History Main / HidingBehindReligion

* Some Italian satiric comics represent most, if not all, the higher-ups of the Catholic Church as this:

* The song "Jesus He Knows Me" by Music/{{Genesis}} is a TakeThat to people like this. Specifically, those who use religion for self-enrichment.

* Father Cornello of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist''. He poses as the priest of a sun god and works "miracles" that are really the result of a Philosopher's Stone, winning over the people so he can use them as fanatical devotees in a coup.

A SubTrope of {{Hypocrite}}. A religion where this mindset is the norm rather than the exception for many of the clergy is most likely a CorruptChurch. See also LightIsNotGood, which can be this on a more fantastical level. Closely related to ChurchgoingVillain, but that kind of person usually considers themselves genuinely religious despite their actions, rather than using it as a cover.

* Discussed in ''Literature/AChristmasCarol, where the Ghost Of Christmas Present out right calls out those who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in God's name, saying they are as strange to all his kith and kin, as if they had never lived.

* Discussed in Literature/AChristmasCarol, where the Ghost Of Christmas Present out right calls out those who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in God's name, saying they are as strange to all his kith and kin, as if they had never lived.

* Discussed in Literature/AChristmasCarol, where the Ghost Of Christmas Present out right states that those who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in God's name as strange to all his kith and kin, as if they had never lived.

->'''Lucideus:''' Have you been hurting your fellow mortals?
->'''Priest:''' Oh, certainly not. All that we do is for their own good.
->''([[BeatPanel beat]])''
->'''Lucideus:''' Let me ask this way: ''Are you setting people on fire?''
->'''Priest:''' On fire for ''God!''
->'''Lucideus:''' I think we need to talk about this.

'''Note:''' To correctly identify who may be doing this fallacy in RealLife relies on an understanding of the religion in question and irrefutable proof of personal motives. A lack of either results in heated arguments. As such, '''Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease''' [[noreallife]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

[[folder: Comic Books]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* Judge [[SexIsEvilAndIAmHorny Claude Frollo]] from the Disney adaptation of ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' is initially HolierThanThou, until his lust for Esmeralda becomes an obsession, and he decides forcing her into a "be mine or you will burn" ScarpiaUltimatum would be worth going to hell over. In public, he still maintains a KnightTemplar image and uses that to try to achieve his goals.

-->'''Rich Man''': Master! What must I do to have eternal life?
-->'''Jesus''': Go forth and maximize profits.

-->'''Israelite''': You say the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. But when exactly will it be?
-->'''Jesus''': When you deregulate the banking industry.

-->'''Man with palsy''': Please help me. I've been this way for over 20 years.
-->'''Jesus''': I'm sorry. I cannot heal your preexisting condition. He'll have to pay out of pocket.

* ''{{Literature/Discworld}}'':
** Vorbis from ''Discworld/SmallGods'' is an interesting example: he legitimately thinks that he's doing the will of the Great God Om... but Om knows there's only one person left who even believes he exists, and it's not Vorbis. [[spoiler:It takes dying for Vorbis to figure out that he'd been listening to his own distorted thoughts the entire time, and the realization breaks him.]]
** Similarly, Dios in ''{{Discworld/Pyramids}}'' isn't exactly HidingBehindReligion, seeing as [[spoiler:he came up with most of those gods himself to teach people the right way to do things over seven thousand years, and has become too stuck in his ways to do otherwise]]. When Djelibeybi gets kicked into another dimension and the gods start manifesting, it causes no end of trouble for the priests, since belief requires their absence.
** The secondary antagonist of ''Discworld/MakingMoney'' is a ConArtist who intends to blackmail [[BoxedCrook Moist von Lipwig]], and assumes the persona of a priest of Om while he's in town. [[spoiler:The gods don't take kindly to this and said blackmailer has a pair of springloaded false teeth that don't fit. And the goddess of things-stuck-in-drawers owes Moist from ''Discworld/GoingPostal''...]]

