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Religious Stereotype

120 statements
22 feature instances
14 referencing feature instances

Religious Stereotype	type	FeatureClass
Religious Stereotype	label	Religious Stereotype
Religious Stereotype	page	ReligiousStereotype
Religious Stereotype	comment	A stereotype, but... well, religious. The most obvious and prominent example is the Corrupt Church, which involves portraying all clergymen, especially Christian ones, as sanctimonious fanatics and/or hypocrites. When Religious Stereotype is in full effect in a work of fiction, expect all Protestants to be poorly-educated racist rednecks or The Klan - don't bring that civil rights movement crap here! All Catholic priests will be pedophiles, which will make one wonder how the Church functions if all its priests are, safe to say, busy. At worst, "Catholic" inevitably means The Spanish Inquisition and Knights Templar screaming "Burn The Heretic!" And it doesn't get any better when you leave Christianity, oh no! As we all know, If you're a Muslim, then you're a terrorist - or if female, completely wrapped in a burqa because any form of skin exposure is evil. Jews will probably be... well, many times Jews will be found where you least expect it in your characters, but to be a real stereotype, expect them to be nerds obsessed with saving money. More generally, though, Jews will get assigned the more positive (or at least funnier) stereotypes these days rather than the awful negative stereotypes of the past. Well, your fictional character says to himself, to hell with this, I'll just be an atheist!... Nope, buddy, you're still stuck. Atheists are evil in most portrayals of fiction, as Straw Nihilists with no sense of morality, obsessed with Evolution, hate religious people (and may even want to purge religion ala Stalin) and will always have a sad backstory for being an atheist. Still, note that stereotypes are not necessarily negative. Just as common a stereotype is that of the Buddhist monk who literally knows everything worth knowing and helps the Hero, while another common one is the Hindu guru who is "in tune with the universe". This trope almost always results in Unfortunate Implications of the religious variety (especially if the author uses these stereotypes to boost up their own favorite side), to the point that its inclusion in a work of fiction should probably set you on high alert. Buyer (and writer) Beware! If a negative stereotype was created just to make the hero look good, or the Creator's views seem right, then it is a Strawman. See also Christianity is Catholic, and any of the Useful Notes series on the religions for what the religion is actually like. See also evil religions, evil followers, good religions (presumably with good followers), Heel–Faith Turn... ah, just go check out the Religion Tropes. Religious Stereotype is a part and parcel of all of them.
Religious Stereotype	fetched	2023-08-14T06:45:07Z
Religious Stereotype	parsed	2023-08-14T06:45:07Z
Religious Stereotype	processingComment	Dropped link to OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions: Not an Item - FEATURE
Religious Stereotype	processingComment	Dropped link to TheMist: Not an Item - UNKNOWN
Religious Stereotype	processingUnknown	TheMist
Religious Stereotype	isPartOf	DBTropes
Religious Stereotype / int_11d0af1	type	Religious Stereotype
Religious Stereotype / int_11d0af1	comment	His Dark Materials portrays religion as a Corrupt Church trying to control everything through conspiracy and believing everything they can't understand to be heresy that must be eradicated. No character affiliated to religion in any way (down to a random priest in a village) is presented under a good light.
Religious Stereotype / int_11d0af1	featureApplicability	1.0
Religious Stereotype / int_11d0af1	featureConfidence	1.0
His Dark Materials	hasFeature	Religious Stereotype / int_11d0af1
Religious Stereotype / int_1bdeba5a	type	Religious Stereotype
Religious Stereotype / int_1bdeba5a	comment	A particularly hated storyline in X-Men had an anti-mutant group planning to have Nightcrawler elected as Pope (!) and then cause a false Rapture to ruin both The Church and mutantkind. A horrible research flub, since the Roman Catholic Church doesn't believe in the Rapture, and it certainly doesn't have any end of days prophesies about the Pope being a demon (while, ironically, Nightcrawler is a devout Catholic — he would never go along with such a scheme, even assuming it were possible).
Religious Stereotype / int_1bdeba5a	featureApplicability	1.0
Religious Stereotype / int_1bdeba5a	featureConfidence	1.0
X-Men (Comic Book)	hasFeature	Religious Stereotype / int_1bdeba5a
Religious Stereotype / int_22211d68	type	Religious Stereotype
Religious Stereotype / int_22211d68	comment	Played with on an episode of Bones where an intern to the Jeffersonian is discovered to be faking a thick accent to avoid annoying questions about being both a devout Muslim and a highly educated man.
