!!! [[center:'''This is a page for the trope ''The Church''. For pages with similar names, see also:'''\\
The 1989 film ''[[Fanfic/MetamorphosisEndOfAbraxas The Church]]'' | The Australian band ''[[Manga/Metamorphosis2013 The Church]]'']]
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%%% Zero Context examples are not allowed on Wiki Pages. Please add context before uncommenting.
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Organized religion serves as a major source of authority figures. Fiction can build on this by attributing to The Church an absurd amount of power, [[TheTheocracy official]] or [[NGOSuperpower not]], and organization, or go the other direction and portray its members as [[TheVicar harmless old men sipping tea]].
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!![[SubTrope Subtropes]]:
[[index]]
* CorruptChurch
* PathOfInspiration
* ReligionOfEvil.
* SaintlyChurch
* ScamReligion
[[/index]]


!!Examples that don't fit any of the above:

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[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
%%* The Saint Church in the ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' franchise.
* The futuristic "Catholic" Church in ''Literature/TrinityBlood'' is basically a military with a different kind of dress uniform.
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[[folder:Fan Works]]
* In the ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' fanfic ''Fanfic/YoullGetNoAnswersFromTheBlueSeaStar'', the Church of Seiros, more or less as in the game, is a major power in Fódlan, with the elite Knights of Seiros at its command, extensive holdings, and thousands of worshipers spread through the Kingdom, the Alliance and the Empire. Garreg Mach monastery is its huge and well-supplied center of operations
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[[folder:Literature]]
* The Faith of the Seven in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. It's the largest organized religion in the Seven Kingdoms and the state religion everywhere except for the North (where the folk worship of the Old Gods predominates) and the Iron Islands (where a different organized religion which worships the Drowned God is supreme). Although the Faith play a background role in the first three books, they gain a larger role from ''Literature/AFeastForCrows'' onward, as Cersei Lannister allows them to revive the Faith Militant, an armed group that quickly win the hearts of the smallfolk through their acts of charity, as well as actions against corrupt nobles, resulting in a religious revival in the Seven Kingdoms.
%%* The Churches of the Redeemer and of the Sister in ''Literature/SeekersOfTheSky''.
%%* The Sole and Unified Church of the [[{{God}} Triune]] in the ''Literature/ArciaChronicles''.
%%* The Esperatian and Ollarian Churches in ''Literature/ReflectionsOfEterna''.
%%* The Church of the Creators in ''Literature/TheDinosaurLords''.
* In the ''Literature/DreambloodDuology'', the priesthood of Hananja essentially rules the city-state of Gujaareh, with most of the city's power centered in the Hetawa, where the priests live, rather than with the palace and the Prince. Hananja's priests also serve as the gatekeepers of Hananja's magic.
* The titular Church in ''Literature/QuantumDevilSagaAvatarTuner''. It is the command center of the Junkyard, and dictates both the religion and the laws that define the Junkyard. In fact, every tribe has a Bishop that has an online connection with the Church to provide information and commands.
* The various temples in ''Literature/ThisUsedToBeAboutDungeons'' have a complicated relationship with their gods, being more of a professional organization for the clerics rather than something with divine sanction. The gods themselves don't really care what form their worship takes, so long as it is in keeping with their individual ideals. It is entirely possible for a cleric to never step foot in a temple, or even be actively hostile to them, and still be in good standing with their god.
* ''Literature/ReleaseThatWitch'' has "The Church", the main religious institution within the setting which supports the elimination of monsters, witches and all other magical things. [[spoiler:They're eventually revealed to be the remnants of an ancient witch organization devoted to fighting the Demons out in the WildWilderness, who created anti-witch propaganda to help in the capture and sacrifice of witches, whose blood was necessary for their SuperSoldier program.]]
* ''Literature/ShtetlDays'': The German Christian Church is the state religion of the Reich, no other religions or even permitted Christian denominations are mentioned. It's explicitly stated that the Church really worships the Reich, not God.
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[[folder:Podcasts]]
* Podcast/DiceFunk: The religious center of Stoneroot is powerful enough to challenge the lord and important enough that the populace simply refers to it as "The Church."
