History Main / CorruptChurch

* The Holy Church in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14158315/1/Breaking-Providence Breaking Providence]]'' originally started as an information network to help the Destined Hero find and slay the Dark Lord every generation[[note]]Itself less benign as it sounds since the Dark Lord often hadn't ''done anything'' and was merely the sacrifice needed to keep the Empire prosperous for another twenty years[[/note]], but by the start of the story, had grown in power to equal the royal family and nobility combined. The actual level of corruption for individuals varies from genuinely pious paladins and priestesses whose worst flaw is being {{covert pervert}}s, to bishops who act more like politicians and only care for personal power, to paladin commanders that try to take entire convents as {{sex slave}}s. Even the Pope, who is herself a mostly righteous figure, is a PsychoSupporter of the hero who eventually decides to take over the empire entirely for the hero's benefit. The church as a whole also supports FantasticRacism, enslaves anyone with an "evil" Job, continues the Destined Hero vs Dark Lord doctrine centuries after it stopped being valid, and in times of hardship, fills it's coffers by letting nobles pay to rape criminals to death[[note]]The last two of which are generally known to only the highest ranking members, ''especially'' the truth of the Destined Hero vs Dark Lord conflict, which is known only to the Pope[[/note]].

* The Holy Church of Seiros in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' definitely has its darker side. While the system of Nobles that its head Rhea has implemented has kept Fodlan running for a good long while and has been somewhat successful, it has also led to a very problematic society where many people solely place value on the crests-bearers in noble houses and treat those who possess none like garbage with some of those families even casting out their own for failure of bearing one. The Church and Rhea herself are also far from as benevolent as they appear to be, as while they are more than willing to offer shelter, protection, and favor to those who follow the doctrines set by the Church, heretics and those who defy the Churches authority are given severe punishment, usually death, depending on their crimes against them. And this is all within the MAIN branch of the Church. [[spoiler: Rhea is also very aware of the protagonists Byleth's own past and personally keeps it from them in hopes of using them to selfishly revive her "mother" Sothis, and depending on the route you take can either realize her faults and reform the Church into a more reasonable system by the end, or be the final enemy you need to put down by the end of the story. The "Crimson Flower" route takes this to the extreme as Byleth joining Eldegard after being asked to kill her by Rhea drives her over the edge and she becomes hell-bent on killing Byleth and reclaiming Sothis's heart within them.]]

* Played straight with Father Gernot from VideoGame/{{Pentiment}}, though most of the individual monks and nuns are decent people and some openly disapprove of Father Gernot's actions.

* The Divine Church from ''VideoGame/RomancingSaga3'' is a rather odd example. On one hand, a decade prior to the events of the game, they were responsible for orchestrating a war with the desert kingdom of Naj solely to get ahold of the Divine Tower located in the Northwest area of the sandlands, which ended up with the kingdom destroyed and the ruling dynasty exiled. Harid, one of the playable characters, was an heir of said dynasty and has resented the church since then. On the other hand and in the proper game, it is an inoffensive organized religion and all the crimes are painted to be responsible for a sole rogue element within the church: [[spoiler: Maximus, a former pirate and now the leader of the Pidoona branch of the church who is hell-bent on acquiring all the relics of the Royal King to TakeOverTheWorld.]]

* The Vatican in ''Manga/DGrayMan''. [[spoiler: the entire upper hierarchy is apparently a bunch of blind-to-the-truth bastards... and are made of a couple akuma, as well.]] Not the exorcists. Just the Vatican.
** [[spoiler: It is unknown to what extent the Vatican is corrupt but it is heavily implied that it extends to veeeery high level. And we have yet to see the pope...]]

* ''Manga/FullMetalAlchemist'' has the Church of Letoism led by Father Cornello, a priest using a Philosopher's Stone ring to perform "miracles" and fool the citizens of Lior into believing a fabricated religion so he can use them as soldiers to help him take over the country.

* The Trinitian Church in ''LightNovel/DaybreakOnHyperion'' is pretty complicit in helping to undermine kingdoms that share the same faith to bolster the ambitions of the Imperium.

