Line #12 PlayingWith/ReligionOfEvil


1	'''Basic Trope''': A dark religion devoted to an evil entity that makes no effort to hide its true intentions.
2	* '''Straight''': The dark Cult of Azaaroth wears {{black cloak}}s and [[VirginSacrifice spills the blood of virgins]] in tribute to their dark god.
3	* '''Exaggerated''':
4	** The Cult of Azaaroth builds a giant [[NothingButSkulls skull-shaped temple]] on the side of an active volcano and considers [[EatsBabies baby-eating]] to be a sacred rite.
5	** The Cult of Azaaroth literally worship the concept of evil, wanting to [[TheCorruption ensure its victory]].
6	** The Cult of Azaaroth doesn't shy away from FiveFingerDiscount, {{spree kill\|er}}ing [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain any of the minorities]], and even funded a RightWingMilitiaFanatic to the fact they are an AlternateUniverse version of TheKlan.
7	* '''Downplayed''':
8	** The Cult of Azaaroth promotes [[BlueAndOrangeMorality selfishness, amorality,]] and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking wearing dark clothes]], and they describe their god in spooky terms.
9	** [[ScamReligion The Cult of Azaaroth isn't evil, just greedy.]]
10	** The cult's teachings are [[BlueAndOrangeMorality bizarre and perhaps disturbing]] or [[StrawNihilist nihilistic]], but they aren't evil.
11	** [[ScaryAmoralReligion The cult's actions are horrifying; but the cult is considered morally ambiguous, not evil.]]
12	* '''Justified''':
13	** Azaaroth is a malevolent GodOfEvil worshipped by the EvilEmpire and has no need to [[PathOfInspiration disguise his true intentions]].
14	** Alternately, the religion was originally imagined by panicked MoralGuardians, and was taken up by an oppressed minority as a method of rebelling. (See also: Satanism.)
15	** Azaaroth is merely an excuse. The members are simply trying to make [[ForTheEvulz their evil]] seem meaningful and holy.
16	** The cult is scared shitless of Azaaroth, and wishes to placate him so that they might receive what little mercy the dark god is capable of showing.
17	** [[SarcasmMode Shockingly,]] evil people would naturally want to worship an evil god who approves of their wickedness.
18	** [[TheTheocracy The evil cult was created to make an evil ruler more powerful.]]
19	** The cultists think Azaaroth is going to win anyway, so they might as well [[YouWillBeSpared try to get on his good side]].
20	* '''Inverted''':
21	** The PathOfInspiration, who wear shiny white robes but are [[LightIsNotGood no less evil than their counterparts]].\
22	\
23	For example, their [[ChurchMilitant Sun Order]] is composed by zealously brutal {{Knight Templar}}s that have sworn to purge the world's evil with [[HolyHandGrenade light]] and [[AbsurdlySharpBlade steel]]. And because of their ridiculously strict standards and a twisted interpretation of their own precepts, that amounts to [[OmnicidalManiac every lifeform in the whole planet]].
24	** The black-cloaked priests with the skull masks are [[DarkIsNotEvil actually decent folk]].
25	** The SaintlyChurch and the morally pure examples of the ChurchMilitant.
26	* '''Subverted''':
27	** The Cult of Azaaroth seem to be scary black-robed cultists, [[DontFearTheReaper but instead turn out to be death-worshippers who wish to ease the suffering of the living.]]
28	** Subverted/Played For Laughs: The Cult of Azaaroth [[ParodyReligion is actually a bizarre and elaborate joke.]]
29	** The Cult isn't actually trying to ''help'' Azaaroth; they're trying to ''appease and contain'' him. By heaping on flattery and doing his dirty work, his attention is taken away from what he actually wants to do.
30	* '''Double Subverted''': ...but their method of [[WellIntentionedExtremist ending all suffering]] is an AncientConspiracy to [[OmnicidalManiac extinguish all life]].
31	* '''Parodied''':
32	** The evil cult of Azaaroth goes door-to-door handing out pamphlets and seeking converts to their evil cause, which mostly consists of [[PokeThePoodle negligible acts of petty evilness]] in HollywoodApocrypha style writing.
33	** [[CaptainErsatz Morton Lither]], a former priest of The Cult of Azaaroth, decides to [[StartMyOwn start a protestant branch of it]] after a disagreement over something relatively silly, like the color of the ''tablecloth'' they use to cover the altars during the virgins' sacrifices.
34	* '''Implied:''' No mention is made of a Cult of Azaaroth, but Azaaroth is name of the BigBad of the setting, and all of his {{mooks}} talk about him as if he were a GodInHumanForm.
35	* '''Zig Zagged''': The Cult of Azaaroth seem to be scary cultists. But they have good intentions. But they achieve their good goals via torture and human sacrifice. But it turns out the "torture" is really TrainingFromHell, allowing the "sacrifice victims" to voluntarily AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence. But when they get there, they're conscripted into a war of angels vs demons-- and both sides claim to be the angels.
36	* '''Averted''': Evil deities have no worshippers at all, or else there ''are'' no devil deities in the universe.
37	* '''Enforced''': The work is an AuthorTract against religion.
38	* '''Lampshaded''': "Are these guys even ''trying'' to hide their balls-out villainy? How are they getting converts?"
39	* '''Invoked''': A ChaoticEvil [[TheHedonist Hedonist]] starts a cult of excess and wanton cruelty, the better to partake of these himself and attract like-minded allies.
40	* '''Exploited''': A ChaoticEvil [[TheHedonist Hedonist]] joins the Cult of Azaaroth to apply a religious justification to his evil deeds.
41	* '''Defied''': An evil cult starts operating in an area, but the locals quickly take note and just as quickly extirpate it from the land.
42	* '''Discussed''': "You remember the rhyme - 'If cloaked all in red, just aim for the head'? The Darklight priests only wear red".
43	* '''Conversed''': "All those skulls on that temple had to come from somewhere; you'd think someone would have noticed and, you know, asked them to leave some for the rest of us".
44	* '''Deconstructed''':
45	** The "evil cult" and the Most Popular Religion that fight them are actually two denominations of the same religion that worship the same god in different ways. Each side sees themselves striving for good and fighting evil...
46	** The Cult of Azaaroth began as a brutal, vicious, bloodthirsty religion... but since [[HaveYouSeenMyGod Azaaroth is nowhere to be seen]], the religion eventually goes mainstream and, to attract converts, slowly turns into a LighterAndSofter version of itself. Red wine substitutes for blood, unpleasant tenets are explained away as complex metaphors or swept under the rug, sacrifices are replaced by plays in which nobody actually gets hurt, and the few traditionalists who still bother with skulls at all use ceramic ones instead instead of the real deal...
47	* '''Reconstructed''':
48	** ...And then one side starts using "spiritually pure" ChildSoldiers as magically enhanced TykeBomb armies.
49	** ...Which is what the true worshippers of Azaaroth, who have seen him, intended so that they can continue to worship sacrifice people while the LighterAndSofter religion acts as a front for their true activities.
50	----
51	Back to ReligionOfEvil, or it's the [[Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus Comfy Chair]] for you!
52	----
53	%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
54	%%
55	%%* '''Implied''': ???
56	%%* '''Plotted A Good Waste''': ???
57	%%* '''Played For Laughs''': ???

Context PlayingWith / ReligionOfEvil