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[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* The Ecclesiarchy in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' is the center of theology in the Imperium of Man. It tells the populace how to properly worship the GodEmperor. After ten thousand years, it has been entirely forgotten that Emps [[StopWorshippingMe really didn't like being worshipped]].
%%* The Holy Church of Abel in ''TabletopGame/AnimaBeyondFantasy''.
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[[folder:Video Games]]
* The Church of Abraxas from ''VideoGame/ChoiceOfMagics'' worships Abraxas, [[spoiler: a long-dead mage and immortal specter]], though many of its followers consider Abraxas metaphorical and consider love and faith more important than the actual existence of their god. It is divided into two separate traditions: the House of the Sun (which preaches a creed of [[AllLovingHero love and charity]]) and the House of the Flame (which focuses on [[ChurchMilitant the battle against evil]]). The Church also has Saints, who invoke divine miracles, and Inquisitors, who hunt down mages to capture and imprison them. [[spoiler: Overall, it's neither a SaintlyChurch nor a CorruptChurch; it has good and bad aspects to it, though it's undeniably got a lot of skeletons in its closet and lies about the nature of its Saints.]]
%%* The Chantry of Andraste in the ''Franchise/DragonAge'' series. Also, the Imperial Chantry.
%%* The Holy Church from {{Franchise/Nasuverse}}.
%%* The Church of Granas from ''VideoGame/GrandiaII''.
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''
** Throughout the series, the Aedra-worshiping Temple of the Nine Divines is the primary religious sect of most of Tamriel and is the official religion of each incarnation of the Cyrodiilic Empire. It is treated as a SaintlyChurch in every facet, with it being uniformly benevolent in every series' appearance to date.
** However, in the backstory, the Alessian Order was a [[FantasticRacism rabidly anti-Elven]] religious sect which established a [[TheTheocracy Theocracy]] in the 1st Era that wielded nearly as much power as the Emperor at its height. It was a very solemn, strict, severe, spartan, and sometimes outright ''cruel'' Order. In addition to their pogrom against the remaining [[OurElvesAreDifferent Ayleids]] in Cyrodiil (many of whom sided ''[[TokenHeroicOrc with]]'' St. Alessia during the Alessian Revolt and were allowed to keep their lands as vassals) which included the [[BookBurning destruction of Ayleid artifacts and writings]], the Order attempted to purge ''the gods themselves'' of their Elven basis. Wielding ill-begotten divine power, the Order caused what is known as the "Middle Dawn", the first and longest [[TimeCrash Dragon Break]] on record with a heaping dose of RealityBreakingParadox and RealityIsOutToLunch. The excesses of the Order would eventually become too much to accept and the Order would be destroyed in the War of Righteousness by an alliance of Tamriellic nations. However, their influence on Imperial law and religion can still be felt in the Empires that have come since their fall.
** As primarily seen in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', the [[OurElvesAreDifferent Dunmeri (Dark Elf)]] Tribunal Temple is another. They worship ALMSIVI, or simply "the Tribunal," a trio of [[DeityOfHumanOrigin formerly mortal]] {{Physical God}}s. Though thought of by most non-Dunmer as a ScamReligion, in ages past, when the Tribunal deities themselves lived and worked among their people, the Temple was an undeniable force of good. However, [[spoiler:when the Tribunal were cut off from the source of their divine power, they were forced to withdraw from the day-to-day affairs of the Dunmer in order to conserve power]]. When mortal leaders took over the Temple, it quickly became a CorruptChurch (though individual worshipers could still fall anywhere on the scale). As a result of the events of the game and its ''Tribunal'' expansion, [[spoiler:the Tribunal are permanently cut off from the source of their power and two wind up dead]]. As revealed in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'''s ''Dragonborn'' expansion, the "New Temple" has been formed in the two centuries since ''Morrowind'' took place, and it is quite a bit less corrupt. The [[OurGodsAreDifferent "Good Daedra" Anticipations]] of the Tribunal (Azura, Boethiah, and Mephala) are slotted back in as the Temple's chief deities known as "Reclamations", while the Tribunal themselves have been demoted to Saints.
* The Karma Temple in ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' is the command center of the Junkyard, and its orders are indisputable and to be followed immediately. The building itself also serves as TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon of the first game.
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