* The Church of the Three Heroes in ''Literature/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero''. The [[SinisterMinister High Priest]] takes advantage of the crisis with the waves, as well as the King of Melromarc's personal beef with the Shield Hero to demonize him and have the populace treat him with scorn. Later, they use the incompetence of the Sword, Spear, and Bow Heroes as an excuse to kill them, and then overthrow the government to take control of the kingdom, which not only succeeds in uniting the Four Heroes against him but also is the only time that Naofumi and his archnemesis [[BitchInSheepsClothing Malty]] join forces for a common goal, due to Malty, [[EvenEvilHasStandards of all people]], being horrified at the true extent of the High Priest's plan.

* Creator/FranciscoDeGoya satirised the Spanish Inquisition in his work ''Art/{{Inquisition}}'', which shows people under trial. In ''Art/WitchesSabbath'', he shows Satan in the form of a goat presiding in silhouette and moonlight over a coven of disfigured, ugly, and terrified witches.

* Creator/FranciscoDeGoya satirised the Spanish Inquisition in his work ''Inquisition'', which shows people under trial. In ''Witches' Sabbath'', he shows Satan in the form of a goat presiding in silhouette and moonlight over a coven of disfigured, ugly, and terrified witches.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Castlevania}}'': It'd be easier to list the number of times the Church ''didn't'' fuck up in a colossal way or pin the blame on the wrong people just for being different [[spoiler: which is exactly ''once'' when Trevor commissions a local priest to consecrate some holy water during the nightly demon raid]]. It also didn't help their reputation with the fact that the Catholic Church in Wallachia was '''directly''' responsible for Dracula putting a death sentence on the human race when they burned Lisa at the stake for being a so-called "witch", in truth she was a scientist, but that's something the Catholic Church refused to acknowledge. [[spoiler: Taken to the logical extreme when a group of demons attack the Bishop in the church. The Bishop -- who happens to be the one who ordered Lisa's death -- tries to invoke God's protection, but the lead demon claims that God is so disgusted with [[SinisterMinister the Bishop's actions and attitudes]] that He has forsaken the church and withdrawn His protection.]]

[[folder:Podcast]]
* ''Podcast/TwilightHistories'' tends not to present religious organizations in a very positive light:
** The Catholic Church in “The Black Scourge” has all the corruption and nastiness of the pre-Reformation church and then some. Specifically, the Pope got tired of playing cat-and-mouse with the Holy Roman Emperor, has him assassinated, and claimed the throne for himself. The now Emperor-Pope declared himself humanity’s sole link to God, and that humanity would be forever cut off from Heaven were he to be killed. He and his minions gleefully engage in all manner of torture against anyone they deem heretics, or otherwise threats to their power. There’s also the priest who [[spoiler: kidnapped Native American boys with intent to molest them]].
** “Hannibal One” gives us [[spoiler: The Cult of Ba’al. They practice human sacrifice, use drugs for their rituals, and use intimidation and threats of violence to keep dissonant members in line]].
** The priests of the pharaoh in “May His Kah Endure Forever” trick the people of Egypt into giving tribute to the deceased pharaoh. They pocket offerings for themselves and use the pharaoh’s necropolis as their private palace.
** Subverted in “Mask of the Plague Doctor” where the lone Catholic priest we see attempts to serve as the voice of reason as tensions run high due to the plague.
** The religion in “Court of the Giants” supports a strict caste system that discriminated against the more ape-like hominids.
[[/folder]]

* "Make Money" by Trevor Morris of ''Series/TheWhitestKidsYouKnow'' essentially depicts the Catholic Church as a massive business and essentially equates the Pope to a crime lord.

* In ''Literature/TheLaundryFiles'' novels, religious people trying to contact God have been known to contact ... [[EldritchAbomination a different God entirely]], and this trope happens when they willfully fail to notice the difference. ''Literature/TheApocalypseCodex'', in addition to the televangelist cult that forms the BigBad of the novel [[spoiler: which thinks mind-control parasites count as "conversion" and is trying to wake the Sleeper in the Pyramid in the belief he's Jesus]], mentions of a Calvanist sect in the Scottish islands that believed "Elect of God" was synonymous with [[Literature/TheShadowOverInnsmouth Deep Ones]].

Not even [[LightIsNotGood the most religious of places are safe from evil.]] In fact, the Corrupt Church is often portrayed as much worse than a simple SupervillainLair or secular League Of Evil, because when even holy priests and ministers turn to the dark side, they can psychologically manipulate the masses with mere superstition, so what hope is there for society? Tends to be highly influential over political leaders to stress the church's power over everyone.