Religious Stereotype / int_22211d68	featureApplicability	1.0
Religious Stereotype / int_22211d68	featureConfidence	1.0
Bones	hasFeature	Religious Stereotype / int_22211d68
Religious Stereotype / int_261c8d3f	type	Religious Stereotype
Religious Stereotype / int_261c8d3f	comment	Ned Flanders in The Simpsons became this over time, going from a nice guy who happened to be Christian, to being a living stereotype as Writer on Board increasingly asserted its presence, naming a trope in the process. And all Buddhists will be the positive stereotype where they're all super enlightened peaceful people with no desires and no trouble getting on with anyone ever. However Lisa, the most relevant Buddhist character, is not always presented in a good light either, and Ned himself is hardly presented as a bad person (a little bit of a religious nut, but not mean or evil) and it's very popular among Christians themselves in a probable case of Misaimed Fandom. Marge is (sometimes) presented as a moderate Christian in contrast, so that may help a bit.
Religious Stereotype / int_261c8d3f	featureApplicability	1.0
Religious Stereotype / int_261c8d3f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Simpsons	hasFeature	Religious Stereotype / int_261c8d3f
Religious Stereotype / int_2ae406c1	type	Religious Stereotype
Religious Stereotype / int_2ae406c1	comment	Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri plays with this trope with merciless abandon: The most obvious example is The Lord's Believers, nominally a faction of fundamentalist Protestant Christians led by some hick American lady. They even have a debuff to scientific research because of their suspicion of science and a buff to espionage and mind control because of their religious fanaticism. Except that said hick American lady, Miriam Godwinson, got top marks in psychology at Yale, understands much of the science her followers are wary of, and has serious, philosophical things to say about where all this modern tech is taking humanity. Interestingly, the University of Planet has similar nuances. On the surface, the exact opposite of the Believers—a science-driven faction led by an atheist post-Soviet Russian professor, Prokhor Zakharov. They have of course a buff to research because of their love of science and a debuff to espionage because the academic freedom needed to support good research is bad for security. And they get credibly accused of playing dangerous games with their research. But Zakharov can match Godwinson aphorism-for-aphorism philosophically, and is one of the few on Planet who fully respects and (to an extent) admires the awesome power of Planet's fungal network, even calling it an "awakening alien god".
Religious Stereotype / int_2ae406c1	featureApplicability	1.0
Religious Stereotype / int_2ae406c1	featureConfidence	1.0
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (Video Game)	hasFeature	Religious Stereotype / int_2ae406c1
Religious Stereotype / int_365e9759	type	Religious Stereotype
Religious Stereotype / int_365e9759	comment	A Wolf in the Soul presents barely-religious Jews as leading somewhat meaningless and hypocritical existences. Atheist Jews, naturally, come off even worse.
Religious Stereotype / int_365e9759	featureApplicability	1.0
Religious Stereotype / int_365e9759	featureConfidence	1.0
A Wolf in the Soul	hasFeature	Religious Stereotype / int_365e9759
Religious Stereotype / int_3cc40e40	type	Religious Stereotype
Religious Stereotype / int_3cc40e40	comment	Averted in Everyday Heroes with Carrie Pelosi who, although quite devout, is the type of Christian who believes in teaching by example rather than preaching.
Religious Stereotype / int_3cc40e40	featureApplicability	-1.0
Religious Stereotype / int_3cc40e40	featureConfidence	1.0
Everyday Heroes (Webcomic)	hasFeature	Religious Stereotype / int_3cc40e40
Religious Stereotype / int_4e45b093	type	Religious Stereotype
Religious Stereotype / int_4e45b093	comment	On The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon's mother embodies every stereotype of a born-again evangelical Christian. And redneck.
Religious Stereotype / int_4e45b093	featureApplicability	1.0
Religious Stereotype / int_4e45b093	featureConfidence	1.0
The Big Bang Theory	hasFeature	Religious Stereotype / int_4e45b093
Religious Stereotype / int_58907201	type	Religious Stereotype
Religious Stereotype / int_58907201	comment	Seymour of Sinfest is definitely a caricature of the stereotypical evangelical Christan. Lil' Evil could also count, as your average evil Satanist stereotype. Characterization Marches On for both, though that's likely because of the comic's shift away from religious humor.