* Creator/RASalvatore featured a number of such characters as villains in his later ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' novels, all of whom were high-ranking clerics of various good-aligned deities who extorted money out of the poor for fake healing, raped children (a blatant reference to the Catholic Church's sex-abuse scandal that was big in the news at the time), and otherwise were despicably evil. At the end of ''Literature/TheSellswords'' Artemis Entreri goes on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against such clerics of Selune.\\
\\

[[folder:TabletopGames]]
* For the most part, averted in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'': horrible things done in the name of religion are done in the belief that such things are right ([[WorldHalfEmpty and given the setting]], they ''are''). If anyone is committing atrocities HidingBehindReligion, they're usually secretly dedicated to the Chaos god they really work for, and when the Inquisition finds out...
** There is the case of the genestealers, however, who infest and subvert as large a part of the population as they can to their cause in preparation for the main Tyranid attack, and are often disguised as splinter Imperial cults.

[[folder: Video Games]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': [[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=1662 "Not-Tengu"]] apparently feigns offense at the notion that it's not ok to brainwash people into being his devoted followers. [[spoiler:As it turns out, he's not some supernatural creature like most of the comic's antagonists — he's human, and used to be an average jerk before gaining superpowers. He knows full well it's wrong, and operates on the belief that [[ItsAllAboutMe he deserves everything he wants]].]]
-->'''"Not-Tengu"''': A "''cult''"? Honestly, such intolerance of other people's beliefs.
-->'''Ellen''': ''You enslave minds!''
-->'''"Not-Tengu"''': And I believe that's okay.

[[folder: Web Original]]
* Reverend Noah Howerton from the ''Roleplay/HonorableHogwarts'' forum roleplaying game — an OmnicidalManiac who is using religion to make his followers help him eliminate all other magic-users so that he's the only wizard left and no others can challenge him. He doesn't really believe in God.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

-->'''Francine''': What's happening?!\\
'''Donovan''': The Rapture. Turns out there ''is'' a God.

* ''WesternAnimation/Castlevania2017'': The Bishop's supposed goals of helping the people are nothing but hollow lies for him to get away with murder and heartlessness, and he actually takes advantage of Dracula's rampage to increase his own power and standing within the Church. [[spoiler:In the end, God Himself is so disgusted with the Bishop's actions that He [[GodIsDispleased withdraws His protection]] and allows Dracula's demons to kill him.]]
-->'''Bishop''': Gresit will be the last great city in Wallachia. For all intents and purposes, [[IAmTheNoun I will be the Church]].

* Vorbis from ''Discworld/SmallGods'' is an interesting example: he legitimately thinks that he's doing the will of the Great God Om... but Om knows there's only one person left who even believes he exists, and it's not Vorbis. [[spoiler:It takes dying for Vorbis to figure out that he'd been listening to his own distorted thoughts the entire time, and the realization breaks him.]]

* Creator/RASalvatore featured a number of such characters as villains in his later ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' novels, all of whom were high-ranking clerics of various good-aligned deities who extorted money out of the poor for fake healing, raped children (a blatant reference to the Catholic Church's sex-abuse scandal that was big in the news at the time), and otherwise were despicably evil. The problem was that due to the way the rules of the Forgotten Realms worked, such behavior would quickly draw the attention of the deities the clerics followed, resulting in removal of their magic and quite likely a BoltOfDivineRetribution. This made the plots of the stories feel rather out of place.

* Judge Claude Frollo from the Disney adaptation of ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' is initially HolierThanThou, until his lust for Esmeralda becomes an obsession, and he decides forcing her into a "be mine or you will burn" ScarpiaUltimatum would be worth going to hell over. In public, he still maintains a KnightTemplar image and uses that to try to achieve his goals.

* Creator/RASalvator featured a number of such characters as villains in his later ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' novels, all of whom were high-ranking clerics of various good-aligned deities who extorted money out of the poor for fake healing, raped children (a blatant reference to the Catholic Church's sex-abuse scandal that was big in the news at the time), and otherwise were despicably evil. The problem was that due to the way the rules of the Forgotten Realms worked, such behavior would quickly draw the attention of the deities the clerics followed, resulting in removal of their magic and quite likely a BoltOfDivineRetribution. This made the plots of the stories feel rather out of place.

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* Vorbis from ''Discworld/SmallGods'': justifies himself as doing the will of the Great God Om... but Om knows there's only one person left who even believes he exists, and it's not Vorbis.
** Vorbis is debatable: he isn't consciously hypocritical. He truly believes, but not in Om. [[spoiler:He doesn't even realize this himself until after his death.]]

