Playing With / Uncleanliness Is Next to Ungodliness

Basic Trope: Personal hygiene is a measuring stick for moral character, or religious devotion.

• Straight: The Church of Crystal Dragon Jesus requires that all people must have a ritual bath before entering the sanctuary. Anyone who does not abide by this rule is not allowed in, for fear that they will "contaminate" the sacred space.
• Exaggerated: Not only that, but there are strict rules stating that members must bathe twice a day, and even that going to the bathroom is sinful, albeit a necessary evil. Anyone who does not bathe or shower 2 (or more) times per day, or who has a Bring My Brown Pants moment, is permanently banished from the Church of Crystal Dragon Jesus, or even the country.
• Downplayed: Members of the Church of Crystal Dragon Jesus are required to remove their shoes before entering the sanctuary, so as not to track in mud/dirt/"bad energy"/etc.
• Justified:
  • The Church of Crystal Dragon Jesus was founded during the Dung Ages, when there was no germ theory, only (at best) miasma theory. People knew that they could get sick if they didn't wash their hands after using the bathroom/came in contact with a dead body/ate certain types of food susceptible to parasites and spoilage/didn't bathe/etc., even if they didn't quite know why yet. They also knew that keeping clean means fewer people get sick, and when they do, it doesn't turn into The Plague that destroys their burgeoning community. They figure that certain things anger The Powers That Be, or give off "bad energy," or something along those lines.
  • Even in the age of germ theory, sitting next to The Pigpen (or, for that matter, being The Pig-Pen) is...not pleasant, and can make people ill (just not for the reason people of a few centuries or millennia ago thought). Bathing is therefore encouraged, not because of The Powers That Be, but because it's considerate of other people. People who don't want to sit in someone else's pew.
  • Baths or showers at the entryway to the sanctuary help reinforce a psychological barrier between the sacred and the profane. It helps remind people of where they are, and what is expected from them by The Powers That Be.
• Inverted: Before entering the sanctuary at the Church of Crystal Dragon Jesus, one must ritually bathe in mud. And bathing in water is strongly discouraged, or even outright forbidden.
• Subverted: Members are not required to ritually bathe before entering the sanctuary.
• Double Subverted: However, doing so is strongly encouraged, and the Church of Crystal Dragon Jesus provides locker rooms for this purpose up front. Most of their members do so.
• Parodied: The entryway to the Church of Crystal Dragon Jesus is set up like the entryway to a Level 4 bio lab, with a series of showers, and a station for putting on Hazmat suits. After the service is over, members must remove their Hazmat suits and go through those checkpoints again.
• Zig Zagged: Some denominations of the Church of Crystal Dragon Jesus require ritual bathing before worshipping, some don't require it but do encourage it, and some neither require nor encourage it.
• Averted: The Church of Crystal Dragon Jesus does not have rules or laws concerning personal hygiene, or at least does not tie personal hygiene to moral character or moral hygiene.
• Enforced: The Church of Crystal Dragon Jesus enforces strict guidelines regarding personal hygiene, leaving no room for compromise or leniency. Failure to adhere to these rules results in immediate expulsion from the community, reinforcing the notion that uncleanliness is truly seen as next to ungodliness.
• Lampshaded: "This is a sacred place. You must bathe before entering it."
  • "I never thought personal hygiene would be a prerequisite for spiritual enlightenment."
• Invoked: A religious community forms in an era with no germ theory (but an understanding that certain things can make people sick), no indoor plumbing, no refrigeration, and no modern medicine. Invoking a Because I Said So from The Powers That Be concerning hygiene/food preparation/how to handle dead bodies/bodily functions/etc. ensures that members stay healthy, and the population experiences growth overall.
• Exploited: The Big Bad tries to get Alice and Bob excommunicated by dirtying the sanctuary and blaming them, or by getting them dirty.
• Defied: Religious leaders see hygiene (or lack thereof) as the individual's responsibility, not theirs.
• Discussed:
  Bob: "Do you think the whole bathing requirement is really necessary in this day and age?"
  Alice: "Well, it could be a symbolic way to cleanse ourselves before entering a sacred space."
• Conversed:
  Bob: "Have you seen that new documentary about the Church of Crystal Dragon Jesus? They have this whole thing about bathing before entering their sanctuary."
  Alice: "Yeah, it's pretty extreme. I guess they take cleanliness very seriously."
• Played for Laughs: Alice slips and falls into a mud puddle just before entering the sanctuary. She stands up, covered in mud, and says, "I guess I won't be welcomed inside with open arms!"
• Played for Drama: As the protagonist struggles to conform to the Church of Crystal Dragon Jesus's strict bathing requirements, they face social ostracization and doubts about their own moral standing.
• Played for Horror: In a dystopian future, failing to meet the Church of Crystal Dragon Jesus's hygiene standards leads to severe punishments, such as public humiliation or even death.
• Implied: The protagonist's pristine appearance and fresh scent suggest they have already undergone the required bathing before entering the sanctuary.

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