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** To be fair, there is a rank in the hierarchy of angels, called "Powers", which are made up of human souls who were "made perfect by their righteousness". They're technically not angels, just drafted human souls. Also, the apocryphal "Book of Enoch" and many of the earliest Kabbalist writings believed the angel Metatron is actually the Prophet Enoch transformed, while Sandalphon is the Prophet Elijah.
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* Conflating all of Wicca with Dianic Wicca. Dianic Wicca either completely ignores the Horned God, or places sole supremacy on the Goddess. Many sects within Dianic Wicca are also female only. This contradicts most other Wiccan sects belief that there must be a balance between genders (at it's most extreme, some Wiccan sects require an equal number of males and females in a coven). As a result, many Wiccan sects do not consider Dianic Wicca to be true Wicca. Dianic Wicca has reacted by agreeing with the sentiment and distancing itself from the name Wicca, calling their faith either "Dianic Witchcraft" or "Dianic Feminist Witchcraft". Nonetheless, most representations of Wicca in the media is based on Dianic Wicca, usually of the solitary practitioner variety.
* All Wicca being at odds with Christian symbolism. In truth, the oldest form of Wicca, Gardnerian Wicca, has references to the Bible. Spells invoke the names of prophets, saints, angels, and Jesus, though this is often alongside the names of gods from other pantheons. In fact, the Virgin Mary is believed to be one of the forms of the Goddess. It is true, however, that later forms of Wicca have de-emphasized or removed these references, for a variety of reasons, including Christian persecution.
* All Wicca being at odds with Christian symbolism. In truth, the oldest form of Wicca, Gardnerian Wicca, has references to the Bible. Spells invoke the names of prophets, saints, angels, and Jesus, though this is often alongside the names of gods from other pantheons. In fact, the Virgin Mary is believed to be one of the forms of the Goddess. It is true, however, that later forms of Wicca have de-emphasized or removed these references, for a variety of reasons, including Christian persecution.
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* ''SidMeiersAlphaCentauri'': For some reason Sid, or at least his design team, thinks that communists are rabid religious fanatics. The game's ominously named [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Human Hive]], better known as the 'Despot' faction, features archetypal Asian communist leader, 'Chairman Sheng-ji Yang', who gives an awful lot of his bases [[BuffySpeak religiony-sounding]] names. Quite apart from the fact that, in the words of its very creators, most influential proponents, supporters, and practitioners, communism is ''explicitly'' founded on atheism and is very militantly opposed to religion of any kind.
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* ''SidMeiersAlphaCentauri'': For some reason Sid, or at least his design team, thinks that communists are rabid religious fanatics. The game's ominously named [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Human Hive]], better known as the 'Despot' faction, features archetypal Asian communist leader, 'Chairman Sheng-ji Yang', who gives an awful lot of his bases [[BuffySpeak religiony-sounding]] names. Quite apart from the fact that, in the words of its very creators, most influential proponents, supporters, and practitioners, and its very creators, communism is ''explicitly'' founded on atheism and is very militantly opposed to religion of any kind.
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* ''SidMeiersAlphaCentauri'': For some reason Sid, or at least his design team, thinks that communists are rabid religious fanatics. The game's ominously named [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Human Hive]], better known as the 'Despot' faction features archetypal Asian communist leader, 'Chairman Sheng-ji Yang'', who gives an awful lot of his bases [[BuffySpeak religiony-sounding]] names. Quite apart from the fact that, in the words of its very creators, most influential proponents, supporters, and practitioners, communism is ''explicitly'' founded on atheism and is very militantly opposed to religion of any kind.
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* ''SidMeiersAlphaCentauri'': For some reason Sid, or at least his design team, thinks that communists are rabid religious fanatics. The game's ominously named [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Human Hive]], better known as the 'Despot' faction faction, features archetypal Asian communist leader, 'Chairman Sheng-ji Yang'', Yang', who gives an awful lot of his bases [[BuffySpeak religiony-sounding]] names. Quite apart from the fact that, in the words of its very creators, most influential proponents, supporters, and practitioners, communism is ''explicitly'' founded on atheism and is very militantly opposed to religion of any kind.
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[[folder:Computer & Video Games]]
* ''SidMeiersAlphaCentauri'': For some reason Sid, or at least his design team, thinks that communists are rabid religious fanatics. The game's ominously named [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Human Hive]], better known as the 'Despot' faction features archetypal Asian communist leader, 'Chairman Sheng-ji Yang'', who gives an awful lot of his bases [[BuffySpeak religiony-sounding]] names. Quite apart from the fact that, in the words of its very creators, most influential proponents, supporters, and practitioners, communism is ''explicitly'' founded on atheism and is very militantly opposed to religion of any kind.
[[/folder]]
* ''SidMeiersAlphaCentauri'': For some reason Sid, or at least his design team, thinks that communists are rabid religious fanatics. The game's ominously named [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Human Hive]], better known as the 'Despot' faction features archetypal Asian communist leader, 'Chairman Sheng-ji Yang'', who gives an awful lot of his bases [[BuffySpeak religiony-sounding]] names. Quite apart from the fact that, in the words of its very creators, most influential proponents, supporters, and practitioners, communism is ''explicitly'' founded on atheism and is very militantly opposed to religion of any kind.
[[/folder]]
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***It also is said to be a symbol of Christs warning other Christs of Nero's persecution, as the numerical values for N+e+r+o are 616, and for Neron, another version of his name, are 666.
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*** Actually, only ultra-Orthodox girls don't have Bat Mitzvah celebrations. Most Orthodox girls do, at twelve. Most Reform girls celebrate their Bat Mitzvah at thirteen.
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Sometimes, authors, script writers, ''etc''. simply [[DidNotDoTheResearch don't do the research]] when it comes to {{religion|Tropes}} in their work. Well, 0k, more than sometimes.... Often it's laughable, as when a hack writer/bomb-thrower attempting a TakeThat against a particular faith demonstrates he knows absolutely zip about his targets and their beliefs. Most believers will gladly tell you everything you want to know and leave you with a free copy of their holy text(s)—it's not like the research is difficult.
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Sometimes, authors, script writers, ''etc''. simply [[DidNotDoTheResearch don't do the research]] when it comes to {{religion|Tropes}} in their work. Well, 0k, ok, more than sometimes.... Often it's laughable, as when a hack writer/bomb-thrower attempting a TakeThat against a particular faith demonstrates he knows absolutely zip about his targets and their beliefs. Most believers will gladly tell you everything you want to know and leave you with a free copy of their holy text(s)—it's not like the research is difficult.
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* According to urban legend, a Japanese department store put a display of Santa Claus nailed to a cross up for Christmas.
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* In the ''AmericanDad'' episode "Rapture's Delight," Stan expects the rapture despite being an Episcopalian. The whole episode follows the RuleOfFunny by overdramatizing even the already overdramatized ideas perpetuated by things such as the LeftBehind books. A lot of stuff doesn't match up with even the most rudimentary aspects of Rapture belief.
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* In the ''AmericanDad'' ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' episode "Rapture's Delight," Stan expects the rapture despite being an Episcopalian. The whole episode follows the RuleOfFunny by overdramatizing even the already overdramatized ideas perpetuated by things such as the LeftBehind books. A lot of stuff doesn't match up with even the most rudimentary aspects of Rapture belief.
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Tempted to do a natter cleanup after that . . .
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** There ARE some very serious opinions around this, often with some academical background. These, however, tend to get into realms beyond what most people see, often base around things like common sources of religious experience or very general similarities (the most extreme would be along the lines of "all religions are same in the fact that they base on faith in unprovable facts" or something similar). In 99.9% of cases, anyone claiming this is basing their opinion on popular (and largely ecclectical) ideas and works, but that doesnt mean the last tiny bit of opinions might not have something credible in them.
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** There ARE some very serious opinions around this, often with some academical background. These, however, tend to get into realms beyond what most people see, often base around things like common sources of religious experience or very general similarities (the most extreme would be along the lines of "all religions are same in the fact that they base on faith in unprovable facts" or something similar). In 99.9% of cases, anyone claiming this is basing their opinion on popular (and largely ecclectical) eclectic) ideas and works, but that doesnt doesn't mean the last tiny bit of opinions might not have something credible in them.
