History Main / FirstChurchOfMecha

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-->-- '''Astrotrain,''' ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'', "The God Gambit"

** Chouginga Gurren Lagann, the penultimate mecha of the series, was ''explicitly'' described as "one who matches the Gods," as having power tantamount to a sub-Universe all its own, and is capable of near-divine manipulation of space-time. It also looks like a ''drill angel''.
** There are people who list their religious views as "Gurren Lagann" (Or Kaminalogy).
* ''Anime/RahXephon'' was referred to this at some points.
* Not sure of the other versions, but at least one of the ''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne'' manga versions called the Escaflowne a god.
* ''Anime/GoLion'' is thought of as one, even if not so in western equivalent ''Anime/{{Voltron}}''.
** He tried to prove it too. [[CurbStompBattle It didn't go so well.]]
* In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ'', there's Moon-Moon, an isolated forgotten colony that drifted off into uncharted space, and its inhabitants with time regressed into a social, cultural and technological level along the lines of {{Mayincatec}}. Among other weird things, they worshipped a rusty old construction mobile suit as a god.
* The "White Doll" from ''Anime/TurnAGundam'' is sort of worshiped as one. Granted, this was ''before'' they knew it was a mobile suit, and not just a statue. Not to mention [[SuperpowerLottery its powers that ''literally'' rival those of a god]]...
* Setsuna F. Seiei of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' views Gundams with almost religious reverence because when he was very young, his life was saved by a Gundam. Naturally, the Gundam he eventually pilots is so powerful, it's not even a Gundam anymore but essentially a ''Super Robot''. In the accompanying novel, it is explained that master-villain Ribbons allowed Setsuna to live because the little child saw the Gundam 0 -and Ribbons himself- as a God and it pleased his megalomaniac tendencies. Afterwards, Ribbons hacks Veda to allow young Setsuna to become a Gundam Meister. Which horribly bite back at the finale.
* The titular mecha from ''Anime/SpaceRunawayIdeon'' is referred to as a legendary giant god by the [[HumanAliens Buff Clan]]. Considering the Ideon's planet-destroying capabilities, it's a fitting title.
* In ''Anime/{{Gravion}}'', Sandman calls his HumongousMecha "a new deity for the modern age". As if that wasn't enough, its name is ''God'' Gravion. However, it's ''replaced'' by Sol Gravion, and Sandman's God Sigma Gravion becomes a sort of SixthRanger.
* The Ma-Shin, aka "Rune Gods" of ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth''. It's unclear if they're actually worshiped, but they do occupy shrines and they're a part of Cephiro's mythology (even if few people know the ''entire'' myth).
* Played with in ''Anime/{{Gasaraki}}''. The TA/Fake mechas are ugly, purely mechanical looking and sounding, and while they're excellent weapons they're also get clogged by sand and are useless in certain situations, so they're as far from the Awesome Humongous Mecha as you can get. The Kugai on the other hand are referred to as Gods (or Demons, depending on who you ask), and compared to the [=TAs=] they're incredibly smooth, much more powerful, and ''scary''.
* ''Anime/TenchiMuyoGXP'' (Episode 24+ spoilers): [[spoiler:The [[Anime/DualParallelTroubleAdventure Zinv-lookalike]] "Idol" mecha Seina gets thrown into was worshipped as the guardian diety of a small village -- and Seina was the ChosenOne to awaken it.]]
* ''Anime/GaoGaiGar'' is known as the God of Destruction [[spoiler: when it's Genesic [=GaoGaiGar=]]]
* In ''K.O Century Beast'' each village that has a guardian statue which in fact houses a robot dubbed Jinns.
* In ''Manga/DestinyOfTheShrineMaiden'', the HumongousMecha are actually gods of Japanese Mythology. One of them is piloted by a nun.
* ''Anime/TheBigO'' goes so far as to call giant robots [[AMechByAnyOtherName Megadei]], literally “mighty gods.” Then of course there's their boot up sequence: Cast in the name of God, ye not guilty. Played with in that they're thought of as gods in a Japanese cultural context -- because their emergence in the world is inexplicable, and being a physical manifestation of a force of nature -- but the boot up sequence is a direct reference to the Christian Gospels.[[note]]The boot up sequence isn't actually symbolic; it's a reference to Conan the Barbarian, used because the creator [[RuleOfCool thought it sounded cool]]. It's significance to the story is that it represents the Big's judgement of the pilot's worthiness.[[/note]] The name is also a pun, referring both to the gospel sequence of casting stones and to the nature of the Big O's creation, being metal formed into a mold.
* ''Anime/MazingerZ'', when it was first introduced, was claimed by Professor Kabuto to be a machine that could be God or Devil. When ''Anime/MazinKaiser'' appeared, at least in the anime, the same man proclaimed that Kaiser ''surpassed'' God and Devil. Heck, even its VideoGame/SuperRobotWars theme song proudly proclaims "Is it a God? Or a Devil?" (''Kami ka? Akuma ka?'')
** And the ''Manga/ShinMazingerZero'' manga implies Mazinger Z [[spoiler:can become an abomination]] if its power is not harnessed for the good.
** In ''Anime/UFORoboGrendizer'', the titular HumongousMecha was the robotic embodiment of the god of war of planet Fleed.
* ''{{Anime/Raideen}}'' was the protector deity of Lost Continent of Mu. It was foretold when the Age of Demons began, Reideen would awake and would battle them to protect the world. Needless to say, [[PropheciesAreAlwaysRight it happened]].
* [[Anime/{{Gigantor}} ''Tetsujin 28-go'']] is actually mistaken for a god in one episode of the 1980 remake.
* In ''Anime/GargantiaOnTheVerdurousPlanet'', [[spoiler:Kugel's mecha]] finds its way to a primitive Earth, where it is worshipped by a fleetful of locals.
* In ''Manga/BattleAngelAlita'', there is a cult of Space Buddhists who believe that even androids can achive enlightenment. It was actually centered around the empty cyborg body of Don Fua [[spoiler: who turns to have indeed developed god-like powers]].