Major villains from the Corrupt Church can include {{Sinister Minister}}s, {{heresy}}-crushing Inquisitors, and other [[AmbitionIsEvil typical ambitious villains]] using a convenient power structure for their own ends. The CreepyCathedral tends to be their base of operations. If a work is set in the modern day, then the leader of the Corrupt Church will often be a televangelist, in which case the "[[StrawmanPolitical straw Christian conservative]]" aspects will be {{exaggerated|Trope}}. The [[StrawCharacter Strawman Conservative]] may be a member, or even a leader, in one of these.

If the Corrupt Church is used for satire, the CrystalDragonJesus might appear. It may turn out that the god of the church does not approve of their corruption- or it may turn out that GodIsEvil and is behind the corruption in the first place. If not God, then expect a DemiurgeArchetype to be controlling one of these.

SubTrope of TheChurch. Supertrope of GreedyTelevangelist. Compare with the {{Cult}}. Contrast with the SaintlyChurch. Can potentially overlap with ChurchMilitant, if the church is both evil ''and'' badass.

Subtrope of TheChurch. Supertrope of GreedyTelevangelist. Compare with the {{Cult}}. Contrast with the SaintlyChurch. Can potentially overlap with ChurchMilitant, if the church is both evil ''and'' badass.

Whilst, there have been (many) corrupt clerics and callous doctrines throughout history, '''Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease''' Every religion (or lack thereof) will have both defenders and detractors somewhere out there, and remember - somewhere, your local deity is {{Face Palm}}ing.

* The Church of Ente Isla in ''LightNovel/TheDevilIsAPartTimer'' turns out to be one. Their plan was to raise Emilia as a {{Tykebomb}} and secretly sabotage the war effort so that the fate of the world fell on the shoulders of their chosen "Hero". Then after Emilia defeats Satan, the Church quietly gets rid of her (by faking a HeroicSacrifice) so that they can take the credit and political influence. They even used Inquisitors to act as their own personal secret police and eliminate anyone who stood in their way. Though High Priest Olba is the chief architect of this, the other higher-ups aren't much better.

* The Church of the Light Spirit in ''LightNovel/{{Maoyu}}'' is deliberately perpetuating the war in order to retain authority and undermine the southern kingdoms that are more difficult to control.
* The Church of the Three Heroes in ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero''. The [[SinisterMinister High Priest]] takes advantage of the crisis with the waves, as well as the King of Melromarc's personal beef with the Shield Hero to demonize him and have the populace treat him with scorn. Later, they use the incompetence of the Sword, Spear, and Bow Heroes as an excuse to kill them, and then overthrow the government to take control of the kingdom, which not only succeeds in uniting the Four Heroes against him but also is the only time that Naofumi and his archnemesis [[BitchInSheepsClothing Malty]] join forces for a common goal, due to Malty, [[EvenEvilHasStandards of all people]], being horrified at the true extent of the High Priest's plan.
* The Church of Origin in ''LightNovel/RollOverAndDie''. The rank and file are good and decent people genuinely trying to make the world a better place, but the upper echelons are corrupt as hell. Known to the general public, they have conspired with the nobility and royalty to outlaw any and all medical treatment that does not involve their own healing magic as "heretical," purely for the sake of maintaining a monopoly, dooming countless people to suffer and die under easily treatable ailments that their healers can't deal with because the effective medicine is outlawed. Clergy members who try to circumvent this and allow the herbal remedies to be used can find themselves ''illegally'' being dragged off to a KangarooCourt to [[ReleasedToElsewhere "be excommunicated."]] Flum and a young acolyte Sara find hard evidence that the church is involved in GodhoodSeeker human experimentation and that the most heinous of the atrocities laid at the feet of the Demons were in fact false flag operations, purely to get convenient true believers and test subjects. Even the "god" they want to release is implied to be an OmnicidalManiac that wants to wipe out all life.
* The Church in ''LightNovel/SpiceAndWolf'' is considered essentially an unfairly privileged business enterprise by the various merchants seen in the series, and practically everyone is willing to turn a blind eye to things the Church opposes, and even help its enemies, as long as there is no immediate threat of being caught. Since the Church considers being deformed a capital offense and happily uses its power to make a profit at the expense of others, these opinions seem quite justified.
* The Church within ''LightNovel/TheExecutionerAndHerWayOfLife'' is a world organization with the goal of killing Strays, people summoned from another world after four of them caused irreparable destruction to their world. [[spoiler:It turns out that one of said Strays was really the one responsible for eliminating the others, which the Church covered up and took the credit. Even more, at least one of them is seeking to exploit the power of the Strays for personal gain.]]