** The secondary antagonist of ''Discworld/MakingMoney'' is a ConArtist who intends to blackmail [[BoxedCrook Moist Lipwig]], and assumes the persona of a priest of Om while he's in town. [[spoiler:The gods don't take kindly to this and said blackmailer has a pair of springloaded false teeth that don't fit. And the goddess of things-stuck-in-drawers owes Moist from ''Discworld/GoingPostal''...]]

* Archbishop De Villiers of the Terraist Church in ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes''. Even though the Church was a PathOfInspiration, most of its clergy genuinely believed in their tenets of Earth being sacred and were well-known for their asceticism. De Villiers however believed nothing of that and saw the Church as simply a tool to seize power. During one episode, he was shown secretly indulging in hard liquors.

** In ''Suore Ninja'', the higher-ups of the church are so corrupt that when UsefulNotes/ThePope Constantin Vitalian announces he met God ''a cardinal resigns on the spot''. There are a few exceptions, however, including Pope John Paul I (who Constantin Vitalian believes was ''killed'' for being incorruptible, at least until he finds out that [[ItMakesSenseInContext he was eaten by a T-Rex that had chased Constantin Vitalian through time when he tried to use a holy item to cheat at a lottery]]) and José Maria Bergoglio (who in this comic was not elected Pope, Constantin Vitalian taking his place).
** ''Jenus of Nazareth'' has the Second Coming of Jesus trying to restore good and order in the Church and the world... And Pope Benedict XVI not only opposes him, but [[BigBad he and his predecessors are the whole reason for the Second Coming]].

* Judge Claude Frollo from the Disney adaptation of ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' is initially HolierThanThou, until his lust for Esmeralda becomes an obsession, and he decides forcing her into a "be mine or you will burn" ScarpiaUltimatum would be worth going to hell over. In public, he still maintains a KnightTemplar image, and uses that to try to achieve his goals.

* In ''Film/AFewGoodMen'', Lieutenant Kendrick claims being Christian in his testimony, but simultaneously exposes his absolute absence of compassion.
* ''Series/AmericanHorrorStory'' Season 2: The reverend mother turned to Christianity after she got drunk as a teenager and ran someone over. Fifty years later, she still thinks of herself as that teenage sinner who couldn't own up to murder.

** The trope gets played straight with about half of the Church of God Awaiting. The entire Inquisition, especially its leader, use blackmail, espionage, assassination, murder, and coercion for its little problems, like declaring an (unofficial) jihad/crusade to destroy the main character's kingdom. Once the war gets started, though, they ''really'' kick it in high gear. Doing little things like [[spoiler:build Nazi-style concentration camps for "discovering heritics"]] and [[spoiler:launch a "partisan revolution" in an ''allied country'' (unsurprisingly, those parts of it which the rebels don't take quickly cease to be allies)]].
** Zhaspahr Clyntahn could be considered a case of this combined with TheFundamentalist. Since he's highly prone to [[BelievingTheirOwnLies believing his own lies]], his HidingBehindReligion often takes the form of deciding on a response to some threat to his personal power, using whatever logic he needs to use in order to make it appear he's acting in the name of God's Church, and proceeding to genuinely believe whatever logic he's come up with.

* Uncle Ezra from the ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'' episode "A Fitting Punishment" is a cruel and greedy funeral director who hides behind a veneer of piousness for his clients. Most of his bibilical quotes don't even come from Literature/TheBible, which gives away that he's a phony, but what really defines his character is [[spoiler:crippling and later murdering his orphaned nephew, simply because he didn't want the extra burden]].

* Theatre/{{Tartuffe}} of Creator/{{Moliere}}'s homonymous play is one of the most famous example in francophone countries, in which his name is a synonym for that trope, practically equivalent to being a TropeNamer ([[IResembleThatRemark that it stirred up a lot of controversy from the religious crowd at the time didn't help]]).

* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': [[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=1662 "Not-Tengu"]] apparently feigns offence at the notion that it's not ok to brainwash people into being his devoted followers. [[spoiler:As it turns out, he's not some supernatural creature like most of the comic's antagonists — he's human, and used to be an average jerk before gaining superpowers. He knows full well it's wrong, and operates on the belief that [[ItsAllAboutMe he deserves everything he wants]].]]

