her fellow whores on a killing spree that resulted in the deaths of everyone in Amnesty.
54	* John Harland in ''Film/TheManFromKangaroo''. After being forced to back down on delivering his first service in Kalmaroo when Braggan and his gang threaten to harm his congregants, he suffers a crisis of faith and abandons the cloth to become a station hand.
55	* Father O'Hea fills this role in ''[[Film/NedKelly1970 Ned Kelly]]''.
56	* In ''Film/NeverGrowOld'', Preacher Pike runs the Christian Temperance League and is the ''de facto'' [[SmallTownTyrant ruler of Garlow]].
57	* Rev. Spence in ''Film/OneFootInHeaven'' is a completely straight example of this trope. He ministers to his flock, giving sermons, performing weddings and baptisms, and setting an example to the community, and he never complains when they don't pay him enough or don't maintain the upkeep on his parsonage.
58	* The Preacher With No Name, played by Creator/ClintEastwood in ''Film/PaleRider''. Armed with ImprobableAimingSkills.
59	* Reverend Kane from ''Film/PoltergeistIITheOtherSide'' and ''Film/PoltergeistIII'': Leader of a ghost army who would stop at nothing to get to Carol Anne.
60	* In ''Film/PrairieFever'', the preacher of Clearwater arranged for 17 Mail Order Brides for the farmers. Now he wants to ship the three crazy ones back east to avoid embarrassment.
61	* ''Film/TheQuickAndTheDead'' features a preacher who is a RetiredGunfighter, having undergone a HeelFaithTurn.
62	* In ''Film/ShootOutAtMedicineBend'', Bother Abraham is the preacher for the local Brethren assembly. He comes to Devlin's aid and plays a vital role in rescuing Maitland and Clegg from the gallows.
63	* In ''Film/SixReasonsWhy'', the ultimate authority in the Utopian settlement to the west is the town's preacher.
64	* Rev. Eli Sunday, the [[SinisterMinister corrupt]] teenage preacher from ''Film/ThereWillBeBlood''.
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67	[[folder:Literature]]
68	* The little frontier town in ''Literature/CaddieWoodlawn'' had a circuit rider.
69	* David Grantland in ''Christy'' (the book and corresponding short-lived TV series) was a recent seminary graduate who tried to preach to an entire area poverty-stricken, uneducated residents of the Appalachians in 1912. His efforts were met with mixed reactions.
70	* In ''Literature/ATownLikeAlice'', set in the Australian outback, a wedding has to wait until a visit of the "flying brother" (circuit-flying minister).
71	* Father Dmitri in ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'' is never anything less than supportive in the protagonist's efforts to help rehouse Christian refugees, fight tyranny and injustice, and [[BreadEggsMilkSquick eradicate Islam from the face of the globe.]]
72	* Hakham Dawid is the spiritual leader for his small, five-person yeshiva in ''Literature/AWolfInTheSoul''.
73	[[/folder]]
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75	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
76	* Shepherd Book of ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' has left the abbey and would like to bring the word to them as need it told. It turns out he is remarkably accurate with firearms. River even ''calls'' him "preacher-man" while 'fixing' his Bible.
77	** When asked if the Bible doesn't have some "pretty specific" things to say about killing, Book replies "Quite specific. It is, however, somewhat fuzzier on the subject of kneecaps."
78	* Reverend Samuels of ''Series/{{Kings}}'' plays Preacher Man to an entire kingdom.
79	* ''Series/LittleHouseOnThePrairie'': The Rev. Robert Alden, who was not only a voice of reason, reassurance and understanding but an active part in the lives of everyone in Walnut Grove. Usually a pacifist, you did not want to make him angry -- as the Gallander brothers found out when they finally pressed their luck with him (and he learns that two of them had sexually harassed Caroline Ingalls).
80	* Father Mulcahy of ''Series/{{MASH}}''. In addition to being a priest, he was also an accomplished boxer, a go-between with the black market, and not opposed to raising orphanage money by gambling.