Subtrope of TheChurch. Compare with the {{Cult}}. Contrast with the SaintlyChurch. Can potentially overlap with ChurchMilitant, if the church is both evil ''and'' badass.

[[folder:Film]]

** [[spoiler: It is unknown to what extent the Vatican is corrupt but it is heavily implied that it extents to veeeery high level. And we have yet to see the pope...]]

* The Church of the Three Heroes in ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero''. The [[SinisterMinister High Priest]] takes advantage of the crisis with the waves, as well as the King of Melromarc's personal beef with the Shield Hero to demonize him and have the populace treat him with scorn. Later, they use the incompetence of the Sword, Spear, and Bow Heroes as an excuse to kill them, and then overthrow the government to take control of the kingdom, which not only succeeds in uniting the Four Heroes against him, but also is the only time that Naofumi and his archnemesis [[BitchInSheepsClothing Malty]] join forces for a common goal, due to Malty, [[EvenEvilHasStandards of all people]], being horrified at the true extent of the High Priest's plan.

* The Church in ''LightNovel/SpiceAndWolf'' is considered essentially as an unfairly privileged business enterprise by the various merchants seen in the series, and practically everyone is willing to turn a blind eye to things the Church opposes, and even help its enemies, as long as there is no immediate threat of being caught. Since the Church considers being deformed a capital offense and happily uses its power to make profit at the expense of others, these opinions seem quite justified.
* The Church within ''LightNovel/TheExecutionerAndHerWayOfLife'' is a world organization with the goal killing Strays, people summoned from another world after four of them caused irreparable destruction on their world. [[spoiler:It turns out that one of said Strays was really the responsible for eliminating the others, which the Church covered up and took the credit. Even more, at least one of them is seeking to exploit the power of the Strays for personal gain.]]

* Creator/FranciscoDeGoya satirised the Spanish Inquisition in his work ''Inquisition'', which shows people under trial. In ''Witches' Sabbath'', he shows Satan in the form of a goat presiding in silhouet and moonlight over a coven of disfigured, ugly, and terrified witches.

* ''ComicBook/{{Monstress}}'' has the Cumaea. Originally just an insignificant religious organization that worshipped the psychic scientist, Marium, who discovered [[AppliedPhlebotinum Lilium]] and developed the applications for it, they've since grown to become a fundamentalist cult which all but controls the Federation of Man by force. Professor Tam Tam claims that, if she were alive today, the science-oriented Marium would scoff at the Cumaea. [[spoiler: And then there's the fact that the Cumaea's leadership are all possessed by [[EldritchAbomination Old Gods]] seeking to free their [[SealedEvilInACan imprisoned kin]].]]

* The Grail in ''ComicBook/{{Preacher}}'', also doubles as a NGOSuperpower.

** Not quite as absurd as you might think, in the case of Germanus. While the example of Pelagius is a total slap in the face to history, men in Germanus' position -- Roman Catholic Bishops of the time the film is set in -- weren't above engaging in (by our modern standards) ruthless moves and chess-playing with the lives of men both powerful and influential (and thereby the lives of everyone beneath them or influenced by them) in their flock to ensure the church in the area they were Bishop of remained the sole ultimate authority. Granted, they were much more discreet and subtle in their machinations than Germanus ever was in the film, but much like the Pope of the time, the Bishops were equally ruthless political power-players. No act is too ill when you do it in the name of God, after all.

* Subverted in ''Literature/TheArtsOfDarkAndLight''. Much like the real-life medieval Roman Catholic Church, TheChurch in [[DemocracyIsFlawed Amorr]] is heavily involved in worldly politics, and so draws in its share of opportunists, power mongers and generally corrupt clergymen--and this has realistic effects both on how it works internally and how it is perceived by outsiders. However, there are also [[GoodShepherd many honest priests]] who are sincerely devoted to their religion, and do their best to limit the sway of the hypocrites, [[CoolOldGuy the serving Pope]] being notable among them. On the whole, the Church is deeply flawed, but still ultimately presented as a net force for good in the world of Selenoth. One of its most spectacular triumphs in this regard is to [[spoiler:help avert the brewing war between Amorr and the elven kingdoms]].
* The Church in the ''Literature/BardicVoices'' series by Creator/MercedesLackey. While there are individual priests/monks/nuns that are truly good people (like High Bishop Ardis of Kingsford), there many more that are corrupt and venial and gain positions of power to further their own shady agendas (like High Bishop Padrik of Gradford).

