History Main / LoveIsLikeReligion

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': {{Twincest}} lovers Cersei and Jaime Lannisters have built a quasi-religious personal mythology around their relationship. The central metaphysical belief is "We are one person in two bodies," "I am not whole without you," and "I need my other half. You are me, I am you." Jaime is convinced that "If I were a woman, I would be Cersei," and Cersei likewise thinks, "If I were a man, I'd be Jaime." Their little pseudo-religion even has a prophesy: that they'll die together just as they were born together. They invoke imagery from the local mainstream religion, the Faith of the Seven, casting themselves in the roles of the gods the Maiden and the Warrior respectively.

* ''Literature/LancelotTheKnightOfTheCart'' is an {{Myth/Arthurian|Legend}} text from the late 1100s. Guinevere has been abducted and Lancelot is on a quest to find her. As he's tracking her, he comes upon an old campsite where Guinevere's comb has been left behind, with a strand of hair still caught in the tines. Lancelot picks up the HairMemento and decides it has magical {{panacea}} healing properties. This seems really random unless you know about holy relics, a part of the Catholic faith which were particularly big in the Middle Ages when this story was written. Holy relics are body parts (usually bones) of saints. They are treated with awe and reverence, and are often thought to have healing powers. Lancelot is treating Guinevere's hair like a holy relic, and thus implying he regards Guinevere herself as something akin to a saint.

** Lestat (a HollywoodAtheist) calls his LoveInterest Louis a saint.

* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'':
** [[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E1InThroesOfIncreasingWonder "In Throes of Increasing Wonder..."]]: Lestat de Lioncourt, a HollywoodAtheist, views his LoveInterest Louis de Pointe du Lac as a saint.
--->'''Lestat''': I had planned to make a new life for myself in St. Louis. That was to be my destiny. And now I know I was right. Only it turns out the saint is not a city, but a handsome man with a most agreeable disposition.
** [[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E2AfterThePhantomsOfYourFormerSelf "...After the Phantoms of Your Former Self"]]:
*** Lestat addresses his boyfriend as [[AffectionateNickname "Saint Louis."]]
*** During the honeymoon phase of their relationship, Louis (a lapsed Catholic) felt a religious-like reverence and adoration for his lover Lestat.
---->'''Louis''': There was present a kind of worship on my part. The earth beneath me always felt liquid.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': {{Twincest}} lovers Cersei and Jaime Lannisters have built a quasi-religious personal mythology around their relationship. They see themselves as a single person in two bodies. Jaime is convinced that "If I were a woman, I would be Cersei," and Cersei likewise thinks, "If I were a man, I'd be Jaime." In Cersei's mind the bond goes back to before birth. Their little pseudo-religion even has a prophesy: that they'll die together just as they were born together. They invoke imagery from the local mainstream religion, the Faith of the Seven, casting themselves in the roles of the gods the Maiden and the Warrior respectively.

-->'''William:''' Wat, you remember church as a boy. The fear, the passion. That's what she makes me feel. And for that, I say my rosary to Jocelyn and no one else.

* ''Film/AKnightsTale'': William compares his love for Jocelyn to "the fear, the passion" of being in church and declares that he will say rosaries to her and no one else.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame|Disney}}'': "Heaven's Light / Hellfire" contrasts Quasimodo's crush on Esmeralda with [[VillainLoveSong Frollo's]] lust for her, where they compare each to the light of {{Heaven}} and the fires of {{Hell}}, respectively.

* In ''Film/AKnightsTale'', William compares his love for Jocelyn to "the fear, the passion" of being in church and declares that he will say rosaries to her and no one else.

** "[[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E1InThroesOfIncreasingWonder In Throes of Increasing Wonder...]]": Lestat de Lioncourt, a HollywoodAtheist, views his LoveInterest Louis de Pointe du Lac as a saint.

** "[[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E2AfterThePhantomsOfYourFormerSelf ...After the Phantoms of Your Former Self]]":

* In ''Theatre/{{Heathers}}'', J.D. and Veronica sing a song called "Our Love Is God" about destroying what they've known and building everything new with the power of their love.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'', an exercise at couples' therapy shows that Beth's ideal version of her husband perceives her as a literal goddess.

-->--Creator/JorgeLuisBorges

[[folder:Mythology and Relgiion]]
* Literature/TheBible: The book of ''Literature/SongOfSongs'' can seemingly be read as a straightforward love poem (bordering on outright erotic in some places), but many prominent Jewish and Christian interpreters through history have understood it as metaphorical for God's love for His people.