Religious Stereotype / int_58907201	featureApplicability	1.0
Religious Stereotype / int_58907201	featureConfidence	1.0
Sinfest (Webcomic)	hasFeature	Religious Stereotype / int_58907201
Religious Stereotype / int_7850acf6	type	Religious Stereotype
Religious Stereotype / int_7850acf6	comment	The Regulators, an alternate-universe companion to Desperation, does feature Reverend Hobart, a fundamentalist neighbor. When his son Hugh steals Seth's toy, there is evidence that Hugh was beaten for "giving in to the tempting voice of Satan." Reverend Hobart is then willing to let Seth's aunt Audrey spank Hugh again. But when Audrey merely wants him to say "I was wrong, I'm sorry, and I won't do it again," Reverend Hobart protests that this is browbeating.
Religious Stereotype / int_7850acf6	featureApplicability	1.0
Religious Stereotype / int_7850acf6	featureConfidence	1.0
The Regulators	hasFeature	Religious Stereotype / int_7850acf6
Religious Stereotype / int_ac978b2	type	Religious Stereotype
Religious Stereotype / int_ac978b2	comment	Similar to the Caliphate example above, in In the Year 2050: America's Religious Civil War, Muslims apparently live only to oppress and murder non-Muslims, as even after they secure Congress, the Presidency, and a majority of the population of the US, there are still weekly suicide bombings President Osama bin Muhammed needs to call off to trick the infidels into believing Islam is a peaceful, friendly religion, while imposing brutal Sharia law. Ira Tabankin is fond of this in general; his book The Last Crusade features a world war against Straw Muslims fitting every negative stereotype you've ever heard of or imagined.
Religious Stereotype / int_ac978b2	featureApplicability	1.0
Religious Stereotype / int_ac978b2	featureConfidence	1.0
Caliphate	hasFeature	Religious Stereotype / int_ac978b2
Religious Stereotype / int_adfe9cfc	type	Religious Stereotype
Religious Stereotype / int_adfe9cfc	comment	Similarly, an earlier X-Men graphic novel (God Loves, Man Kills) also had a fundamentalist persecute mutants. Ironic in that the villain of the story was later used in the second X-Men movie, but as a military leader. It's not quite as extreme an example as most, as the bigoted fanaticism of Stryker was contrasted with the benevolent devoutness of Nightcrawler and others, and the story ends with his own followers turning against him when he crosses the Moral Event Horizon.
Religious Stereotype / int_adfe9cfc	featureApplicability	1.0
Religious Stereotype / int_adfe9cfc	featureConfidence	1.0
God Loves, Man Kills (Comic Book)	hasFeature	Religious Stereotype / int_adfe9cfc
Religious Stereotype / int_b481fb8d	type	Religious Stereotype
Religious Stereotype / int_b481fb8d	comment	Gil Marverde from Ava's Demon has several stereotypes regarding his worship of TITAN. On the negative side, he is nigh-fanatic, misguided, a bit out-of-touch with reality, and doesn't take well to people pointing out the logical flaws of his religion. On the positive side, he's the genuinely nicest and most selfless of the main characters as well as an aspiring doctor.
Religious Stereotype / int_b481fb8d	featureApplicability	1.0
Religious Stereotype / int_b481fb8d	featureConfidence	1.0
Ava's Demon (Webcomic)	hasFeature	Religious Stereotype / int_b481fb8d
Religious Stereotype / int_bcadd7cb	type	Religious Stereotype
Religious Stereotype / int_bcadd7cb	comment	Everyone in Warhammer 40,000 is a Religious Stereotype. And a fanatic. With a chainsword.
Religious Stereotype / int_bcadd7cb	featureApplicability	1.0
Religious Stereotype / int_bcadd7cb	featureConfidence	1.0
Warhammer 40,000 (Tabletop Game)	hasFeature	Religious Stereotype / int_bcadd7cb
Religious Stereotype / int_cd95b8df	type	Religious Stereotype
Religious Stereotype / int_cd95b8df	comment	Dead Space has a Church of Happyology. In fact, according to a log you only get after beating the first game, said religion managed to get enough influence to get all dissenting books (including presumably other religious texts) banned, leaving them pretty much the only major religion remaining.
Religious Stereotype / int_cd95b8df	featureApplicability	1.0
Religious Stereotype / int_cd95b8df	featureConfidence	1.0
Dead Space (Franchise)	hasFeature	Religious Stereotype / int_cd95b8df
Religious Stereotype / int_d8d79afa	type	Religious Stereotype
Religious Stereotype / int_d8d79afa	comment	The president in Escape from L.A. is a Christian theocratic zealot who now serves for life and instituted repressive laws punishing everyone who doesn't abide by his moral strictures (or are non-Christians), sending them to a penal colony.