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*** The first one would be agnosticism, while latter would be atheism, most probably. If I dont believe positivelly in anything, I am agnostic - I HAVE TO state my disbelief in religions in general in order to be atheist. At least according to most common definition of terms. Simply said - if I admit I cant prove existence or nonexistence, I am agnostic; if I claim nonexistence, I am atheist. Thats why it often get thrown into religion bucket - with argument that "you believe there is nothing without proof of nonexistence, therefore you have belief and belief is religion". Popular usage of word atheist, though, often ignores this distinction, though.
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*** The first one would be agnosticism, while latter would be atheism, most probably. If I dont don't believe positivelly positively in anything, I am agnostic - I HAVE TO state my disbelief in religions in general in order to be atheist. At least according to most common definition of terms. Simply said - if I admit I cant prove existence or nonexistence, I am agnostic; if I claim nonexistence, I am atheist. Thats That's why it often get thrown into religion bucket - with argument that "you believe there is nothing without proof of nonexistence, therefore you have belief and belief is religion". Popular usage of word atheist, though, often ignores this distinction, though.
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** A particularly bad case was the episode about the warlock/deacon, which only made sense by claiming that ordination as a priest would somehow confer additional "protection" against evil magic.. especially as deacons are already in Holy Orders.
*** This one could actually show some spark of Christian influence - you know, power of God (or Christ? Someone with more knowledge feel free to edit this) protecting one agaist evil. Seems bit vague, though - more like the subtle Christianity influence one finds in...VAST mayority of US-originating shows than anything Wicca-related. Though get interesting undertones if one would be into theories about Catholic church being kind of magic-monopoly organisation (in certain circles, these are popular) with priests being main magic users and ordination being necessary to use this magic, which would make the guy "switching" magical systems, becoming useless for his previous comrades...but this is probably overestimating the show. This is Charmed afterall.
*** This one could actually show some spark of Christian influence - you know, power of God (or Christ? Someone with more knowledge feel free to edit this) protecting one agaist evil. Seems bit vague, though - more like the subtle Christianity influence one finds in...VAST mayority of US-originating shows than anything Wicca-related. Though get interesting undertones if one would be into theories about Catholic church being kind of magic-monopoly organisation (in certain circles, these are popular) with priests being main magic users and ordination being necessary to use this magic, which would make the guy "switching" magical systems, becoming useless for his previous comrades...but this is probably overestimating the show. This is Charmed afterall.
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** A particularly bad case was the episode about the warlock/deacon, which only made sense by claiming that ordination as a priest would somehow confer additional "protection" against evil magic..magic. . . especially as deacons are already in Holy Orders.
*** This one could actually show some spark of Christian influence - you know, power of God (or Christ? Someone with more knowledge feel free to edit this) protecting oneagaist against evil. Seems bit vague, though - more like the subtle Christianity influence one finds in...in . . . VAST mayority majority of US-originating shows than anything Wicca-related. Though get interesting undertones if one would be into theories about Catholic church being kind of magic-monopoly organisation organization (in certain circles, these are popular) with priests being main magic users and ordination being necessary to use this magic, which would make the guy "switching" magical systems, becoming useless for his previous comrades...comrades . . . but this is probably overestimating the show. This is Charmed afterall.after all.
*** This one could actually show some spark of Christian influence - you know, power of God (or Christ? Someone with more knowledge feel free to edit this) protecting one
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*** Dont forget she was burn in Salem. Anyone who frequents TV Tropes knows the drill.
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*** Dont Don't forget she was burn in Salem. Anyone who frequents TV Tropes knows the drill.
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** There ARE some very serious opinions around this, often with some academical background. These, however, tend to get into realms beyond what most people see, often base around things like common sources of religious experience or very general similarities (the most extreme would be along the lines of "all religions are same in the fact that they base on faith in unprovable facts" or something similar). In 99.9% of cases, anyone claiming this is basing their opinion on popular (and largely ecclectical) ideas and works, but that doesnt mean the last tiny bit of opinions might not have something credible in them.
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*** The first one would be agnosticism, while latter would be atheism, most probably. If I dont believe positivelly in anything, I am agnostic - I HAVE TO state my disbelief in religions in general in order to be atheist. At least according to most common definition of terms. Simply said - if I admit I cant prove existence or nonexistence, I am agnostic; if I claim nonexistence, I am atheist. Thats why it often get thrown into religion bucket - with argument that "you believe there is nothing without proof of nonexistence, therefore you have belief and belief is religion". Popular usage of word atheist, though, often ignores this distinction, though.
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*** This one could actually show some spark of Christian influence - you know, power of God (or Christ? Someone with more knowledge feel free to edit this) protecting one agaist evil. Seems bit vague, though - more like the subtle Christianity influence one finds in...VAST mayority of US-originating shows than anything Wicca-related. Though get interesting undertones if one would be into theories about Catholic church being kind of magic-monopoly organisation (in certain circles, these are popular) with priests being main magic users and ordination being necessary to use this magic, which would make the guy "switching" magical systems, becoming useless for his previous comrades...but this is probably overestimating the show. This is Charmed afterall.
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*** Dont forget she was burn in Salem. Anyone who frequents TV Tropes knows the drill.
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* Most Christians, quite simply, do not believe in The Rapture/7 Year Tribulation/One World Conspiracy [[TropeCodifier popularized]] by the Left Behind novels/films. It is a [[NewerThanTheyThink relatively recent theory]] and mostly held to by Evangelical Protestants, and generally ignored in other Christian Traditions. Eschatology (Study of Last Things) has been discussed and debated since the very earliest days of the Church and the only things generally agreed upon near universally by Christians is Jesus is Coming Back, He will judge the world, and Heaven and Earth will be destroyed and remade. To make things even more complicated, there is even debate about what that last part even means.
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** Many would argue that the offensiveness of the upside down cross is dependant on the purpose behind the usage of the symbol. Like the Swastika, it can be utterly harmless (in the aforementioned Roman Catholic usage) or offensive (usually used in a mocking sense). The Reason it is associated as satanic or evil by many is because sometimes it really is used this way. Symbols are meaningless until they are given meaning.
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Fixing an error i made
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** [[BlackAndWhiteMorality Dualism]] influenced some sects of early Christian Gnosticism, & some were quite open to the possibility of two equal deities. Then the [[HijackedByJesus Council of Nicaea]] decided to take issue with some
** Beyond the issue of relative power or lack thereof, Satan is believed to have already been defeated via Jesus' Crucifixion and Resurrection, and is at this point on borrowed time waiting for the other foot to come down.
[[NoSuchThingAsWizardJesus creative differences]] found in [[TheHeretic Gnostic beliefs]], wrote up a [[GodIsGood Creed]], & [[ChurchMilitant set up shop]].
** Beyond the issue of relative power or lack thereof, Satan is believed to have already been defeated via Jesus' Crucifixion and Resurrection, and is at this point on borrowed time waiting for the other foot to come down.
[[NoSuchThingAsWizardJesus creative differences]] found in [[TheHeretic Gnostic beliefs]], wrote up a [[GodIsGood Creed]], & [[ChurchMilitant set up shop]].
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** [[BlackAndWhiteMorality Dualism]] influenced some sects of early Christian Gnosticism, & some were quite open to the possibility of two equal deities. Then the [[HijackedByJesus Council of Nicaea]] decided to take issue with some
some [[NoSuchThingAsWizardJesus creative differences]] found in [[TheHeretic Gnostic beliefs]], wrote up a [[GodIsGood Creed]], & [[ChurchMilitant set up shop]].
** Beyond the issue of relative power or lack thereof, Satan is believed to have already been defeated via Jesus' Crucifixion and Resurrection, and is at this point on borrowed time waiting for the other foot to come down. \n[[NoSuchThingAsWizardJesus creative differences]] found in [[TheHeretic Gnostic beliefs]], wrote up a [[GodIsGood Creed]], & [[ChurchMilitant set up shop]].