** Made famous is how the Literature/TheFourGospels depict the Pharisees, Sadducees, and other schools that UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} criticized. The Pharisees especially, who are depicted as legalist [[{{Hypocrite}} hypocrites]] who impose unnessecary restrictions.

* ''Burden of the Emperor'' series by Iar Elterrus (''Бремя Императора'', Иар Эльтеррус): the most successful conspiracy against the Empire heavily involved the church, including the death of the Emperor. An [[ChekhovsGun old document]] testifying to the peaceful demise of an imperial dignitary in a monastery several centuries ago leads to a massive revision of the church history. [[spoiler: The church was actually slowly, carefully and deliberately pushed from SaintlyChurch into this trope with a good helping of AbsoluteXenophobe on the side]].

* [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny The Republic of Gilead]] in ''Literature/TheHandmaidsTale'' is a Christian fundamentalist theocracy that came to existence after the US government was replaced by a group of religious fanatics. While on the surface the leaders propagate piety and "traditional values" (such as the brutal oppression of women and the demonization of sex), in reality they rely heavily on the presence of the black market and enjoy participating in forbidden activities such as lesbian orgies.

* ''Literature/TheInitiateBrother'' has two, with both the two main monastic orders falling short of what they should be. The Brothers are often more interested in protecting their order's political power and influence than in doing good, positioning "spiritual advisors" (i.e. manipulators and spies) with as many ruler as possible. The Sisters don't have similar power but are riven by infighting, factionalism, and personal ambition. Part of the protagonist's future job will involve spreading a more genuine version of the religion -- aided by the original [[SacredScripture scrolls of Botahara]], which non-corrupt Brothers have been gradually smuggling away from Jinjoh Monastery for that purpose.

* ''Literature/LazarilloDeTormes'': The entire work seems to be a critic against the Spanish Church's hypocrisy at the time, with two of Lazaro's masters (the Cleric and Papal Bull Vendor) being corrupt clergymen. Many scholars have suggested that this is why the book was published anonymously, with the writer (correctly) expecting the Inquisition to come out against it.

* In Paul Hoffman's ''Literature/TheLeftHandOfGod'' trilogy, the Redeemers are a cruel, corrupt religious order. They take the evils of the historical Catholic Church to the extreme and show no positive traits as a group aside from some traces of their "Messiah" (not very subtly, [[CrystalDragonJesus The Hanged Redeemer]]) actually having taught something quite different. The Antagonists, corresponding to the Protestants, are a splinter sect in war with them but might well be as bad; not much detail is revealed about them as of the second book.

** Keep in mind that, in the time period that ''The Name of the Rose'' is set in, the Papacy and the monasteries were engaged in a '''''civil war''''' which only ended because of shady powerbrokering. And Adso, Severinus, and (to a degree) Salvatore are all treated favourably... but Salvatore's another heretic. And a PsychopathicManchild.

* Used Again by David Weber in his ''Literature/{{Safehold}}'' Series. The Church of God Awaiting started out as a PathOfInspiration, but it's metamorphosed into a Corrupt Church by the time the main story starts. Not only does the Church function as essentially an ego-trip left over from the planet's original colonizers, but at the beginning of the first book they're flagrantly accepting bribes and ''actively searching'' for a reason to try and destroy a country that they think is getting too powerful, and at the end of the book they've essentially made the country all the more powerful not only due to driving nations away from their influence by forcing them to commit to a war that they didn't want, but said war also caused the death of the nation's king, uniting the people not only in grief but in sheer unbridled ''rage'' at them.

** ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy'': The Obligators are an odd example. Though nominally a priesthood, they function more as bureaucrats and politicians, being much more interested in administering TheEmpire and playing political games with [[AristocratsAreEvil the nobility]] and each other than in tending to people's spiritual needs. Turns out that [[GodEmperor their god]] couldn't be happier with them -- ''he'' cares more about running an empire than about true faith, and designed his religion accordingly.