Religious Stereotype / int_d8d79afa	featureApplicability	1.0
Religious Stereotype / int_d8d79afa	featureConfidence	1.0
Escape from L.A.	hasFeature	Religious Stereotype / int_d8d79afa
Religious Stereotype / int_da861da1	type	Religious Stereotype
Religious Stereotype / int_da861da1	comment	Played with on an episode of Veronica Mars where Veronica's investigation involves the conservative preacher father of a friend. The preacher's assistant fits the fundie stereotype to a T as well as being the villain of the episode. On the other hand, the friend's father turns out to be both honest and compassionate.
Religious Stereotype / int_da861da1	featureApplicability	1.0
Religious Stereotype / int_da861da1	featureConfidence	1.0
Veronica Mars	hasFeature	Religious Stereotype / int_da861da1
Religious Stereotype / int_dc4363c5	type	Religious Stereotype
Religious Stereotype / int_dc4363c5	comment	On True Blood, the Fellowship of the Sun seems to be a compilation of every possible negative stereotype the authors could find for southerners, religion, and/or southern churches.
Religious Stereotype / int_dc4363c5	featureApplicability	1.0
Religious Stereotype / int_dc4363c5	featureConfidence	1.0
True Blood	hasFeature	Religious Stereotype / int_dc4363c5
Religious Stereotype / int_dd1242ef	type	Religious Stereotype
Religious Stereotype / int_dd1242ef	comment	Aunt Esther from Sanford and Son is portrayed as a judgmental, Bible-thumping loudmouth who usually wears a very unpleasant lemon-lips facial expression.
Religious Stereotype / int_dd1242ef	featureApplicability	1.0
Religious Stereotype / int_dd1242ef	featureConfidence	1.0
Sanford and Son	hasFeature	Religious Stereotype / int_dd1242ef
Religious Stereotype / int_ea4f62db	type	Religious Stereotype
Religious Stereotype / int_ea4f62db	comment	The majority of Christians on Family Guy are depicted as conservative, hypocritical, and intolerant. Jews get much better treatment, but the most recurring Jewish character is the whiny, hypochondriac, money-obsessed Mort Goldman. And all Muslim characters are Middle Eastern terrorists.
Religious Stereotype / int_ea4f62db	featureApplicability	1.0
Religious Stereotype / int_ea4f62db	featureConfidence	1.0
Family Guy	hasFeature	Religious Stereotype / int_ea4f62db
Religious Stereotype / int_fa44b9bb	type	Religious Stereotype
Religious Stereotype / int_fa44b9bb	comment	Carrie (1976)'s mother, Margaret White, in the movie but more prominently in the book, is a psychotic religious nut who believes periods are punishments from God. It's not clear if she's a fundamentalist with some very whacked-out views or a member of a vaguely Christian cult. Regardless, it's not the most flattering portrayal.
Religious Stereotype / int_fa44b9bb	featureApplicability	1.0
Religious Stereotype / int_fa44b9bb	featureConfidence	1.0
Carrie (1976)	hasFeature	Religious Stereotype / int_fa44b9bb
Religious Stereotype / int_fbd1bc11	type	Religious Stereotype
Religious Stereotype / int_fbd1bc11	comment	Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating: Hani, a Muslim, is annoyed by the stereotypes non-Muslims have of her faith, but feels that attempting to disabuse them isn't worth it.
Religious Stereotype / int_fbd1bc11	featureApplicability	1.0
Religious Stereotype / int_fbd1bc11	featureConfidence	1.0
Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating	hasFeature	Religious Stereotype / int_fbd1bc11

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

Religious Stereotype	processingCategory2	Religion Tropes
Religious Stereotype	processingCategory2	Stereotype
So, What Colour Is Your Toothbrush? (Fanfic) / int_926425c8	type	Religious Stereotype
Paul / int_926425c8	type	Religious Stereotype
The Hammer / int_926425c8	type	Religious Stereotype
A Wolf in the Soul / int_926425c8	type	Religious Stereotype
Seeds of Yesterday / int_926425c8	type	Religious Stereotype
SeedsofYesterday	seeAlso	Religious Stereotype
Louie / int_926425c8	type	Religious Stereotype
Sanford and Son / int_926425c8	type	Religious Stereotype
Veronica Mars / int_926425c8	type	Religious Stereotype
Pilot Program (Theatre) / int_926425c8	type	Religious Stereotype
Mumkey Jones (Web Video) / int_926425c8	type	Religious Stereotype
Ava's Demon (Webcomic) / int_926425c8	type	Religious Stereotype

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