** Beyond the issue of relative power or lack thereof, Satan is believed to have already been defeated via Jesus' Crucifixion and Resurrection, and is at this point on borrowed time waiting for the other foot to come down.
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** [[BlackAndWhiteMorality Dualism]] influenced some sects of early Christian Gnosticism, & some were quite open to the possibility of two equal deities. Then the [[HijackedByJesus Council of Nicaea]] decided to take issue with some [[NoSuchThingAsWizardJesus creative differences]] found in [[TheHeretic Gnostic beliefs]], wrote up a [[GodIsGood Creed]], & [[ChurchMilitant set up shop]].
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** [[BlackAndWhiteMorality Dualism]] influenced some sects of early Christian Gnosticism, & some were quite open to the possibility of two equal deities. Then the [[HijackedByJesus Council of Nicaea]] decided to take issue with some some
** Beyond the issue of relative power or lack thereof, Satan is believed to have already been defeated via Jesus' Crucifixion and Resurrection, and is at this point on borrowed time waiting for the other foot to come down.
[[NoSuchThingAsWizardJesus creative differences]] found in [[TheHeretic Gnostic beliefs]], wrote up a [[GodIsGood Creed]], & [[ChurchMilitant set up shop]].
** Beyond the issue of relative power or lack thereof, Satan is believed to have already been defeated via Jesus' Crucifixion and Resurrection, and is at this point on borrowed time waiting for the other foot to come down.
[[NoSuchThingAsWizardJesus creative differences]] found in [[TheHeretic Gnostic beliefs]], wrote up a [[GodIsGood Creed]], & [[ChurchMilitant set up shop]].
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** Also, when discussing polygamy it's important to remember that the historical context of polygamy wasn't very sexy - polygamy happened so that something could be done with a woman nobody knew what else to do with, such as a widow who had nobody left to provide for her. In small, struggling communities without a lot of self-sufficient single men to go around a few men had to double up on their responsibilities. It was often considered a sad duty to take another mouth to feed into your home. (Polygamy in Islam tended to work the same way.) Now that we have women getting jobs and educations, and a welfare system and so on, the practice is not very relevant.
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* On the ''[[{{QI}} QI panel game]]'', (You know, ''[[{{Irony}} the one that centres its entire premise around dispelling common misconceptions]]'') Steven Fry ''very'' gleefully stated as outright fact ([[ManipulativeBastard in the Christmas special, no less]]) that the whole of Christianity is based on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithras_in_comparison_with_other_belief_systems#Mithraism_and_Christian_Theology Mithraic Mystery Cult]] Quite apart from the fact that we know almost nothing about them (well the were a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin mystery]] cult), ''everything we do know'' contradicts each and every single claim made on the show (and by very, very, many others besides them). Sorry QI, but [[YouFailHistoryForever You Fail History]] and [[YouFailReligiousStudiesForever Religious Studies Forever]].
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* On the ''[[{{QI}} QI panel game]]'', (You know, ''[[{{Irony}} the one that centres its entire premise around dispelling common misconceptions]]'') Steven Fry ''very'' gleefully stated as outright fact ([[ManipulativeBastard in the Christmas special, no less]]) that the whole of Christianity is based on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithras_in_comparison_with_other_belief_systems#Mithraism_and_Christian_Theology Mithraic Mystery Cult]] Quite apart from the fact that we know almost nothing about them (well the were they ''were'' a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin mystery]] cult), ''everything we do know'' contradicts each and every single claim made on the show (and by very, very, many others besides them). Sorry QI, but [[YouFailHistoryForever You Fail History]] and [[YouFailReligiousStudiesForever Religious Studies Forever]].
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** Even in regards to Christian beliefs, horns are very commonly used as a reference simply to strength or power throughout both the New and Old Testaments--it shows up in the prophecies of David and Revelation, for example, and is a frequent image in the Psalms, where it's used as a reference to God Himself!
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** And the idea that the phrase Bar Mitzvah specifically refers to the ceremony and/or party is at least a bit simplistic. At the age of 13, a Jewish boy ''becomes'' a Bar Mitzvah (Literally: "son of the commandment" i.e. a person fully responsible for living by Jewish law), regardless of whether he takes part in a ceremony or has a party.
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** However, it has to be said that an inverted ''crucifix'' (that is, a cross with a figure of Christ in it) is a very offensive thing. A cross by itself, inverted, has no offensive connotations. An inverted crucifix very much '''does'''.
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Correct, don\'t comment.
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* Catholicism is often claimed to be quasi-polytheistic by non-Catholics (veneration of saints and the Mother Mary). While humans in general tend to be polytheistic, Catholics don't actually worship the saints, including St Mary, any more than they worship icons such as the crucifix. They usually get annoyed when people accuse them of this. The idea that they do was first coined by Pagans and directed towards ''all'' Christians, but the modern idea that this is the case is not much more than a rumour created by dissenting Protestants. In actual fact, when Catholics pray to the saints they ask them to 'intercede' with God on their behalf. In the Catholic faith, worship of saints is very heavily frowned upon - though not even half as much as worship of idols, which (they consider to) have no worth or conciousness. This is also true of Islam: Islam as practised by most ordinary Muslims includes a belief in saints and the holiness of their shrines, and praying at these sites hoping for intercession, even as purist "Salafis" and others scream and yell (and occasionally tear down a shrine).
** The above note even DidNotDotheResearch: Catholics do NOT call Mary the Mother of God "St. Mary." She's referred to by many titles, most commonly the Blessed Virgin Mary but up to and including "Queen of Heaven" but she isn't considered a saint per se. If anything she 'outranks' the saints (logically, though; who are you going to go to if you want help talking to a good Jewish boy? His mother.) There are lots of Ste Marys, but only one Blessed Virgin Mary.
** The above note even DidNotDotheResearch: Catholics do NOT call Mary the Mother of God "St. Mary." She's referred to by many titles, most commonly the Blessed Virgin Mary but up to and including "Queen of Heaven" but she isn't considered a saint per se. If anything she 'outranks' the saints (logically, though; who are you going to go to if you want help talking to a good Jewish boy? His mother.) There are lots of Ste Marys, but only one Blessed Virgin Mary.
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* Catholicism is often claimed to be quasi-polytheistic by non-Catholics (veneration of saints and the Mother Mary). While humans in general tend to be polytheistic, Catholics don't actually worship the saints, including St Mary, any more than they worship icons such as the crucifix. They usually get annoyed when people accuse them of this. The idea that they do was first coined by Pagans and directed towards ''all'' Christians, but the modern idea that this is the case is not much more than a rumour created by dissenting Protestants. In actual fact, when Catholics pray to the saints they ask them to 'intercede' with God on their behalf. In the Catholic faith, worship of saints is very heavily frowned upon - though not even half as much as worship of idols, which (they consider to) have no worth or conciousness. consciousness. This is also true of Islam: Islam as practised practiced by most ordinary Muslims includes a belief in saints and the holiness of their shrines, and praying at these sites hoping for intercession, even as purist "Salafis" and others scream and yell (and occasionally tear down a shrine).
** The above note even DidNotDotheResearch: Catholics do NOT call Mary the Mother of God "St. Mary." She's referred to by many titles, most commonly the Blessed Virgin Mary but up to and including "Queen of Heaven" but she isn't considered a saint per se. If anything she 'outranks' the saints (logically, though; who are you going to go to if you want help talking to a good Jewish boy? His mother.) There are lots of Ste Marys, but only one Blessed Virgin Mary.shrine).
** The above note even DidNotDotheResearch: Catholics do NOT call Mary the Mother of God "St. Mary." She's referred to by many titles, most commonly the Blessed Virgin Mary but up to and including "Queen of Heaven" but she isn't considered a saint per se. If anything she 'outranks' the saints (logically, though; who are you going to go to if you want help talking to a good Jewish boy? His mother.) There are lots of Ste Marys, but only one Blessed Virgin Mary.