** Cornwell has acknowledged this in interviews -- he was raised as a member a very straight-laced (and very small) sect of English Christians called the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peculiar_People#Union_of_Evangelical_Churches Peculiar People]], who, whilst as far from a corrupt church as one can get, were at the vanguard of what Cornwell calls "[[MoralGuardians the Fun Prevention League]]". Indeed, his whole career (writing about a violent, fornicating warrior) is something of a TakeThat towards the pacifist Peculiars.

* ''Series/FortyFourHundred'': Flashbacks show Isaiah grew disgusted at his televangelist father raking money in from all his poor parishioners, especially when it was far more than they could afford to give away. He turned against this, but then was sent into the future.

* Played for laughs in the ''Series/{{Blackadder}} the Second'' through "the Baby-Eating Bishop of Bath and Wells", whose job consists entirely of loan sharking. Throughout the episode he's featured in the bishop makes plain his fondness for whores and torture. When Blackadder orchestrates an elaborate scheme to blackmail the bishop (by framing him for [[HoYay an act]] outside of the church's [[ValuesDissonance condoned list of perversities]]) he is condemned by the bishop as a complete moral degenerate and offered a job in the church for it.

* The Temple of Aria in ''Manhwa/DoomBreaker'' is one of a the major religions and a major money lender. Any adventurers that couldn't pay for their medical expenses end up as slaves until they pay their debt.

** The Catholic Church in “The Black Scourge” has all the corruption and nastiness of the pre-Reformation church and then some. Specifically, the Pope got tired of playing cat-and-mouse with the Holy Roman Emperor, has him assassinated, and claimed the throne for himself. The now Emperor-Pope declared himself humanity’s sole link to God, and that humanity would be forever cut-off from Heaven were he to be killed. He and his minions gleefully engage in all manner of torture against anyone they deem heretics, or otherwise threats to their power. There’s also the priest who [[spoiler: kidnapped Native American boys with intent to molest them]].

** The priests of the pharaoh in “May His Kah Endure Forever” trick the peoples of Egypt into giving tribute to the deceased pharaoh. They pocket offerings for themselves and use the pharaoh’s necropolis as their private palace.

* In Music/LimpBizkit's "The Priest", .

** The followup, ''Music/{{Doppelganger}}'', was an even more thorough critique of televangelists. "New Car!" and "Angels Tuck You In" mocked the Prosperity Theology that they preached; "Do Big Boys Cry" portrayed them as {{hypocrite}}s who never admit to wrongdoing; and "Autographs for the Sick" portrayed them "counting dollars in the afterglow" while utterly failing to help anyone with their ministries. "I Didn't Build It for Me" described a real-life incident where a televangelist used his followers' donations to build an obscenely lavish ministry headquarters -- then [[ImplausibleDeniability tried to claim]] that it was really for the use of all Christians, and besides, God told him to build it.
* The Brooklyn Synagogue, which is run by Chief Rabbi Kai, who opposes the Messianic main character of ''[[Music/{{Hero}} !HERO: The Rock Opera]]''.

** Ixalan has the Church of Dusk, which is about as wholesome as you can expect [[FantasyCounterpartCulture a parallel of historical conquistadores]] that also happen to be [[ReligiousVampire vampires]] to be. In the interest of fairness, their basic motivation, to retrieve the Immortal Sun as to grant eternal life instead of eternal undeath, is [[WellIntentionedExtremist somewhat pure]], but cards show that many of its members also pursue riches and glory and have no issues abusing their power. It's ultimately revealed at the climax of the Ixalan storyline that their beliefs about vampirism's purpose have drifted what their founder, Saint Elenda, originally intended them to be and [[spoiler:when she is awoken, she is horrified to find out how the church has twisted her message and sets out to force a reformation]].

** However, this is not necessarily the case. As has been shown again and again, free thinking and religious tolerance, and anything other than rampant xenophobia can (and [[DirectLineToTheAuthor according to the Imperium's internal and external materials]] inevitably WILL) lead to a horrible, horrible fate involving gates to hell opening up as mad cultists dance in the gore stained entrails of human sacrifice, and/or alien horrors slaughtering humans or enslaving them ''at best'', courtesy of the CrapsackWorld's [[GodOfEvil Chaos Gods]] and ruthless, merciless alien factions.