* Reverend Lovejoy from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. When [[ChurchOfHappyology the Movementarians]] gain popular momentum, Lovejoy is so quick to give up on trying to promote Christianity that when Marge shows up at his church, he is soaking it in gasoline, presumably to cash in on {{insurance fraud}}. He also seems not to be that good at preaching moral decency to his own family, if his [[GossipyHens gossipy wife]] and [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative daughter]] are anything to go by, and when the latter reminds him of past misdeeds of her own, he just plugs his ears and pretends not to hear anything. He blames it on years of having to put up with Ned Flanders, which put him off his job more than off his faith and made him, in his own words, "[[StoppedCaring stop caring.]] Fortunately, it was [[TheEighties the Eighties]], [[TakeThat so no one noticed]]." His name is also doubly {{ironic|Name}} since he's not particularly loving or joyful.
** A recurring theme about him is that he seems to be {{only in it for the money}}. In "The Monkey Suit", he doesn't care about pushing creationism into school like [[TheFundamentalist Ned]] wants until his wife tells him they might be able to profit from it. He also displays little knowledge of the Bible most of the time, or doesn't care about it.

'''Donovan''': The rapture. Turns out there ''is'' a God.

* Big Jim from ''Literature/UnderTheDome'' appears to do this. While Pastor Lester Coggins appears to be a sincere example of TheFundamentalist, Renny wears his religious tendencies like a suit of political armor that he can take off or put on depending on the circumstances, going so far as to [[spoiler:kill Pastor Coggins when he decides that God probably isn't okay with their helping to run one of New England's largest meth labs]].

* Hugo from ''Manga/InnocentsShounenJuujigun" may very well be this. While we don't actually know much about his motivations, [[spoiler:harems of young men and women, fabricating supposedly Godly miracles, sleeping with four of the main cast (who are all male), and arranging demon-worshiping death matches]] are all far from what 13th Century Catholicism preaches, especially considering that his status as one of the well-respected Knights Templar allows him to get away with most of it.

* ''WesternAnimation/Castlevania2017'': The Bishop's supposed goals of helping the people are nothing but hollow lies for him to get away with murder and heartlessness, and he actually takes advantage of Dracula's rampage to increase his own power and standing within the Church. [[spoiler:In the end, God Himself is so disgusted with the Bishop's actions that he [[GodIsDispleased withdraws His protection]] and allows Dracula's demons to kill him.]]

Lastly, not to be confused with ApocalypseCult or ReligionOfEvil. In those circumstances where you are ''trying to hide the fact'' that you're an advocate/follower of [[MysteryCult such an organisation]].

The leader of a ScamReligion is a good example, although in that case the ''entire religion'' is a fake designed to con his followers or outsiders.

* In ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', Farnese di Vandimion [[CharacterDevelopment starts out]] as a ChurchMilitant who is desperately ''trying'' to be TheFundamentalist and convince herself that burning heretics alive for the Holy See is a regrettable but necessary duty. The truth is that she discovered when she was a young child that taking part in burnings gave her relief from the violent outbursts and hopelessness she felt [[FreudianExcuse due to her upbringing]] in a [[LonelyRichKid lonely and controlled aristocratic family]], and as it was mistaken for religious devotion, she was encouraged to take part in more and given a position within the church that let her indulge her desire, so that by the time she's an adult she gets [[LovesTheSoundOfScreaming sadistically aroused by burning, screaming, and torture]]. Notably, she is still a sympathetic character, as even before her HeelFaceTurn, she was shown to be deeply disturbed by her own nature, and in one memorable scene she finishes [[ADateWithRosiePalms pleasuring herself]] while thinking about burning people and then breaks down crying and trying to tell herself "I am not wrong".

* Hugo from ''Manga/InnocentsShounenJuujigun" may very well be this. While we don't actually know much about his motivations, [[spoiler: harems of young men and women, fabricating supposedly Godly miracles, sleeping with four of the main cast (who are all male), and arranging demon-worshiping death matches]] are all far from what 13th Century Catholicism preaches, especially considering that his status as one of the well-respected Knights Templar allows him to get away with most of it.