--->O, speak again, bright angel, for thou art\\

** Later, when he has been exiled, he laments that "Heaven is here, where Juliet lives!"
** Juliet gets into the act as well, during the balcony scene (Act II, scene 2):
--->Do not swear at all.\\

-->'''Giovanni:''' Oh, that it were not in religion sin\\

*** Invoked by Lestat when he addresses his boyfriend as [[AffectionateNickname "Saint Louis."]]

* Several of Creator/WilliamShakespeare's sonnets explore this trope.
** In Sonnet 31, the poet, speaking about his past lovers, laments:
--->How many a holy and obsequious tear\\
Hath dear religious love stol'n from mine eye
** In Sonnet 105, the poet protests that his devotion to his beloved should not be considered "idolatry" (worship of idols distracting from {{God}}), because his love is, like his faith, "To one, of one, still such, and ever so."
** In 108, he compares the beloved's name to a prayer:
---> ... like prayers divine,\\
I must each day say o'er the very same,\\
Counting no old thing old, thou mine, I thine,\\
Even as when first I hallowed thy fair name.
* Even in Literature/TheBible itself, the book of ''Literature/SongOfSongs'' can seemingly be read as a straightforward love poem (bordering on outright erotic in some places), but many prominent Jewish and Christian interpreters through history have understood it as metaphorical for God's love for His people.

->''"Love, for you, is larger than the usual romantic love. It's like religion. It's terrifying."''
-->-- '''Richard Siken''', "Litany in Which Certain Things Are Crossed Out"

Romantic love and religious faith are often portrayed as very similar states of mind in fiction. Like PropertyOfLove and LoveIsADrug, it's a common romantic desire to [[LikeAGodToMe worship or be worshipped by]] ones beloved. (See the split etymology of "passion".)

This interplay can be complicated, since many major religions now and historically have involved suppression of sexuality and supported power structures that make [[MarryForLove Marrying for Love]] almost impossible, especially for women and UsefulNotes/{{LGBT}} people. This means it may overlap with ProtestSong, and using it may reflect a character's CrisisOfFaith. It can also give it a similar effect to InterplayOfSexAndViolence.

A common {{Motif}}. Sub-trope of BlasphemousPraise; SisterTrope to the non-romantic LikeAGodToMe. Compare InLoveWithLove and ConvertingForLove. Common to characters and artists who are CulturallyReligious. Expect lots of ritual-inspired UnusualEuphemism.

* "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" by Music/BelindaCarlisle, where she claims being with her lover makes . . . Heaven a place on Earth.

Dumb founded by the glow of your gold halo\\

*** Invoked by Lestat de Lioncourt (a HollywoodAtheist) when he addresses his boyfriend as [[AffectionateNickname "Saint Louis."]]
*** During the honeymoon phase of their relationship, Louis de Pointe du Lac (a lapsed Catholic) felt a religious-like reverence and adoration for his lover Lestat.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'':
** "[[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E2AfterThePhantomsOfYourFormerSelf ...After the Phantoms of Your Former Self]]":
*** Invoked by Lestat de Lioncourt (a HollywoodAtheist) when he addresses his boyfriend as [[AffectionateNickname "Saint Louis."]]
*** During the honeymoon phase of their relationship, Louis de Pointe du Lac (a lapsed Catholic) felt a religious-like reverence and adoration for his lover Lestat.
---->'''Louis''': There was present a kind of worship on my part. The earth beneath me always felt liquid.
[[/folder]]

Compare DivineDate, where the object of affection is ''literally'' divine. Contrast HotAsHell, where they're [[{{Satan}} the opposite]]. Contrast ReligionRantSong. See also EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory.

A common {{Motif}}. Sub-trope of BlasphemousPraise; SisterTrope to the non-romantic LikeAGodToMe and NotChristianRock (though it is also common in actual ChristianRock). Compare InLoveWithLove and ConvertingForLove. Common to characters and artists who are CulturallyReligious. Expect lots of ritual-inspired UnusualEuphemism.

* [[NotChristianRock Religious imagery is all over]] Music/PanicAtTheDisco's music, tempering the wild sin motif. Their lead songwriter, Brendon Urie, grew up UsefulNotes/{{Mormon|ism}} . . . in [[VivaLasVegas Las Vegas]].:

** In the opening track of ''Music/{{Red}}'', "State of Grace", she compares the short time she spent with her lover to a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin state of grace]], though she admits in the bridge that "you were never a saint / And I loved in shades of wrong".

Compare DivineDate, where the object of affection is ''literally'' divine. Contrast HotAsHell, where they're [[{{Satan}} the opposite]]. Contrast ReligionRantSong.

A common {{Motif}}. Sub-trope of BlasphemousPraise; SisterTrope to the non-romantic LikeAGodToMe and NotChristianRock (though it is also common in actual ChristianRock). Compare InLoveWithLove and ConvertingForLove. Common to characters and artists who were RaisedCatholic. Expect lots of ritual-inspired UnusualEuphemism.

* [[NotChristianRock Religious imagery is all over]] Music/PanicAtTheDisco's music, tempering the wild sin motif. Their lead songwriter, Brendon Urie, [[RaisedCatholic grew up]] UsefulNotes/{{Mormon|ism}} . . . in [[VivaLasVegas Las Vegas]].:

* ''WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'': "Heaven's Light / Hellfire" contrasts Quasimodo's crush on Esmeralda with [[VillainLoveSong Frollo's]] lust for her, where they compare each to the light of {{Heaven}} and the fires of {{Hell}}, respectively.

* The Glories' "I Worship You Baby".

* While its literal message [[{{Applicability}} has been variously interpreted]], Music/LeonardCohen's [[https://genius.com/Leonard-cohen-hallelujah-lyrics "Hallelujah"]] combines lost-love tropes with a ''lot'' of Jewish symbolism.