* A fantasy example: In ''ComicBook/CerebusTheAardvark'', a wizard [[SoulJar transferred his soul]] into a giant {{golem}} and [[AGodAmI declared himself]] the god Tarim. [[spoiler: Cerebus was [[ConArtist running a messiah confidence scheme]] on the town at the time and got deposed when "Tarim" showed up. Cerebus eventually [[WhyDontYaJustShootHim shot him through the head with a cannon]].]]

* ''Literature/PerdidoStreetStation'' features a very creepy DeusEstMachina worshipped by a scattered but highly organised cult. It uses [[spoiler: a corpse with the top half of its head cut off]] to communicate with people. DarkIsNotEvil [[spoiler: Or is it ?]]
* The infamous ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' novel ''Far Country'' featured a tribe of primitive, birdlike aliens who worship a Locust [[HumongousMecha Battlemech]] that was left on their planet by a marooned group of Mechwarriors.
* The [[Literature/TheBible Book of Revelation]] mentions the False Prophet constructing a talking statue of TheAntichrist. Some theologians have hypothesized that it's a giant robot (or at least animatronic).

* ''Literature/ScrappedPrincess'' gives an example: The common people worship [[LesCollaborateurs a woman who sided with humanity's enemies]] 5000 years ago as God, and believe the [[HumongousMecha Peacemakers]] (AI-controlled HumongousMecha that can brainwash you by looking at you) are angels. They also believe the [[HumongousMecha Dragoons]] are demons. So the HumongousMecha are on either side of the religion.

