Basic Trope: A character's religious upbringing influences them, despite them being non-devout or non-practicing.
- Straight: Alice wears a cross necklace, makes the sign of the cross, and references having been brought up Catholic, although it's been a year since she last went to church.
- Exaggerated:
- Alice is a Knight Templar for Catholicism's principles and values, despite being an atheist.
- Alice never does anything without consulting the Pope himself, and has him on speed dial on her cell phone. She is also a Hollywood Atheist.
- Downplayed: Alice does go to church occasionally (possibly only at Christmas and Easter), and wears a cross necklace.
- Justified: Alice loves family and traditions, so, despite not believing that weekly Mass is essential to her salvation, holds to her faith as part of her upbringing and heritage.
- Inverted:
- Alice was raised in a non-Catholic household (secular, different Christian, or non-Christian faith), but in her adult life becomes a devout Catholic.
- Alice considers herself a devout Catholic, but she doesn't follow the rules of the Church.
- Subverted: Alice references being "brought up Catholic" and wears a saint's medal and quite clearly breaks Church teachings early on. But she goes to confession soon afterwards.
- Double Subverted: ... out of habit. She repeats the behavior soon after and doesn't seem to regret it.
- Parodied:
- Alice made it up to being a Catholic nun and continues to behave that way after she's joined a different Christian denomination, or possibly a different religion, or abandoned faith.
- Alice says she was raised Catholic, except she wasn't and when Bob, who was, quizzes her on some important details of Catholicism versus Orthodoxy and Protestantism, she answers with Blatant Lies ... which fool him.
- Alice is a Human Alien who practises what is basically Catholicism by another name.
- Zig-Zagged: Alice's attitude towards Catholicism waxes and wanes depending on circumstances.
- Averted:
- Alice was raised Catholic, but her upbringing doesn't influence her at all.
- All characters follow whatever faith they were born into as adults.
- No one's religious or spiritual beliefs are ever dealt with in-story.
- Enforced: "Statistically, somebody should be religious, but we don't want their beliefs to get in the way of the plot too much."
- Lampshaded:
- "I was raised a good, Catholic girl, but..."
- "Alice might call herself a Catholic, but it seems to be more of a heritage and less of a faith for her."
- Invoked: After Alice announces that she's unsure about her beliefs, her parents point out that not all Catholics believe in all the Church's teachings and stay out of tradition, hoping continued exposure to church will change her mind.
- Exploited:
- Alice is a teenager or a young adult living with her parents. She hangs out with her friends every Sunday morning, while her family goes to church.
- Alice abstains from sex using the Against My Religion excuse.
- Defied:
- Alice was raised Catholic, but chose to remain one through discernment and logic.
- As a teenager or young adult, Alice researches Catholicism and other religions so her faith is her own decision and not what she was raised to think.
- Discussed:Alice: I know I don't come across as the most committed Catholic, but...Bob: That's an understatement. I haven't even seen you at church since your seventeenth birthday.
- Conversed: "The 'Catholics' in these shows are always there out of habit; they never seem to believe in their religion."
- Implied: Alice attends a Catholic church, but frequently cheats, lies, steals, or otherwise breaks Church teachings and never goes to confession.
- Deconstructed: Bob, a devout Catholic, thinks Alice is cheapening his belief system by calling herself a member while picking and choosing which teachings, if any, to follow.
- Reconstructed: But Bob realizes that faith means something different to Alice than it does to him and that he can only control how he represents his faith, not the rest of the congregation.
- Played for Laughs: Once Alice realizes that most of her friends are devout Catholics, she decides to become one, but she humorously misunderstands the rules of the Catholic Church. For example, she might refuse to be friends with a non-Catholic, only for Bob to point out that intolerance is a sin.
- Played for Drama:
- Alice decides to go to church one Sunday, just because she is Bob's friend. Alice curses while inside the church and everyone is horrified.
- Alice marries Bob (an atheist from an early age), and soon they're expecting their first child. Alice's family starts to pressure her into raising her child Catholic, and the disagreement on how to raise the kid causes drama, either between Alice and Bob themselves, or between Alice and her family, or between either Alice or Bob and their Obnoxious In-Laws. Or, this starts as they're planning the wedding, or while they're dating.
I used to be Culturally Religious, but now I only go for Easter, Ramadan, and Passover.
