Basic Trope: Clergy also kick bad guy ass.
- Straight: Father Robert, a priest of Our Lady of the Sword, can hold his own against an attacker, and has been trained to do so by his order.
- Exaggerated:
- Father Robert uses a submachine gun that's in the shape of a cross, standard issue for clergy.
- He recites scriptures and damnation upon his enemies whilst kicking their asses.
- The whole congregation spends every Sunday drilling in full combat gear.
- Father Robert's congregation can outfight the Spetznaz and would regularly do so. Except that they prefer having more challenging opponents.
- Every church potluck is celebrated with a vampire hunt. Conducted by little girls. With their hands tied to be sporting.
- Other congregations pray to be delivered from the deceits of the devil. Satan prays for deliverence from Father Robert's church.
- Downplayed:
- The Church has military orders and such, but hardly ever uses it or uses it in conjunction to temporal rulers on limited basis. Essentially the reasonable authority figure of the setting with a rather large stick.
- Members of the Church carry symbolic weapons and train in martial arts as a reminder of their struggle against their lower nature.
- The Church is full of Marital Pacifists, they may not start fights, but they will finish them.
- Justified:
- Our Lady of the Sword was founded by a former Badass Preacher who defected from a more peaceable church, and created an organization of fighting clergy to protect the masses from a rising ancient evil. Robert is the latest of The Chosen Many.
- The Church doubles as a military force (especially when it comes to fighting the Legions of Hell).
- They worship a War God, who demands battlefield sacrifice and accepts only those who die by the sword into Warrior Heaven.
- They are from a sect that was once the victim of persecution and does not intend to be so again.
- The Church serves a community on a bloodstained frontier between two rival Empires. War is a necessary part of survival and the Church's practices will reflect it.
- Our Lady of the Sword trains military chaplains, so the members have to know how to fight.
- Our Lady Of the Sword is in charge of enforcing theological orthodoxy, which means killing heretics and/or infidels.
- Our Lady of the Sword is the state church of The Theocracy, so part of what they do is fight their country's enemies.
- Holiness is more effective than anything else in fighting evil, so who better than a church to smite the wicked?
- Our Lady of the Sword believe that Humans Are Bastards, which means they have to take an aggressive stand against humanity's bent towards evil.
- Our Lady of the Sword's founder was told by God (or this world's equivalent) to take up arms and create a warlike church.
- Our Lady of the Sword is a church of Knight Templars who take punishing evildoers very seriously.
- Holy powers make you badass, so it's only natural that Our Lady of the Sword uses them to fight evil.
- Our Lady of the Sword is an inquisition in charge of hunting and executing heretics, witches, demons, and similar beings.
- Our Lady of the Sword believes it has a right to fight and kill those who are less righteous.
- Our Lady of the Sword really is justified in using violence.
- Our Lady of the Sword believes that killing is justified, because if the victim is righteous they will go to Heaven, which is far better than life on Earth, and if the victim is evil they will go Hell, which is exactly what they deserve.
- Our Lady of the Sword believes that using "Repent or Die" tactics is an effective way of keeping people from going to Hell.
- Inverted:
- Robert is a warrior for The Enlightenment, a brotherhood of militant atheists who seek out and destroy all traces of religion.
- Father Robert is a Badass Pacifist from a religion that promotes peace, love, and harmony.
- Subverted: Father Robert is an elderly priest who preaches peace.
- Double Subverted: At least, that's what the [1] church wants you to think, while they're actually fighting demons.
- Parodied:
- Pope Robert is a tiny, wizened old man, but he's packing a robe full o' guns and is flanked by specially trained Ninja Cardinals.
- This Church sends missionaries to Klingons. Klingons think them too violent.
- Zig Zagged: Father Robert's Church preaches charity toward humankind. But many of the congregation are personnel from a nearby base and some are veterans including Father Robert himself. Father Robert often uses military metaphors but emphasizes that their true fight is against the devil and their lower natures. But then an evil from beyond time appears and opens the doorway to the lower realms. Father Robert's Church then takes up arms and leads the fight to defend the world.
- Averted:
- Father Robert doesn't fight bad guys.
- Religious figures are not present.
- Enforced: "Robert is gaining a hatedom due to him coming across as an albatross around the neck of our team. Let's have the preacher kick ass! Show the audience he's not all talk!"
- Lampshaded: "Sort of odd beating up mooks with you being a priest, huh, Father Bob?"
- Invoked: The heroes hire Robert in hopes of him being a fighter, since Our Lady Of the Sword is Famed In-Story.
- Exploited:
- The Villain with Good Publicity uses Father Robert's Badass ways as a example of how brutish and terrible the Church is.
- The covert ops team convinces the bad guys to try to rob Father Robert's Church, so that they will be killed in the process.
- Defied: Father Robert refuses to fight, instead serving as a healer exclusively, which baffles his fellow priests.
- Discussed: "Watch out for the priest! He'll undoubtedly be trained in some sort of martial art!"
- Conversed: "Father Robert sure fights a lot on this show, being a priest and all".
- Deconstructed: Robert gets kicked out of the church when his fellows deem his methods too violent.
- Reconstructed: Robert comes up against a review panel of bishops, furious at what he's done, but he defends his actions with scripture on the subject of acceptable violence, and talks several of them round to his side. They have no choice but to throw him out of the church, but they suggest he continue his work as a Cowboy Preacher.
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