** The Mecha from ''Series/KyoryuSentaiZyuranger'' combine into Daizyujin[[note]]Great Beast God[[/note]], who is implied to be the actual biblical God, since the GreaterScopeVillain is revealed to be Satan. In the backstory of the series, God and Satan fought each other millions of years ago, causing both of them to be weakened. As a result, God split into seven pieces, them being the five Guardian Beasts, Dragon Ceasar and King Brachion. Around the halfway point of the series, all seven of them combine into the Ultimate Daizyujin, restoring God to its actual power.
** ''Series/GoseiSentaiDairanger'' has the Daijinryuu[[note]]Great God Dragon[[/note]], who is a neutral god that is tasked to protect the balance in the universe. When the battle between the Rangers and the Gorma Tribe threatens said balance, Daijinryuu appears on earth to intervene. It will go to great lengths to complete this task, including blowing up a large chunk of Tokyo or hypnotizing many people to leap from the roof of a building. This creature is so powerful and large, that the HumongousMecha from the Dairangers do not even reach its ankle. Daijinryuu is adapted in ''Power Rangers'' as Serpentera, who is merely the HumongousMecha of [[BigBad Lord Zedd]], averting this trope.

* The Titans of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' are acknowledged as god-machines even outside of the [[MachineWorship technology-worshipping]] [[MachineCult Adeptus Mechanicus]].
** To complicate the matter, some have literal churches built on them.
** Some have churches and shrines built '''for''' them.
** In 40k comic "Titan", after the said Titan Invictus falls into a warp rift and emerges in a totally different place, natives of that area worship what remains of the mecha as god.
** The Ork versions, the Gargants, often are modeled after their gods, Gork and Mork. In at least one case they began building such a machine and then proceeded to have a war over out which one of them it is. (This is the plot, [[ExcusePlot such as it is]], of a [[GaidenGame spinoff side-game]] called appropriately enough {{TabletopGame/Gorkamorka}}.)
* The ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' setting TabletopGame/{{Eberron}} has the warforged, a race of living and intelligent war golems. Now that the war is over and they are no longer needed, many of them started to create their own society in the middle of a toxic desert. This includes their very own religion, which revolves around building their own mecha god. And as the entire setting is completely under the RuleOfCool, they will probably be successful.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' has Autochthon, the Great Maker, one of the Primordials who created the setting's universe, and the one most focused on craftsmanship, artifice, and generally ''making'' stuff. He's also called the Machine-God, and he lives up to the name, with one of his bodies being an [[GeniusLoci entire world]] of [[SteamPunk cogs, gears, pistons, wires, steam-filled pipes, and crystalline memory banks.]]
* Some of the less-developed worlds of the Periphery in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' are actually quite primitive, down to even the neolithic level, having being descended from lost wanderers or stranded colonists. As a result, they do not have any understanding of the setting's HumongousMecha. Such is the case of [[https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Biendieu Biendieu]], a [[NGOSuperPower Comstar]] Explorer Corps Battlemech mistaken for a local protector god after it kills the hell out of a dinosaur that had been threatening the natives.

* The so called "gods" of the [[{{Mayincatec}} Cuotl]] from ''VideoGame/RiseOfLegends'' sure look like mecha. It is unknown whether they are actually aliens, alien robots, or aliens inside robots(which would actually make them mecha).