* In the world of ''Franchise/DeadSpace'', Unitology has spread to millions of people, and at least half the people on the Ishimura were Unitologists. What do the higher up ask for in return? Just your money and your power, and did we forget to mention your dead body? There were text logs in the game stating they have built entire fleets of ships meant to carry dead bodies. Oh, and did we forget to mention that the holy relic they worship is the source of an evil virus that turns you into hideous, fleshy, tentacle covered sins against nature? Yeah.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'', ever since the death of the empress, the Overseers from the Abbey of the Everyman seems have become corrupted, pretty much enacting martial law and rounding up anyone that might be thought as heretics. The High Overseer intentionally breaks every one of the seven strictures every day as his own little joke.

* ''VideoGame/DragaliaLost'' has the Ilian Church being a mess of corruption and backstabbing. An apocryphal document known as the Scrolls of Perdition, which claims that the Goddess Ilia is the mother of the Other, has split the Southern Grastaean Church into warring factions of Conservatives (those who refuse to believe that the goddess gave birth to the world's ultimate evil) and the Perditionists (those who believe all of Ilia's children must still be given respect, even the most vile ones capable of destroying the world). The North Grastaean church in Grams is even worse, with the rich nobles forcing the poorer citizens to pay for the honor of praying above their station to the goddess, and allowing Templars to publicly murder them if they don't pay up.

** While the Chantry of Andraste doesn't actively harass and mistreat Fereldans, (actually, it's quite nice and pleasant), it is the main reason behind many, ''many'' social and racial problems and wrong-doings throughout Thedas. Due to the fear of BloodMagic, nearly all Mages are to be feared and despised, leading them to be rounded up and imprisoned in the [[MageTower Circle]], supposedly for their own protection. Elves are often seen as second-class citizens and forced to live in Alienages, where they are subject to much racism from humans. The Chantry likewise [[KickTheDog repaid]] the Dalish Elves assistance in helping Andraste free Thedas from the Tevinter Imperium, by later branding them heretics for not worshipping the Maker and leading an [[UsefulNotes/TheCrusades Exalted March]] against their new homeland, reducing them to wandering nomads. Not to mention, the Chantry's method of ensuring [[ChurchMilitant the]] [[KnightTemplar Templars]] remain loyal is to addict them to [[FantasticDrug Lyrium]] under the excuse that it'll make them more powerful, despite knowing that it can lead to paranoia, emotional instability, and full-blown psychosis.

* The Church of the Goddess, in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'' is disastrously corrupt -- despite two of the major clergy, the Lord High Priest and Abbot Francisco -- being benevolent, selfless true believers, the structure of the church is thoroughly rotten -- demanding money from the faithful in return for absolution, rising through the ranks based chiefly on bribery, and [[spoiler:using the church's martial arm to further personal aims]]... This results in the heroes quest being stymied at several points. It is implied that much of this corruption has cleaned up, or at least has begun to be cleaned up, by the end of the game. Also, [[spoiler:Demon Lord Rapthorne's floating fortress was hidden inside the Goddess monument all along]]. Nobody seems to comment on this.

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'' has the Tribunal Temple, a [[OurElvesAreDifferent Dunmer (Dark Elf)]] church whose members worship a trio of [[PhysicalGod flesh-and-blood gods]]. Curiously, the Temple used to be an undeniable force of good when the Tribunal deities consistently lived and worked amongst their people; performing acts of charity and defending Morrowind from [[TheEmpire Imperial]], [[{{Wutai}} Akaviri]], and [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Daedric]] invaders. However, once they retreated into seclusion due to [[spoiler: no longer being able to recharge their divine power with the [[CosmicKeystone Heart of Lorkhan]] and being forced to conserve their power,]] the mortals took over running the church and things became corrupt very quickly. Now, most of its members are stuck-up, elitist [[JerkAss jerkasses]], especially the high ranking officials, and their ChurchPolice, the Ordinators, are arrogant, condescending [[KnightTemplar fanatical bigots]] who consider even ''speaking'' of the Nerevarine or ''wearing their armor'' to be capital offenses. It seems to have gotten better by the time of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' -- the dissidents who said 'aren't you guys taking things too far?' to the aforementioned excesses were validated by the events of ''Morrowind'', and then ended up coming up on top the chaos of Vivec's disappearance and the Red Year, forming the much less corrupt "New Temple."