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** The above note even DidNotDotheResearch: Catholics do NOT call Mary the Mother of God "St. Mary." She's referred to by many titles, most commonly the Blessed Virgin Mary but up to and including "Queen of Heaven" but she isn't considered a saint per se. If anything she 'outranks' the saints (logically, though; who are you going to go to if you want help talking to a good Jewish boy? His mother.) There are lots of Ste Marys, but only one Blessed Virgin Mary.
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Some fridge brilliance (for which I can\'t really claim credit)
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*** Jesus' mention of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" [[FridgeBrilliance makes a lot more sense]] if you read it not as "Thou shalt take revenge", but as "Thou shalt not take ''disproportionate'' revenge". It makes more sense because in that whole passage, Jesus is saying, "Here's what the Law says you should/shouldn't do, as a bare minimum. I say go further than the minimum."
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** In the above context, the word "Secret" is closer to what we would call "private".
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* The statement that all religions are the same. This statement can easily be disproven by contrasting the Christian concept of people as material-spiritual beings, with the Hindu and Buddhist concept of transmigration of the soul, or by contrasting the Catholic two-in-one-flesh concept of marriage, with the traditional Muslim idea, which permits divorce, temporary marriage, and polygamy.
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Moving QI to Real Life, as it is
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[[folder:Real Life]]
* On the ''[[{{QI}} QI panel game]]'', (You know, ''[[{{Irony}} the one that centres its entire premise around dispelling common misconceptions]]'') Steven Fry ''very'' gleefully stated as outright fact ([[ManipulativeBastard in the Christmas special, no less]]) that the whole of Christianity is based on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithras_in_comparison_with_other_belief_systems#Mithraism_and_Christian_Theology Mithraic Mystery Cult]] Quite apart from the fact that we know almost nothing about them (well the were a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin mystery]] cult), ''everything we do know'' contradicts each and every single claim made on the show (and by very, very, many others besides them). Sorry QI, but [[YouFailHistoryForever You Fail History]] and [[YouFailReligiousStudiesForever Religious Studies Forever]].
[[/folder]]
* On the ''[[{{QI}} QI panel game]]'', (You know, ''[[{{Irony}} the one that centres its entire premise around dispelling common misconceptions]]'') Steven Fry ''very'' gleefully stated as outright fact ([[ManipulativeBastard in the Christmas special, no less]]) that the whole of Christianity is based on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithras_in_comparison_with_other_belief_systems#Mithraism_and_Christian_Theology Mithraic Mystery Cult]] Quite apart from the fact that we know almost nothing about them (well the were a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin mystery]] cult), ''everything we do know'' contradicts each and every single claim made on the show (and by very, very, many others besides them). Sorry QI, but [[YouFailHistoryForever You Fail History]] and [[YouFailReligiousStudiesForever Religious Studies Forever]].
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->''How many people do you have to root to become a saint?''
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->Alice: "So, why are you out here?"
->Bob: [[ExpospeakGag "'Irreconcilable theo-philosophical differences with society at large.'"]]
->Alice: "HERESY!!!"
->Bob: "If you want to be *vulgar* about it, then yes, heresy."
->Bob: [[ExpospeakGag "'Irreconcilable theo-philosophical differences with society at large.'"]]
->Alice: "HERESY!!!"
->Bob: "If you want to be *vulgar* about it, then yes, heresy."
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->Bob: [[ExpospeakGag "'Irreconcilable theo-philosophical differences with society at large.'"]]
->Alice: "HERESY!!!"
->Bob: "If you want to be *vulgar* about it, then yes, heresy."
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-->--'''Mick Molloy''', complaining about Mary [=McKillop=] becoming Australia's first saint instead of him.
->Alice: "So, why are you out here?"
->Bob: [[ExpospeakGag "'Irreconcilable theo-philosophical differences with society at large.'"]]
->Alice: "HERESY!!!"
->Bob: "If you want to be *vulgar* about it, then yes, heresy."
Sometimes, authors, script writers, ''etc''. simply [[DidNotDoTheResearch don't do the research]] when it comes to {{religion|Tropes}} in their work. Well, 0k, more than sometimes.... Often it's laughable, as when a hack writer/bomb-thrower attempting a TakeThat against a particular faith demonstrates he knows absolutely zip about his targets and their beliefs. Most believers will gladly tell you everything you want to know and leave you with a free copy of their holy text(s)—it's not like the research is difficult.
See also HijackedByJesus, SadlyMythtaken, SymbologyResearchFailure, HollywoodVoodoo, ChristianityIsCatholic and NunsAreMikos.
If you really want to know about the religions, why, [[ShownTheirWork look no further than our]] UsefulNotes pages.
While we can understand your love for a show, please refrain from making {{justifying edit}}s based on your personal [[WildMassGuessing theories]] or [[{{Fanon}} explanations]]. That's what the discussion pages are for. Also be aware of the NoTrueScotsman Fallacy; a lot of things in religion are open to ([[DidNotDoTheResearch m]][[SelfDemonstratingArticle i]][[ForWantOfANail s]])interpretation, and for every alternate theory, there's bound to be some group that takes it deadly seriously. This is more about claiming such-and-such a belief is mainstream, or explicitly stated in a certain religion's scriptures or equivalent thereof, when it's not.
----
!!General Misconceptions:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:All Religions]]
* It is generally portrayed that within each religion there is an agreement on what is canon. This couldn't be more wrong and in fact, there are more arguments over canon than in any other literary type. This is because, unlike in fiction it could be really important to figure this out.
* Anyone talking about native traditions that they read in a book is probably wrong. There are many such books, and they either have 19th-century anthropological biases, or more recently are an attempt to spread ideology (e.g., Ruth Beebe Hill spreading Objectivism) or make money (e.g., Robert "Ghost Wolf" Franzone).
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[[folder:Buddhism/Hinduism]]
* Anyone who claims Buddhism is not a religion, or that it is nihilist, is just plain misinformed. Most forms of modern Buddhism state that while everyone/most living beings has/have a "soul", [[OurSoulsAreDifferent there is no such thing as a 'self']]. (As in, the 'self' is in fact a chain of thoughts that never stops changing, so there is nothing completely immutable about anyone, but this chain follows with the soul to reincarnation. Thus, your reincarnation will be not entirely the same as you, but also will not be entirely different from you.) The goal of Buddhism is to realize this, and thus avoid reincarnation. The point is that nothing is permanent, not that there is no point at all. Buddhists do not worship gods, so in that sense Buddhism could be considered atheistic, but still place importance on beings with miraculous abilities like Buddhas, Boddhisattvas and the like.
** Buddhism tends to believe the gods exist, but worshiping them does no one any good and these gods as well as all demons, spirits, monsters and the like need to practice Buddhism and reach Nirvana as well as they are trapped in Samsara (the material world) like the rest of us. Buddhist texts only make mention of Hindu gods and mythological creatures, but most Buddhists would probably agree that if the gods of other religions exist then they would benefit from following the Eightfold Path likewise.
** Note that saying that Buddhism is nihilist in the context of FrederichNietzsche's philosophy is exempted from this; Nietzsche's definition of nihilism is rather different, as evidenced by his belief that ''Christianity'' is a form of nihilism.
** The statement that Buddhists worship no gods itself is highly contentious and misleading. Some schools such as Theravada do dispense with much of religion's traditional emphasis on deities and devotion but others such as the Mahayana branch are much more focused on mystical figures. In Mahayana's spread through Central and Northern Asia, it often simply took local dieties and declared them bodhisattvas, incorporating them into the religion. Furthermore, Mahayana schools claimed that personal salvation could be achieved through devotion to and veneration of those bodhisattvas, making Mahayana Buddhism more similar to Catholicism than atheist philosophies. Technically it can be said that Buddhists are atheists just as it can technically be said that Hinduism is monotheistic. In practice, the two religions are both polytheistic (in the very least in certain sects).
** The early Buddhism, by Buddha himself, was more like a philosophy than a religion, and Buddha wasn't considered a god or prophet, but a teacher.
