History Film / Dogma

* ADateWithRosiePalms: Discussed; according to Rufus, Jay masturbates "more than anyone else on this planet".

* ThrivingExCrush: Bethany's husband left her when she's unable to give birth, and didn't want to adopt. He got married and have children. Later, the angel Bartleby [[KickTheDog tells her that he's perfectly happy without her]].

--->'''Silent Bob:''' ''(points)'' [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade No ticket!]]

* ArtisticLicenseReligion:

%%* AmbiguouslyGay: Jay.

* DissonantSerenity: Bartleby’s response to Loki slaughtering the Mooby the Golden Calf executives is to sit in the corner and read a comic.

* DumbassHasAPoint: It’s Jay who recommends the idea of trying to get Glick to close the church. Even the Metatron is surprised. No one seems to notice that it's Silent Bob's idea. Since Jay and Silent Bob are along for the ride specifically as "prophets", this was probably intentional.

* EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory: In-universe example--Loki explains to a nun at the beginning that the Walrus and the Carpenter scene from ''[[Literature/AliceInWonderland Through the Looking Glass]]'' is a scathing attack on Christianity, which she finds so compelling that she abandons the cloth. Subverted, though, when it turns out that Loki doesn't really believe his little explanation. [[ForTheEvulz He's just screwing with her for kicks]]. He also says it's a scathing attack on Buddhism and Hinduism, and by relation, the very concept of religion.
* EveryoneKnewAlready: Rufus knows a lot about the main characters due to being able to watch them from Heaven. One of the things he knows is that Jay masturbates more than anyone on the planet...which everyone knows, according to Jay.

* HourglassPlot: In the beginning, Loki is portrayed as the more ruthless and reckless, wanting to go on one more divinely righteous killing spree before re-entering heaven, while Bartleby is the one who feels compassion for the humans and is more reserved. However, halfway through Bartleby snaps and becomes an OmnicidalManiac bent on killing everyone, and it’s Loki who is attempting to hold him back.

-->'''Loki:''' But I do believe in this.\\

--->'''Loki:''' You sound like [[{{Satan}} The Morning Star]].\\
'''Bartleby:''' You shut your '''fucking mouth'''!!!\\
'''Loki:''' You do! You sound like [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]], man! You've fuckin' ''lost'' it!... You're not talking about going home, Bartleby, you're talking about fucking '''war''' on '''God'''! ... Well, fuck ''that''! I have seen [[CurbStompBattle what happens to the proud when they take on the Throne]]! ''[Bartleby just stares at him with a quiet glare]'' [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere I'm goin' back to Wisconsin.]]\\
'''Bartleby:''' ''[grabs Loki and pushes him to a wall]'' ''WE'RE GOING HOME, LOKI. And no one, not you, not EVEN THE ALMIGHTY HIMSELF... is going to make that otherwise!!''

** ''Film/ChasingAmy'': Jay & Silent Bob mention having tickets to Illinois in their pocket during their only scene in ''Chasing Amy''. In Dogma we find out their visit didn't go so well.

In 1999, Creator/KevinSmith brought Film/TheViewAskewniverse into the realm of religion with '''''Dogma'''''. May God have mercy on our souls.

* AngelsInOvercoats: The movie's nogoodnik angels Bartleby and Loki (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) are decked out in wool overcoats, worn over hooded sweatshirts to symbolize their halos. Alan Rickman's creation-weary but non-evil Metatron also wears a hoodie, but under a shorter jacket. (Creator Kevin Smith identifies ''Wings of Desire'''s use of overcoat-as-angel-uniform as the inspiration for having his angels wear a unifying article -- in this case, the hoodie. The overcoat look for Bartleby and Loki undoubtedly originates from the same source.)

* OddballInTheSeries: The only movie in the Film/TheViewAskewniverse to not feature two men as protagonists (Dante and Randal in the ''Clerks'' trilogy, TS and Brodie in ''Mallrats'', Holden and Banky in ''Chasing Amy'' and Jay and Silent Bob in their own movies), featuring one woman instead: Bethany.

* BatmanGambit: [[spoiler:Serendipity pretty much relies on Azrael being arrogant enough to give Silent Bob a free shot.]]

* OneFreeHit/OpenShirtTaunt: Azrael, spotting Serendipity signaling Silent Bob towards Glick's golf club, tears his shirt open and ''dares'' Bob to hit him, taunting him that he's "a fucking demon" and thus immune to mortal weapons. [[spoiler:But not ''blessed'' ones; as Serendipity correctly suspected, Glick is the kind of asshole who'd bless his own clubs in hopes of a better golf game, making them a HolyHandGrenade that caves Azrael's chest in [[MadeOfPlasticine like plasticine]].]]