* Marvin in ''ComicBook/DungeonTwilight'' suspects that this was the true reason why male draconists can't see their offspring. The elders who made the rules didn't want to take care of children. He asks his friend who is the highest shaman alive to make a reform. His friend is reluctant since he does believe in the rules, but Marvin convinces him by saying thousands of women would worship him for that.

** In ''Suore Ninja'' the higher-ups of the church are so corrupt that when UsefulNotes/ThePope Constantin Vitalian announces he met God ''a cardinal resigns on the spot''. There are a few exceptions, however, including Pope John Paul I (who Constantin Vitalian believes was ''killed'' for being incorruptible, at least until he finds out that [[ItMakesSenseInContext he was eaten by a T-Rex that had chased Constantin Vitalian through time when he tried to use a holy item to cheat at a lottery]]) and José Maria Bergoglio (who in this comic was not elected Pope, Constantin Vitalian taking his place).

* In the Swedish movie ''Hajen som visste för mycket'' (''The Shark Who Knew Too Much'') Joakim Plottner hides one of his [[FakeTwinGambit Fake triplet brothers]] as a monk in a ''deeply religious [[{{cult}} sect]]''. Everyone else in the sect is there to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALXlXLzRnkA get an alibi, ignore the world's issues and hide their heads in the sand.]]

* Most of the characters from the film, ''Film/{{Saved}}''.

** Vorbis is debatable: he isn't consciously hypocritical. He truly believes, but not in Om. [[spoiler: He doesn't even realize this himself until after his death.]]

** The secondary antagonist of ''Discworld/MakingMoney'' is a ConArtist who intends to blackmail [[BoxedCrook Lipwig]], and assumes the persona of a priest of Om while he's in town. [[spoiler: The gods don't take kindly to this and said blackmailer has a pair of springloaded false teeth that don't fit. And the goddess of things-stuck-in-drawers owes Moist from ''Discworld/GoingPostal''...]]

* Mr. Brocklehurst from ''Literature/JaneEyre''. He tries to teach his school humility by starving them and providing them with low quality clothing as his daughters and wife stand by wearing silk finery.

* Big Jim from ''Literature/UnderTheDome'' appears to do this. While Pastor Lester Coggins appears to be a sincere example of TheFundamentalist, Renny wears his religious tendencies like a suit of political armor that he can take off or put on depending on the circumstances, going so far as to [[spoiler: kill Pastor Coggins when he decides that God probably isn't okay with their helping to run one of New England's largest meth labs]].

** The trope gets played straight with about half of the Church of God Awaiting. The entire Inquisition, especially it's leader, use blackmail, espionage, assassination, murder, and coercion for its little problems, like declaring an (unofficial) jihad/crusade to destroy the main character's kingdom. Once the war gets started, though, they ''really'' kick it in high gear. Doing little things like [[spoiler: build Nazi-style concentration camps for "discovering heritics"]] and [[spoiler: launch a "partisan revolution" in an ''allied country'' (Unsurprisingly, those parts of it which the rebels don't take quickly cease to be allies)]]

* ''Literature/TheSwamplingKing'': Quite a few of the priests find ways to use the holy Word for whatever purpose they feel like at the moment, which is generally some variant of "we all need to unite and slaughter the swamplings." Most of them don't even care when they find out that [[spoiler:their prophesied savior is a swampling]].

* In the ''Series/{{Community}}'' episode "Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism", Jeff lays this accusation on Shirley [[spoiler: after he learns that she was his childhood bully]]. While the accusation isn't ''entirely'' fair -- Jeff's clearly overwrought at the time (not entirely without reason) and Shirley is a genuinely religious person -- it's also not entirely unjustified either; Shirley does have a tendency to use her religious beliefs as a way of feeling superior to other people, manipulating them to do what she wants through guilt and self-righteousness and avoiding having to self-examine her own faults and less savoury aspects.

* ''{{Series/Rake}}'': Cal [=McGregor=] makes a show of having "got religion" while in prison, wearing a crucifix and carrying a Bible at all times, from which he quotes liberally. This was only to better his chances of parole however. The moment he gets out, he's back to his old ways, bedding two prostitutes and doing cocaine.