*** However, it is important to remember the attitude of the times. The Buddha lived in a Hindu society where many gurus were attempting to forge new paths towards enlightenment apart from the rituals of the Brahman caste. Siddhartha Gautama would have been considered one of these gurus though, according to texts, he seems to have considered himself to have found something completely different from what the other gurus were looking for, hence the distinction. Also, the idea of Hinduism as a well-defined religion and not just the culture of the Indian people was only just taking form at this time and would arise partially in response to the rise of Buddhism in an attempt to distinguish itself from that faith.
** Any time the Buddha appears as a [[BigFun jolly fat guy]]. This is actually a guy known as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budai Budai or Hotei]], who is often erroneously called the "fat Buddha" or "laughing Buddha". This misconception comes from the fact that Budai himself was considered a Boddhisattva (a person who attained buddhahood), and is often regarded as an embodiment of Maitreya.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Christianity - Traditional]]
* "Jesus Christ of the Nazareth Christs": The word "Christ" means "[[TheChosenOne the annointed one]]" (a translation of the Hebrew term "[[TheMessiah messiah]]"), a title that Jesus' followers applied to him based on what they believed him to be. All too often it is clear that people think that this is his last name. Outside of his circle of believers, Jesus would have been known as Jesus of Nazareth, or as Yeshua[[hottip:* : "Joshua", of which "Jesus" is a Latin version]] bar[[hottip:* : "son of"]] Yosef[[hottip:*: "Joseph", the Virgin Mary's husband, and [[YourMileageMayVary if you don't believe in the Virgin Birth]], Jesus' father]]. His enemies, despite how they are depicted in JesusChristSuperstar, would largely have thought it heresy to refer to him as Jesus Christ.
* {{Hell}}. Any time Hell is depicted as "the Devil's domain", typically with {{Satan}} sitting on a throne of skulls, idly twiddling his pitchfork while the damned are marched by in chains. The Bible clearly teaches that Hell (well, the Lake of Fire, which is really the closest thing explicitly mentioned, though no one goes ''there'' until the end of time) was always intended as a punishment for Satan, not as a kingdom. The closest analogue to a realm of the dead is Sheol or the grave -- a place where the dead go, but not for punishment or reward. It seems to be a place where absolutely nothing happens.
** This misconception comes from the line in ''ParadiseLost'': "Better to rule in Hell, than serve in Heaven." However, it is obviously just metaphorical. The text states the non-literal aspect explicitly: "You'll find no realms there."
*** Satan ''does'' have some autonomy in ''ParadiseLost''; he breaks his chains and founds a city (Pandaemonium). However, it's clear that he's still being tormented (both by the fires and by the absence of God), and that he has no actual power over the damned.
** It could potentially be both, e.g. the demons in the Divine Comedy, who both command and torture the human shades, and are in turn tormented by the infernal environment and one another. Less so Satan himself in Dante's work, who is forever imprisoned in the frozen lake of Cocytus and consequently doesn't get to do much. He is involved in the torment of the three great Traitors -- Brutus, Cassius, and Judas -- but only because they're stuck in his mouth and are taking the brunt of his agonized gnashing and clawing.
* The idea of clashing entities may stem from "the war in heaven" as depicted by Revelation 12. Hell is referred to as the place of the wailing and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 12:32 also mentions a sin (blaspheming the holy spirit) that will not be forgiven in the age to come - a concept not really found in the Old Testament. At any rate, both hell containing the spirits of the damned and Lucifer being able to challenge heaven directly (causing angels to fall) have scriptural evidence and are taught as part of canon. It would be especially egregious to claim that no religion claims torment of the eternal soul after death as the Quran does so explicitly, repeatedly and all scholars and accompanying material reinforce this belief.
* On that note, any time Satan is depicted as an "opposite but equal" force to God the Father or Jesus. The passage cited as his {{backstory}} (whether it is or not), in Isaiah, depicts him as a fallen angel. Angels are definitely not equal to God.
** [[BlackAndWhiteMorality Dualism]] influenced some sects of early Christian Gnosticism, & some were quite open to the possibility of two equal deities. Then the [[HijackedByJesus Council of Nicaea]] decided to take issue with some [[NoSuchThingAsWizardJesus creative differences]] found in [[TheHeretic Gnostic beliefs]], wrote up a [[GodIsGood Creed]], & [[ChurchMilitant set up shop]].
* Catholicism is often claimed to be quasi-polytheistic by non-Catholics (veneration of saints and the Mother Mary). While humans in general tend to be polytheistic, Catholics don't actually worship the saints, including St Mary, any more than they worship icons such as the crucifix. They usually get annoyed when people accuse them of this. The idea that they do was first coined by Pagans and directed towards ''all'' Christians, but the modern idea that this is the case is not much more than a rumour created by dissenting Protestants. In actual fact, when Catholics pray to the saints they ask them to 'intercede' with God on their behalf. In the Catholic faith, worship of saints is very heavily frowned upon - though not even half as much as worship of idols, which (they consider to) have no worth or conciousness. This is also true of Islam: Islam as practised by most ordinary Muslims includes a belief in saints and the holiness of their shrines, and praying at these sites hoping for intercession, even as purist "Salafis" and others scream and yell (and occasionally tear down a shrine).
** Muslims occasionally get things wrong about the Trinity (though they aren't alone in that respect). Aside from their idea that the concept of the Trinity is simply polytheism, they often think that the Trinity consists of God, Jesus, and ''Mary''. This misconception is more common in Muslim countries without large Christian populations; Iraqis, Syrians, Jordanians, Lebanese, Palestinians, and Egyptians tend not to fall into this trap.
* Anything that depicts or refers to dead souls as angels. Angels ''are not'' the souls of the departed. They are a separate Order of Creation and were on staff from the Beginning. Of course in Catholicism at least some souls ''do'' act as intercessors and provide guidance and miracles. They are called Saints.
* Regarding the hierarchy of angels (from Catholic theology, though common in general Christianity and often in works that need an angelic army or government system) there are nine orders of a celestial hierarchy -- from least to greatest: Angels, Archangels, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Dominations, Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim. [[ArchangelMichael Michael]], the angel who cast Satan from heaven, has proven difficult regarding which order, exactly, he belongs, to -- the most common interpretation of his position, as you may have guessed from the trope, is as an archangel, which is the position accorded to him by St. Basil and a good many Greek Fathers, in so far as he is the prince of all angels. St. Bonaventura, on the other hand, refers to him as the prince of the Seraphim, the highest order of the angels, whereas St. Thomas Aquinas places him as prince of the Angels (lowest choir). This latter interpretation makes sense when considering the role of the angelic hierarchy as regards the degrees of their servitude -- in a reverse from the human way of doing things, the higher orders of angels actually ''serve'' the lower orders.
*** TheBible only mentions four specific groups: Angels, Cherubim, Seraphim, and Archangel. Only a single angel belongs to the Archangel group, ArchangelMichael, who is clearly is ranked over all others. The other groups are not said to be ranked higher or lower than the others.
* A number of shows misunderstand the Catholic teaching of the Immaculate Conception. The Immaculate Conception was NOT Mary's virgin conception of Jesus—that's called the Incarnation. The Immaculate Conception is the belief that Mary was herself conceived without original sin—which has nothing to do with a virgin conception. In truth, this error appears across multiple media.
** Specifically, the miracle of the Immaculate Conception was God preventing the transmission of Original Sin (which was Adam's curse after the expulsion from Paradise, to pass the sin of his transgression on to all his descendants, which she would have normally received from her father at the moment of her conception) so she would be spiritually fit to give birth to Jesus.
* Similarly, many non-Catholics are familiar with the concept of "papal infallibility," the [[SelfDemonstratingArticle dogma]] that ThePope is 100% correct when he talks about faith and morals. What most ''don't'' realize is that the Pope's words are only considered infallible when he is speaking ''ex cathedra''(literally, "from the chair") meaning it only applies when he is explicitly invoking the infallibility or is otherwise considered to have the intention of doing so, which has some pretty explicit criteria. To date, this has happened at least twice, while some put the definite count at seven times. Probably. It boils down to this: if the occaision meets these standards, ''God will not let the Pope speak wrongly.''