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has a church in Ishgard that acts as both a military power and political figure and it has led a war against dragons for a thousand years due to, according to history, a dragon attacking the king and his knights during a parley. Everyone in Ishgard prays to their deity and to the church for safety and hope during the war. [[spoiler: It turns out that the church is not as benevolent as everyone would think. You discover that it was King Thordan I who attacked the dragons first and did so to eat a dragons' eye in order to gain more power. This perpetuated the war for a thousand years and this secret was safely guarded by the church ever since then with Bishop Thordan VII, who then plans to use the dragon eyes to become a god and rule Ishgard (and possibly the rest of the world) with an iron fist, believing that [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans power and suppression are needed to create everlasting peace]]. After the events of the main story where the truth is finally revealed and the figures responsible were removed, the reveal of the truth shook the foundation of Ishgard and weakened the trust in the church, which causes those who are still heavily faithful to the church to lash out against the people that want Ishgard to be for the people rather than the upper class. Aymeric and the player character manages to get both man and dragon to reunite in peace once more and helped create a government where the church is still needed but is no longer the sole influence.]]

* The Holy Church of Seiros in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' definitely has it's darker side. While the system of Nobles that it's head Rhea has implemented has kept Fodlan running for a good long while and has been somewhat successful, it has also led to a very problematic society where many people solely place value on the crests-bearers in noble houses and treat those who possess none like garbage with some of those families even casting out their own for failure of bearing one. The Church and Rhea herself are also far from as benevolent as they appear to be, as while they are more than willing to offer shelter, protection, and favor to those who follow the doctrines set by the Church, hereitics and those who defy the Churches authority are given severe punishment, usually death, depending on their crimes against them. And this is all within the MAIN branch of the Church. [[spoiler: Rhea is also very aware of the protagonists Byleth's own past and personally keeps it from them in hopes of using them to selfishly revive her "mother" Sothis, and depending on the route you take can either realize her faults and reform the Church into a more reasonable system by the end, or be the final enemy you need to put down by the end of the story. The "Crimson Flower" route takes this to the extreme as Byleth joining Eldegard after being asked to kill her by Rhea drives her over the edge and she becomes hell bent on killing Byleth and reclaiming Sothis's heart within them.]]

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', where the main villains are the ChurchMilitant. As it turns out, however, they're just one of two factions that are warring for power: one of which is led by a FatBastard who wants to start a war BecauseDestinySaysSo, while the leader of the other is the ''actual'' Pope equivalent who just wants to bring peace and harmony to the world. Further subverted when it's revealed that [[spoiler:the ChurchMilitant is actually working ''against'' the wishes of the religion as a whole by aiming to destroy the local deity]]. That said, there are a lot of implications that the Order of Lorelei has a lot of rot in it and improving it into a true SaintlyChurch is an explicit goal of one of the heroes by the end.

* The Scarlet Crusade of ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' was formed to protect the Light and destroy the undead plague upon the land. They took in people who had lost family to the Scourge and offered them a new life, battling their enemy. Unfortunately, its founders were charismatic and ''completely insane'', so paranoia and fanaticism was the name of the game. Unless somebody wears their colors, they're automatically assumed infected with the plague and are killed on sight. What most likely ensured their fall into Corrupt Church status was their incorporation of the disguised demons Balnazzar and Mal'Ganis as high-ranking officials. By the time they've reached Northrend to attack the Scourge, they're actually [[HeWhoFightsMonsters using demonic magic and thinking it's a blessing of the Light]]!

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Disenchantment}}'': In Season 2, Spisode 2, when Bean and Luci search for Elfo's name in the Book of Dead, which contains the names of all people ever sent to Hell, Bean notices there are quite a few popes in it.

* ''Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.'', a {{mockumentary}} about a Black Southern megachurch pastor whose ministry was destroyed after he was caught [[YourCheatingHeart cheating on his wife]], with the two of them trying to rebuild both their congregation and their marriage.

* The Catholic Church in ''ComicBook/LeScorpion''.

* The Church in {{VideoGame/Darklands}} is not corrupt, but is a rather mercantile enterprise, and expects sizeable "donations" for any services rendered. However, village priests are generally decent and hedge-priests and self-proclaimed "holy men" are far more likely to be mercenary and corrupt than "true" Church officials.

* The mysterious Church in ''VideoGame/MicaApoptosis'' is led by a Cardinal who kidnaps and presumably tortures a teenage girl, and shoots a constable who thought of him as a friend.