* [[SinisterMinister Grand Maestro Mohs]] in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' uses his position in the Order of Lorelei in order to win the influence required to start a war BecauseDestinySaysSo. It's very telling that the setting's equivalent of the Pope is willing to travel around the world ''to stop him''. Furthermore, the founders of the religion (the {{God}} and UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} parallels Lorelei and Yulia) are revealed to have [[spoiler:''never'' wanted ''anyone'' to do something just because it was foretold. Rather, they left a record of the future that they foresaw for people to ''avert''. They ''wanted'' humanity to ScrewDestiny and save the world.]] Given this, it's quite telling just how far Mohs has fallen from the teachings of his faith.
* Subverted ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny''. It's made to look like this is the case, since the man who steals the [[ArtefactOfDoom Eye of God/Atamoni]] is ''High Priest'' Lydon, but religion has nothing to do with his motivations. He just got greedy, [[FaithHeelTurn left the faith altogether]] and decided to conquer the world with the artefact.

* "His Holiness" Sanctus from ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry 4'', who is anything ''but'' a devout worshipper of Sparda, and mainly wants his power. It's noted that his aim ([[spoiler: unleashing a plague of demons upon the world so that his forces can kill them and be seen as the bringers of a new utopia]]) is something Sparda would very much have opposed were he still alive.
* Rodrigo Borgia (aka [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope]] [[UsefulNotes/PopeAlexanderVI Alexander VI]]) from ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'' [[spoiler: is an atheist who only became Pope so he would have access to the Staff of Eden and the Vatican Vault.]]
** However, he did [[spoiler: incorrectly]] believe the vault to house a living god.

** Supplementary materials show that these kind of people are despised [[EvenEvilHasStandards even by other Templars]]. The order's goal is about being united and not lining their own pocket, [[OldShame making the Borgia-led Templars something that the modern day Templars don't like talking about.]]
* Done ''literally'' in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3''; [[spoiler: the Asari have secretly been concealing the only intact, undamaged Prothean Beacon in the galaxy on their homeworld at the heart of their oldest religious site and distributing the data from it as "messages from the goddess" at convenient times for their advancement, [[{{Hypocrite}} all the while condemning anyone who hides Prothean technology for personal use]].]]

* Friar Remus in ''VideoGame/AviaryAttorney''. While he's quite fond of the bloody parts of the Bible and uses them to wave away objections that he's unChristian, he's actually an atheist out for power.

* Joseph Bertrand III of ''VideoGame/{{Infamous 2}}'' boasts that everything he does, up to and including attempting a genocide of [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Conduits]], is all part of God's plan, reasoning that Conduits don't fit into the divine plan as "creations of science." In reality, [[BoomerangBigot he himself is a Conduit]], and was more than happy to be one until it turned out that the only power he'd gained was a hideous and uncontrollable transformation into a monster; in [[InsaneTrollLogic his]] [[PsychologicalProjection reasoning]], if he had become a monster by activating his powers, then all Conduits, active or otherwise, were monsters.

* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': [[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=1662 "Not-Tengu"]] apparently feigns offence at the notion that it's not ok to brainwash people into being his devoted followers. [[spoiler:As it turns out, he's not some supernatural creature like most of the comic's antagonists-- he's human, and used to be an average jerk before gaining superpowers. He knows full well it's wrong, and operates on the belief that [[ItsAllAboutMe he deserves everything he wants]].]]

* Reverend Noah Howerton from the ''Roleplay/HonorableHogwarts'' forum roleplaying game -- an OmnicidalManiac who is using religion to make his followers help him eliminate all other magic-users so that he's the only wizard left and no others can challenge him. He doesn't really believe in God.

** A recurring theme about him is that he seems to be {{only in it for the money}}. In "The Monkey Suit" he doesn't care about pushing creationism into school like [[TheFundamentalist Ned]] wants until his wife tells him they might be able to profit from it. He also displays little knowledge of the Bible most of the time, or doesn't care about it.

* ''WesternAnimation/Castlevania2017'': The Bishop's supposed goals of helping the people are nothing but hollow lies for him to get away with murder and heartlessness, and he actually takes advantage of Dracula's rampage to increase his own power and standing within the Church. [[spoiler:In the end, God Himself is so disgusted with the Bishop's actions that he [[GodIsDispleased withdraws his protection]] and allows Dracula's demons to kill him.]]

* The main plot of ''WesternAnimation/Castlevania2017'' kicks off with this trope.