** One notes that this is not "The Pope will speak rightly." There is TakeAThirdOption: he doesn't have to say anything
* Question: Why were Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed? If you answered ''only'' rampant homosexuality (rather than an overabundance of various "sin" which included but in no way were exclusive to "sexual sin," as well as their 'violent crimes' against "outsiders", and generally being greedy, selfish bastards), you answered...wrong! [[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekial%2016:49&version=NIV See Ezekiel 16:49 for more details]]. Basically, their attempted rape of the angels was what drove matters to a head, convincing God that He had been merciful toward Sodom and Gomorrah for too long.
* Claiming that God declared the human body sinful during the Fall of Man (after Adam and Eve were kicked out of Eden). Actually, after being tempted by Satan to eat the ForbiddenFruit, Adam and Eve's (spiritual) eyes had opened, and they began to see everything as shameful, including their own bodies (they were unaware of their nudity until now). So, they attempted to cover them up by making "aprons" out of fig leaves (some versions of the Bible imply that only their genitals were covered with a single leaf) and hiding from God in the trees, but He calls them out on this. God did give them better clothing then the "aprons" after kicking them out, mainly because He had cursed the Earth with things like thorns as punishment, so their bodies would occasionally need protection from the harsh world outside; never did He say that they must be covered up at all times. Plus, He still loved and cared for them even though they sinned. [[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%203:1-24&version=NIV]]
** The origin (i.e., the Hebrew version of the Bible) states that "יִּתְפְּרוּ עֲלֵה תְאֵנָה וַיַּעֲשׂוּ לָהֶם חֲגֹרֹת", i.e., they took fig leaves and made themselves belts (or aprons). God did give them leather shirts before He kicked them out, but it isn't clear why.
*** God is a JewishMother and it was ''cold'' outside the Garden. [[YiddishAsASecondLanguage You want they should freeze their little punims off without a warm jacket]]?
* The {{Number of the Beast}} is not three sixes in a row. 6,6,6 from an eschatological standpoint is utterly meaningless. The number of the beast is six hundred and sixty six. Or Six hundred and '''sixteen''' in some translations -- to Latin. At the time, numerological significance of letters was widely practiced, and apparently the name added up to 666 in Greek and 616 in Latin.
** It's good to remember that the Revelation was written way before Arabic numerals were adopted in the region.
*** The number 666 has significance in Roman numerals as well; it is the first six Roman numerals written backwards. DCLXVI = 500 + 100 + 50 + 10 + 5 + 1 = 666. 616 is DCXVI, omitting L, which was not used in some forms of Roman numerals.
* The way mainstream society does this in regard to Left Hand Path religions deserves a major mention here. To go into depth about it would take up almost a page, but here's a few highlights:
** There are ''many'' left hand path faiths. LaVeyan Satanism is ''not'' the only one. There's everything from Thelema to Setianism to the Jizo sects of Buddhism to Chaos Magick, with many others under the umbrella. What defines a belief as Left Hand Path is its willingness to accept AlternateCharacterInterpretation of a figure/figures who are judged as "evil" in a dominant belief system. (e.g. Lucifer and other "fallen angels" or "heretics" in Christianity, Set in Egyptian paganism, the Jizo Buddha which guards hell in some Buddhist teachings, Loki in Norse paganism, etcetera) More than one figure may be upheld by a specific practitioner who is simply interested in the idea of PerspectiveFlip as applied to belief. So to call all left hand path belief "Satanism" or "devil worship" is EpicFail and very offensive to, say, a practitioner who follows Jizo Buddhism ''because'' they don't believe in anything related to Christianity, not even its inversion.
* Here's one that ''everyone'' gets wrong: The upside-down cross is not a satanic symbol. It's a common symbol ''used by the pope'' in tribute to St Peter, who died by being crucified upside down because he did not believe himself worthy to die the same way as Jesus. In fact, many really by the book old school Catholics consider wearing an upside down cross is a more humble and respectable Christian thing to do than wearing a normal cross. Sorry, Satanists.
** The pentacle, which (among other things) was used by Christians for centuries to represent the five wounds Jesus suffered on the cross, and to provide ''protection from'' evil spirits. It was a common Christian symbol as recently as the advent of the Mormon church. In Wicca, {{Onmyodo}} and most other non Left Hand Path forms of Pagan belief, the symbol uses a meaning developed within alchemy: the five points are the five elements and again as a "protection from evil" seal. The Satanist or other Left Hand Path version, the pentagram, is, for this very reason, an inverse (upside down) pentacle, which often gets confused with the upside down cross above.
** An episode of UnsolvedMysteries claimed that a mortar and pestle are used in "Satanic rituals." Maybe, but it's more commonly used in gourmet cooking to grind spices and herbs, herbalism to mill herbs, compounding pharmacy to custom-create drugs, recreational pharmacy to mill "herbs," and millions of other uses. [[InsaneTrollLogic And the investigator immediately jumped to "Satanism."]]
** The most [[HateDumb extreme haters]] of religion often adopt the inverted cross as a symbol. This says a lot about [[HateDumb haters]] in general.
* The various atrocities committed by the Jews under Moses in the book of Deuteronomy are often presented as actual Christian teachings to deal with non believers, and contrasted with the teachings of Christ as the true meaning of Christianity. The thing is Deuteronomy is a collection of historic records (what's left of them anyway) and not actual teachings, not mentioning that they suffer heavily of ValuesDissonance (the Jewish conquests described are not likely to be more cruel and barbaric than the acts of any other people in that era, not to mention the Jews, as the 'chosen people' felt fully justified). Also, Deuteronomy came long before Jesus, and if his teachings are of any indication, he clearly disapproved of returning to those times. Seeing how 'Christian' literally means 'follower of Christ', it's not hard to guess why such arguments are ridiculous.
** The Book of Leviticus suffers from the same treatment, and many bring up its dispositions in "religion is right" vs. "religion is wrong" debates, completely ignoring the fact that it's ancient legislation, and as such, ''it was already rendered entirely obsolete by later laws, by the time the Bible was first compiled''.
** If fundamentalists and creationists would stop quoting them this argument would hold more water. While the Ten Commandments were given to Moses, Leviticus is, in fact, the laws administered by the priests of the time and many were purposely disregarded by Jesus.
** It's simple: Someone claiming that Leviticus/Deuteronomy gives an accurate description of how modern-day Christians act is mistaken, since most people don't read the Bible, let alone follow it literally (which, of course, you can't because it is a translation of a set of books that already contained an awful lot of metaphor). But often these passages are cited by opponents of Christianity (or at least biblical literalism) as a way of saying "If the Bible was written by God, and not just ignorant goat-herders, then why does it have all these outdated morals?" In these instances, the objection is only really justified when aimed at the fundamentalist sects. Although there, of course, exist apologetics to counter them, mainstream Christians, particularly Catholics, tend to disregard these old laws because they come from the old Jewish part of the Bible, which is seen as fragmentary and not entirely reliable (to paraphrase a Catholic priest I asked on the subject). Generally speaking, Catholics disregard Genesis as simply myth, or treat it as an allegorical story told to the early Jews. Either way, they have never taken it in the entirely literal sense that modern Creationists do.
** Despite centuries of studying and worshipping the guy, it remains unclear what Jesus ''really'' taught with regards to Old Testament law. On the one hand, there are passages like Matthew 5:38–39 where Jesus says ''"You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth". But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also."'' The "eye for an eye" bit is a reference to Old Testament law, so it's clear in this passage that Jesus was setting up a contrast between the Old Testament and his own teaching. But on the other hand, there are passages like Matthew 5:17-19 where Jesus says ''"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven."'' In this passage Jesus makes it abundantly clear that his teachings do ''not'' contradict even "the smallest letter" of Old Testament law (though it is often argued that "the Law" doesn't refer to the ''entire'' Old Testament but rather to specific parts handed directly to humans by God.) And note that these two apparently-contradictory passages are in ''the same holy book''. Different people have interpreted it different ways. Things are complicated by the fact that most churches uphold the Old Testament books, including Leviticus, as being Holy Scripture in some sense, even though they don't expect their followers to obey all the laws within. (Indeed, stoning an adulterer would be considered really awful, even if you tried to justify it by pointing to Leviticus.)