* ''VideoGame/{{Obsidian}}'' by Segasoft had an area literally called the Church of the Machine, which had a giant robot spider (an even-larger version of which played a key role in a previous chapter) as the centerpiece.
* The Bionis and Mechonis of ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'' are both mecha-like in appearance, and the Mechonis is a HumongousMecha, with the emphasis on Humongous. The two titans have/have had civilizations living on and in them, respectively. Both of them are [[spoiler: inhabited by a god]] but only the Mechonis's [[spoiler: is actively worshipped - the Machina, the Machine People, are the only ones who are old enough to remember that the titans have souls, and are thus the only ones to remember that Zanza, the Bionis, is destructive, while Meyneth, the Mechonis, is benevolent]].
* [[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsZ Super Robot Wars Z3: Rengoku-hen]] gives one to Gunleon, including the followers ''[[DiegeticSoundtrackUsage chanting the lyrics]] of it's {{Leitmotif}}.''
-->"Gun Gun Leon, Gunleon...!"
* In the lore of the ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'', a leading theory regarding the purpose of the giant golem Numidium built by the ancient Dwemer was that the otherwise atheistic culture constructed it to be their god, or attain godhood through it by using the heart of the sundered god Lorkhan to power it, and that they caused their entire species to vanish instantaneously in the attempt.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''{{Podcast/Friends at the Table}}'''s COUNTER/Weight, Twilight Mirage, and PARTIZAN seasons all take place in the same setting, thousands of years apart, but linked by the presence of powerful sentient mecha called Divines. Each Divine is unique, named and themed after a different virtue or concept such as Valour, Grace, or Imperium, and piloted/paired by a specially selected partner. However, the degree to which Divines are considered ''divine'' changes between seasons:

** Primus and Unicron are the Gods of Creation and Destruction respectively, with Primus being the progenitor of the Cybertronian race (as well as [[GeniusLoci Cybertron itself]] in some continuities). [[RuleOfCool They are also both huge transforming robots themselves.]]
** ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'': In the episode "The God Gambit", - the people of Titan worship a massive statue as a god, but this turns out to be a scam run by the priesthood. When the Autobots and Decepticons arrive on the moon, Astrotrain sets himself up as a more powerful deity. He provides the page quote during this time explicitly lampshading it.
** At the end of ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'', [[spoiler:Waspinator is left behind on Earth, where he gets to become a god to a tribe of protohumans.]]

Just to [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant assuage any confusion]], the city in Saudi Arabia is spelled M-E-C-C-A, and, due to its cultural significance to Muslims, it is actually illegal to establish churches there.

** ''Series/OhsamaSentaiKingOhger'' has King-Ohja, the guardian deity of the planet Tikyū, who aided the original heroes in defeating the Bognaarok Empire two thousand years ago. Per Sentai tradition, King-Ohja is comprised of five King Shugods, giant MechanicalInsects who serve as guardian deities of the five kingdoms, as well as five smaller Sub Shugods forming extra body parts. The King Shugods themselves are sapient and capable of deciding who uses their power to become King-Ohgers, as seen when God Kuwagata grants Gira its power after he openly rebels against the corrupt Racules, implying that it agrees that the latter is unfit to be king.

** ''Series/OhsamaSentaiKingOhger'' has King-Ohja, the guardian deity of the planet Tikyū, with who’s aid the original heroes defeated the Bugnarok Empire two thousand years ago. King-Ohja itself is comprised of the King Shugods, guardian deities in the form of giant insects who protect the five kingdoms of Tikyū alongside the current King-Ohgers, as well as five smaller Sub Shugods. The Shugods themselves are sentient and can apparently decide who is worthy to become a King-Ohger - even if that person isn’t of royal blood, they just need to display the ideal qualities of TheGoodKing to qualify.

* As the page quote used to indicate, the Titans of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' are acknowledged as god-machines even outside of the [[MachineWorship technology-worshipping]] [[MachineCult Adeptus Mechanicus]].

* ''LightNovel/ScrappedPrincess'' gives an example: The common people worship [[LesCollaborateurs a woman who sided with humanity's enemies]] 5000 years ago as God, and believe the [[HumongousMecha Peacemakers]] (AI-controlled HumongousMecha that can brainwash you by looking at you) are angels. They also believe the [[HumongousMecha Dragoons]] are demons. So the HumongousMecha are on either side of the religion.

* ''Literature/{{Gearbreakers}}: Many people worship the [[HumongousMecha Windups]] as representatives of the gods.