* OpenShirtTaunt: Azrael, spotting Silent Bob eyeing Glick's golf club, tears his shirt open and ''dares'' Bob to hit him, taunting him that he's "a fucking demon" and thus immune to mortal weapons. [[spoiler:But not ''blessed'' ones; as Bob correctly suspected, Glick is the kind of asshole who'd bless his own clubs in hopes of a better golf game, making them a HolyHandGrenade that caves Azrael's chest in [[MadeOfPlasticine like plasticine]].]]

** Silent Bob throws the angels off the train and explains his actions to a concerned couple who witnessed the event.
--->'''Silent Bob:''' then points and says "[[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade No ticket!]]".

* OurAngelsAreDifferent: They have no genitals, though they appear both male and female, they aren't allowed to drink alcohol or indulge in other mind-altering substances, and they can become human if they shed their wings.

* NoDeadBodyPoops: The aversion of this trope is the reason why the Golgothan exists, as he's made up of the accumulated excrement of any criminal who was crucified on Golgotha.

* ADateWithRosiePalms: Jay gets more than he bargains for when he tries to get Rufus to prove that he can see into Jay's mind.
-->'''Rufus:''' You masturbate more than ''anyone'' on the planet.\\
'''Jay:''' Shit, everyone knows that. Tell me something nobody knows.\\
'''Rufus:''' When you do it, [[AmbiguouslyBi you're thinking about guys]].\\
'''Jay:''' ''[off Silent Bob's shocked stare]'' [[HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday ... Dude, not all the time!]]
** Loki near the ending laments the lack of ability for angels to jerk off.

* AlcoholInducedIdiocy: Loki and Bartleby's expulsion from Heaven resulted from them being dumb while drunk: while no longer taking vengeance out on mortals wasn't a bad idea, quitting by telling God off definitely was. This led to angels being forbidden from consuming alcohol.
* TheAlcoholic: Metatron. Unfortunately for him, [[NailedToTheWagon angels are forbidden from imbibing alcohol]] thanks to the Loki incident, and he's resorted to spitting out the drinks afterward just for the taste.

Late one night, abortion clinic employee Bethany receives a visit from [[Creator/AlanRickman The Metatron]], the angel who acts as the voice of {{God}} ("Any documented occasion when some yahoo claims God has spoken to them, they're speaking to me"[[note]] Or they're talking to themselves[[/note]]). The Metatron tasks Bethany with a [[MissionFromGod holy mission]]: she must visit a Catholic church in New Jersey on a specific day to prevent disgraced angels [[Creator/BenAffleck Bartleby]] and [[Creator/MattDamon Loki]] from taking advantage of a special absolution ceremony being held there. The ceremony would grant forgiveness to ''anyone'' for ''any'' sin, and because the Bible says God must hold true in Heaven what holds true on Earth, this ceremony would allow the angels to return to Heaven.

The angels' potential absolution presents a big problem: God had specifically barred them from ''ever'' returning to Heaven, so their dogmatic absolution would disprove God's infallibility--''and bring an end to all existence''. Since God cannot directly interfere with the angels' plan, Bethany must do the job herself.

[[Film/TheViewAskewniverse Jay and Silent Bob]] turn up as "prophets" sent to guide Bethany, and the trio later finds allies in disgruntled apostle [[Creator/ChrisRock Rufus]] and muse-turned-stripper [[Creator/SalmaHayek Serendipity]]--but even with God's blessing on their side, the group's mission grows more difficult thanks to someone working behind the scenes to ensure the absolution of Bartleby and Loki...

In 1999, Creator/KevinSmith decided to take Film/TheViewAskewniverse into the realm of religion with '''''Dogma'''''. May God have mercy on our souls.

* ButICantBePregnant: Bethany is infertile due to an infection that damaged her uterus. When God resurrects her by the end of the movie, She leaves her [[MysticalPregnancy a little something extra]] to keep the bloodline going. She is, after all, the Last Scion.

** ''Film/{{Clerks}}'':
*** When Bethany tells Jay and Silent Bob that she didn't take them out for sex, Jay says he's okay with head.
*** In the end, Jay says they should go to the Quick Stop.

*** When talking to "Larry" and "Barry", Jay talks about trying to wreck the Dating Game stage.
*** When Rufus wakes up on the train, he utters "Poopy trim!", quoting Willam in his first scene, when Brodie and TS surprised him.
*** One of the news vans at the church has "KREL 6 News" on it; they were the station that produced Truth or Date (or at least broadcast it).
** ''Film/ChasingAmy'':
*** Jay & Silent Bob had the tickets to Illinois in their pocket during their only scene in ''Chasing Amy''.

* CosmicFlaw: Reality as we know it hinges on God being infallible. In short, you can't prove God wrong because doing so would end the world. Which becomes a driving force in the plot when fallen angels plan to use a loophole in Catholic dogma to overturn their banishment.

* CreatorCameo: Besides the obvious (Smith as Bob), producer Scott Mosier is the adulterer on the bus.

** In the Bible, it's OK for the humans to hear God's voice, but no human can see God's face and stay alive. In the film, it's inverted.