* The use of the word "fundamentalism" with or without a capital "F," to mean "people who are intolerant about religious matters," "people willing to use violence in support of their beliefs," or "religious people whom I don't like." In reality, the word fundamentalism has a variety of legitimate meanings. Capital-F Fundamentalism generally refers to a movement in Protestantism in the early 20th century that advocated a focus on the "five fundamentals of Christianity." (More info [[http://www.catholic.com/library/Fundamentalism.asp here]] Used in the lower case, it can refer to a number of factions within various religions (Catholicism, Islam, Mormonism, etc.) [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin who believe that their interpretation of religion is more in keeping with the fundamentals than others'.]] The only justification for the current popular usage of the word is that it's been a pejorative for so long that "person I can't convince" has ''become'' a meaning of the word, which is sad but not without basis in reality.
** That's basic linguistic evolution. There are numerous cases in which movement names have become descriptors that don't relate well to the ideals of the original movement. The Epicureans were not 'epicurean' in the modern sense of the word, nor would Karl Marx want anything to do with many people labelled 'Marxists' (nor, for that matter, does a BolivianArmyEnding have to involve the Bolivian army, or a XanatosGambit involve David Xanatos). Further, while in popular usage the term is vague, various academics (e.g. Bruce B. Lawrence, George Marsden) have defined it clearer and more consistent terms.
** Also, the last book of the Bible is called Revelation, not Revelation''s''.
* Where do the vast majority of Christians stand on alcohol, gambling and legal drugs such as tobacco? They are fine, so long as you do it in moderation and do not let them harm yourself or others (which in the case of gambling means don't take more than someone can afford to lose). Most of the rest, typically the newer less traditional end, take the view that humans have proven that they cannot do such things in moderation and so you should not do it. Alcohol, gambling, etc. are not evil; letting those things rule you is.
* Likewise evolution. Creationists are ''not'' representative of most Christians and most of the older, traditional branches such as Roman Catholicism embraced the work of Charles Darwin ''within a few decades of publication''.
* TheBible does not say that exactly three wise men visited Jesus, nor does it say they were kings, nor does it say they rode on camels. It also does not say that they visited Jesus as an infant, they simply say they saw him as a "young child."
* The notion that the Middle Ages, particularly the 'Dark Ages' (Now referred to as the 'Early Middle-Ages') were a time of darkness where religious leaders suppressed scientific advancement has in fact been widely discredited by most historians. Many inventions were actually promoted by the Church, which also worked to preserve Pagan writings and built scientific experiments ''into the very fabric of the Vatican''. Not to mention the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifical_Academy_of_Sciences Pontifical Academy of Sciences]] or the [[http://vaticanobservatory.org/ Vatican Observatory]], ''one of the oldest scientific institutions in the world''. The irony here is that the people who regularly claim that Christianity stifles research and the acquisition of knowledge are failing to do any research themselves....
** Don't forget the very real (and completely different from the way [[DanBrowned Dan Brown]] depicts it) 'Vatican Secret Archives', better known as the [[http://asv.vatican.va/?lang=en Papal Archives]]. To quote the official site:
--> "More than 1000 years of history on 85km of shelving. The Archivio Segreto Vaticano has served the Holy See for 400 years and is one of the most important and renowned research centres in the world. It is a treasure trove of peerless precious documents; '''millions of papers and parchments that can be assessed by scholars of all nationalities and faiths'''."
* People who claim that Christianity is based on earlier religions are, unless they mean Judaism, very ''sorely'' mistaken. There is no actual historic proof that this is the case. Indeed, there is nothing in what we know of the original myths that we can even draw a respectable parallel with. This, however, has not prevented bunkum, such as Christianity supposedly being based on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithras_in_comparison_with_other_belief_systems#Mithraism_and_Christian_Theology Mithraic Mystery Cult]], appearing from the mouths of respected and intelligent people, such as the ones who run the ''[[{{QI}} QI panel game]]''. Quite apart from the fact that we know almost nothing about them, ''everything we do know'' contradicts all of the claims made. This is merely the very tip, ''[[BeyondTheImpossible of the very tip]]'', of the colossal iceberg of earlier beliefs that people regularly claim Christianity is based on. One of the more amusing being the supposed 'virgin birth' of Horus, long story short: Isis gathered the various parts of Osirus and rebuilt him, she then brought him back from the dead for a single day so that she could, er, ''conceive'' with him. Yes, creepy undead whatnots are [[CaptainObvious still whatnots]].
** Isis couidn't find Osiris' whatnot. Instead, she carved him a new whatnot out of wood. [[spoiler:[[BeavisandButtHead Uhuhuhuhuhuhuhuh, "wood".]]]]
** These people may be referring to certain stories in the Bible. There are some very similar tales across holy texts, perhaps the most common being an angered deity flooding the earth. Hinduism features a man being swallowed by a fish, which can be linked to the story of Jonah.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Christianity - Modern Offshoots]]
* Mormons teach that angels [[OurAngelsAreDifferent are in fact]] of the same order of creation as human beings. They believe that unborn human spirits were in fact the angels that helped build Creation, and post-mortal human spirits (and resurrected persons) act as what we call angels as well.
** The New Church ("Swedenborgian") holds expressly that "Heaven and Hell are entirely from the human race... There is not a single angel or devil who was created as such." (Swedenborg, HEAVEN AND HELL).
* Any jokes about Mormons and polygamy tend to ignore how it was and is practiced in reality. Even at height of the practice in the 1800s, polygamists were a minority of the Mormon population. Some groups within the Latter Day Saint movement (such as the Community of Christ) never practiced it at all. In 1890, the LDS Church abandoned the practice and forbade any of its members to enter into a polygamous marriage or face immediate excommunication. Several small groups rejected this change of policy and founded small colonies in remote areas in order to continue polygamy, some of which survive today. These small groups tend to have a man marry one wife legally and then co-habitat with "spirit wives." Most of these are good law-abiding citizens. However, some Mormon Fundamentalists do take polygamy to the extreme, saying that a man who doesn't have more than one wife can't make it to heaven. They then exile young boys to ensure there are enough women to go around, and sometimes force underage girls into "marriages" with older men, sometimes men who are closely related to them. But your average Mormon doesn't practice polygamy, and hasn't been able to for at least five generations.
** Polygamy is a ''very'' sensitive topic for mainstream Mormons, which has led to some misinformation within the Mormon community trying to minimize the importance of polygamy in church history. You often see claims that only 3 percent of 19th century Mormons practiced it (the actual number was more like 20 percent), and that only a few select members received a "calling" from God to practice polygamy (after the 1850s it was largely voluntary, but it still required approval from church leaders.)
* The Mormon health code named ''Word of Wisdom'', which gives dietary guides for its members always seems to include caffeine when talked or joked about, despite the fact caffeine is nowhere to be found in the Word of Wisdom text within the Doctrine and Covenants. The abstention of alcohol (except that of the pure fruit) usually gets mentioned and occasionally tobacco.
** Although it's not strictly banned, the Word of Wisdom does generally forbid (or advise against) the consumption of anything that may be addictive. As new reports come out of caffeine's addictive qualities, many Mormon families have given up the practice of consuming it.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Islam]]
* The idea that Muslims do not believe in Jesus are incorrect. Not only does Jesus feature in the Koran but Muslims often visit Christian holy sites. They do differ, however, in that they do not believe Jesus to be the Messiah, but rather, simply, one of God's prophets.
** Actually, Muslims ''do'' believe Jesus to be the Messiah; they just define "Messiah" as being a less important role than Jews or Christians do. Basically, Jesus was not the Son of God, but he was a prophet only a little less important than Muhammad.
* Medieval Christian Europeans believed that the Muslim "Saracens", worshipped Muhammad (Mahomet), Apollo, or "Termagant", a god who has no basis in any real world mythology. Their artwork and poetry reflected this, with scenes of the Muslims praying over idols, etc.