81	* On ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'', Earl stole a church organ from a preacher many years ago...only to find that that preacher is on his list ''several'' times. Each instance makes the preacher angrier and angrier, but he does his best to forgive Earl. The last straw is during his sermon on forgiveness, when his wife admits that she cheated on him...and it turns out that she cheated on him with Earl. This causes the preacher to revert back to who he was before he had a HeelFaithTurn and became a preacher: a ScaryBlackMan gangster nicknamed "Hash Brown." (Because he had a reputation for chopping people up like hash browns.) He eventually finds out that (thanks to ''yet another'' item on Earl's ListOfTransgressions) Earl had indirectly saved his life. He always attributed that to divine intervention, and it was the reason he left his gangster life and became a minister in the first place. He decides that he's not going back to "Hash Brown," and his congregation forgives him.
82	[[/folder]]
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84	[[folder:Music]]
85	* Music/NeilDiamond's [[Music/BrotherLovesTravelingSalvationShow "Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show"]]
86	* The only one who could reach and teach Music/DustySpringfield was the ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjydOI4MEIw Son]]'' of a Preacher Man. Worth mentioning.
87	** Don't forget [[Music/ArethaFranklin Aretha]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD42WhNl9z0 Franklin]], and [[Music/JossStone Joss]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBH8o8XXnVM Stone]], [[CoveredUp and...and...and...]].
88	* "Reverend Mr. Black" by B.E. Wheeler & J. Peters is a song about a preacher facing down a lumberjack.
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91	[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
92	* A storyline in ''ComicStrip/{{Latigo}}'' starting [[http://riphaywire.com/latigo/?p=3 here]] concerns an [[RetiredGunfighter ex-gunman]] who [[RetiredOutlaw goes straight]] after four years in prison, and becomes the preacher in the town of Rimfire. It originally ran in 1981.
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95	[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
96	* D-Von Dudley briefly became Reverend D-Von, a wrestling minister. Reverend D-Von was a {{heel}} character, although strangely he didn't fit any of the other types of evil preachers, e.g. Sinister Minster. He was just an all-purpose jerk who happened to be a preacher. He's most notable for introducing Wrestling/{{Batista}} to the mainstream wrestling world - Batista's first role was as Deacon Bautista, D-Von's musclebound goon.
97	* Claude "Thunderbolt" Patterson wasn't actually a preacher. However, he spoke in the style of southern gospel preachers rather than in a standard pro wrestling meter. Even his name Thunderbolt was a reference to the heavenly thunder. He was one of the biggest draws in the Southeast US, particularly with black fans, in the 60s and 70s.
98	[[/folder]]
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100	[[folder:Roleplay]]
101	* ''Roleplay/DinoAttackRPG'', Dr. Noomi Shaw is the closest person on the team to this sort of character. While not actually a priest, she does wear a cross and tries to use her faith as a means of comfort both for herself and those around her.
102	[[/folder]]
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104	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
105	* The horror-western RPG ''TabletopGame/{{Deadlands}}'' not only has these, but [[BadassPreacher some]] of them can perform [[WhiteMagic actual]] [[HolyHandGrenade miracles]].
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108	%% [[folder:Video Games]]
109	%% * Sanctus in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4''.
110	%% * Matthieu in ''VideoGame/TheSpiritEngine''.
111	%% [[/folder]]
112
113	[[folder:Western Animation]]
114	* Revered Putty from ''WesternAnimation/MoralOrel'' serves as the pastor for the town of [[StepfordSuburbia Moralton]]. At first, he's shown to be a self-righteous Bible-thumper like every other resident, but [[spoiler:his daughter coming out as lesbian]] prompts him to reevaluate his views.
115	* Reverend Lovejoy of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' embodies the archetype of the monotone preacher whose sermons drone on and on. Complete with the stereotypical Southern preacher's VerbalTic of adding an "-uh" at the end-uh of every important word-uh.
116	[[/folder]]
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