** Primus and Unicron are the Gods of Creation and Destruction respectively, with Primus being the progenitor of the Cybertron race (as well as [[GeniusLoci Cybertron itself]] in some continuities). [[RuleOfCool They are also both huge transforming robots themselves.]]

* The Evas of ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' are said at points to be a substitute for God, [[MindScrew whatever that actually means]]. The explanation is that [[EldritchAbomination Angels]] possess God's Fruit of Life, while humans possess God's Fruit of Knowledge. [=EVA=]s can potentially possess both, as Angel/human hybrids that possess a human soul and an S2 engine.

* ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' / ''Franchise/PowerRangers''
** More than one series has portrayed their mecha as gods. ''Series/HyakujuuSentaiGaoranger'' has the literal Gao God, while the ''Series/KyoryuSentaiZyuranger'' mecha combine into God and face off against the Devil. Naturally, Franchise/PowerRangers plays this down to the point of non-existence.
** Save for ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'', whose version of Gao God (named Animus), according to [[WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall Linkara]] is what happens if [[Series/TensouSentaiGoseiger GoseiKnight]] was a Megazord as opposed to a zord, and didn't have the Goseiger to tell him not to go after humans for polluting the ecosystem. They never actually used the G-word, but he filled the same function as in Sentai.

* The Bionis and Mechonis of ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'' are both mecha-like in appearance, and the Mechonis is a HumongousMecha, with the emphasis on Humongous. The two titans have/have had civilisations living on and in them, respectively. Both of them are [[spoiler: inhabited by a god]] but only the Mechonis's [[spoiler: is actively worshipped - the Machina, the Machine People, are the only ones who are old enough to remember that the titans have souls, and are thus the only ones to remember that Zanza, the Bionis, is destructive, while Meyneth, the Mechonis, is benevolent]].

* [[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsZ Super Robot Wars Z3: Rengoku-hen]] gives one to Gunleon, including the followers ''[[ThemeTuneCameo chanting the lyrics]] of it's {{Leitmotif}}.''

** In COUNTER/Weight, when Divines were war machines built by the Autonomous Diaspora, they were revered but not technically worshiped, and regarded mostly as examples of extremely advanced technology.
** By Twilight Mirage, where Divines were more numerous and designed for peaceful purposes within the [[SpacePeople Divine Fleet]], they were central figures in the Resonant Orbit, a religion that stressed coexistence between humans and sentient machines, but were only considered god-''like'' and not literally gods.

* ''{{Podcast/Friends at the Table}}'''s COUNTER/Weight, Twilight Mirage, and PARTIZAN seasons all take place in the same setting, thousands of years apart, but linked by the presence of powerful sentient mecha called Divines. Each Divine is unique, named and themed after a different virtue or concept such as Valour, Grace, or Imperium. However, the degree to which Divines are considered ''divine'' changes between seasons:

** In PARTIZAN, the [[TheEmpire Divine Principality]] and its state religion, Asterism, proclaims Divines (war machines once again) to be truly divine beings, living reflections of the Principality's own virtues. Notably, this coincides with Divines going full-on DeusEstMachina in fact as well as faith; while some Divines had strange powers before this, in PARTIZAN Divines became capable of bestowing those powers on lesser mechs and now possess a kind of ResurrectiveImmortality.

* {{Podcast/Friends at the Table}}'s COUNTER/Weight, Twilight Mirage, and PARTIZAN seasons all take place in the same setting, thousands of years apart, but linked by the presence of powerful sentient mecha called Divines. Each Divine is unique, named and themed after a different virtue or concept such as Valour, Grace, or Imperium. However, the degree to which Divines are considered ''divine'' changes between seasons:

* {{Podcast/Friends at the Table}}'s COUNTER/Weight, Twilight Mirage, and PARTIZAN seasons all take place in the same setting, thousands of years apart, but linked by the presence of powerful sentient mecha called Divines. Each Divine is unique, named and themed after a different virtue or concept such as Valour, Grace, or Imperium.