** This is the basis of the now out-of-use term "Mohammedanism," which Muslims take offense to because of its implication that they worship the prophet.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Judaism]]
* Anything that says you ''have to'' have a Bar Mitzvah ceremony to become a man, such as one episode of ''TheSimpsons'' ("Today, I Am A Clown"). You don't. You just have to turn 13. The Bar Mitzvah ceremony just marks the occasion: the newly-thirteen-year-old does an adult activity, such as serving as the reader in the synagogue, simply to show that he can, and there's a party to celebrate.
** Similarly, Orthodox Jewish girls having a Bat Mitzvah at thirteen. Orthodox Jewish girls don't have Bat Mitzvahs at all. Reform Jewish girls have them at twelve.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:None]]
* Atheism is '''not''' a religion. It is simply a lack of believing that a god, or gods, exists. It isn't even necessary for someone to explicitly deny the existence of god(s) to be an atheist, just that they don't have a positive belief. Typically, atheists will not believe in any form of supernatural activity, but it is not required. A good quotation is, "Calling atheism a religion is like saying not-having-a-hobby is a hobby". Although that does not stop a ''LOT'' of self proclaimed atheists from treating it as such. Many dictatorial regimes made atheism mandatory, yet a lot of political gatherings were organized in a way that resembled religious gatherings. A lot of atheists on the internet ([[PoesLaw though many of them could simply be trolls]]) would occasionally initiate a religious debate completely out of context to reaffirm their 'moral high ground', and will defend their 'lack of belief' with a very 'religious' zeal.
** The trouble basically stems from the fact that there is no word which means "A belief on the subject of the stuff that religion usually covers". If this word was "Xort", for instance, then Christianity would be a Religion and a Xort, Atheism would a Xort but not a Religion, and unrelated stuff like Keynesianism would be neither a Xort nor a Religion, but merely a Belief. As it is, the word "religion" can be used either to include or exclude atheism. Even atheists do this sometimes; for instance some atheist might say something like "Everyone should be free to choose their own religion", but when he says "religion" he means "atheism" too. English is weird sometimes.
*** Free choice of religion includes choosing not to have one too. So no contradiction there.
** It should also be mentioned that there is a difference between "not believing in something" and "believing that something does not exist". The first one doesn't exclude the possibility that it might exist.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Miscellaneous - Other]]
* Actual followers of Left Hand Paths are generally ''not'' following a ReligionOfEvil, and usually are ethical enough not to harm innocents. Whereas [[ViewersAreMorons some]] [[HumansAreBastards people]] may use the figures in these paths to create a ReligionOfEvil or a {{cult}}, and while some violent teenagers and TheMentallyDisturbed may use the symbolism of, say, Satanism in criminal actions, these are no more connected to actual Left Hand Path belief than child abuse is connected to Christianity. And most of us who are really devoted to a LHP religion see them as having failed study forever. That said, there may be some exceptions to this rule (as there are always) but the media portrayal of "Satanic killers" is frankly offensive bullshit and more failure.
** Not even all followers of these paths specifically worship anyone or anything. Most accurately, LaVeyan Satanism could be considered "atheism on steroids with a huge dose of TakeThat at Christianity by inverting its practices," for example, and Chaos Magick is a system far more concerned with the use of magick to empower than with "worship" of a specific deity. On the other hand, some do. YourMileageMayVary and that's okay -- the okayness of your mileage varying is a central point of most left-hand path paganism. The failure happens when, as usual, people insist that Left Hand Path followers "worship Satan." And EpicFail [[{{Demonization}} happens when *non left hand path* Pagans are accused]] [[InsaneTrollLogic of "worshipping Satan."]]
** Finally, rituals do ''not'', in real life, involve murder, rape, or sexual abuse. If they do, this is a sign you're mixed up with some people [[ReligionOfEvil who are not only breaking the law and who you should report to the police at once]], but who are also a powerful example of YouFailReligiousStudiesForever. While the figures held in esteem by left hand paths may have engaged in such behavior, [[NotSoDifferent so have major mainstream religious figures]], and a sane follower of, say, Loki or Set, isn't going to go and commit incest and murder any more than a sane Jew would do it just because King David did it.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Wicca]]
* Wiccans don't just believe in a Goddess, there is both a Goddess and a God. Also, the pentacle, though it has been adopted by Wiccans as a symbol for the elements, was originally a Pythagorean symbol.
[[/folder]]
----
!!Specific Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Advertising]]
* In Mexico, there is a common PSA for a children's illness organization depicting the LittlestCancerPatient as an angel. The text translates to English roughly as, "We want no more angels in Heaven; we need them down here." This is already a serious failure to understand Catholic and Christian dogma, but coupled with Mexico's overwhelmingly large Catholic majority, it's truly odd.
** It sounds like they mean "we dont want dead kids, we want them to live" and they are using angel in the "cute" sense.
* "Kosher style" food. Kosher is simply a set of dietary laws on how to prepare and combine food, not a style of food. One can have Kosher Chinese, or Japanese food for example.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* Chuck Austen on Roman Catholicism in the ''Comicbook/{{X-Men}}'' comics.
** The villains in the story plan to get Nightcrawler, a devil looking mutant, installed as the pope then at a crucial time have his image inducer fail revealing him to be the Antichrist while distributing communion wafers that when activated will cause people to dissolve, simulating the Rapture, which will cause all the Catholic Church to declare war on all the mutants, wiping out the mutants, breaking the Catholic Church, destroying Western Civilization, and causing all the former Catholics to join their church. This plan is either insanely stupid or surprisingly brilliant. It's insanely stupid because the villains were a small, breakaway faction of Catholicism with likely very little actual power in the papal elections and therefore could not get Nightcrawler elected as pope, would require everyone in the Church to assume he is the Antichrist, and not, say, someone who replaced the pope, have these communion wafers distributed far and wide and not have anyone discover them, have Catholics spontaneously adopt The Rapture (as it is not part of Catholic Dogma), and that this will cause the collapse of Western Civilization even though large swaths of Western Civilization don't practice Catholicism, that all the Catholics will spontaneously lose their faith including the more secular and non-practicing ones, and that all these ex-Catholics will join their church, rather than the hundreds of other faiths out there. The reason why it's potentially brilliant, is that it reflects how [[CrapsackWorld cynically accurate]] the reactions of the Marvel human population would be, and that having the Rapture really ''would'' cause problems because it would overturn a lot of previous dogma. If only they mentioned the latter bit.
*** Also, the Rapture described in the story is what's referred to as a pre-tribulation Rapture, in which the Rapture is followed by a period of war, famine, death, etc. before Christ returns. In order for this plan to work, the villains in this story would need the resources to simulate both the tribulation and Christ's return to maintain believability. They obviously don't have these resources because then they could just kill the mutants directly instead of making the scheme to begin with, and it would require doing a rather large case of blasphemy by ''faking the return of Jesus Christ.''.
**** Also also, the antichrist Nightcrawler was supposed to be mistaken for was from the pop culture version of a particular interpretation of Revelation - an interpretation, needless to say, not held by Catholicism in general, which considers that part of the book to be [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar thinly-veiled criticism of the Roman Empire.]]
** So, in other words, their whole plan relied on the false assumption that ChristianityIsCatholic.
* [[ChickTracts Jack Chick]] and any religious ideology besides his own version of Christian fundamentalism (which is rather extreme, even for normal fundamentalism). When he does his research, it is usually from unreliable or discredited sources -- sometimes even his own version of Christian fundamentalism. As a result, not everyone is convinced his work's aren't an elaborate parody. It helps that he is so cryptic a person that absolutely nothing is known about him. Wikipedia even suggest that might have been "pen name for an unnamed author or authors". Examples of Artistic License - Religious Studies from ChickTracts include:
** [[http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1074/1074_01.asp Freemasons worship Baphomet]].
** His apparent belief that the Catholics have never heard of God or Jesus deserves a special mention. For that matter, his apparent belief that ''anyone in western society'' has never heard of God or Jesus.
** More on Catholics:
*** Catholics worship the Virgin Mary ''instead'' of Jesus. They never worshiped Jesus. They worship Baal, who is not the Virgin Mary.[[hottip:*:The contradiction between these things is never addressed.]] He also believes that the Bible is against Catholicism because the book of revelation call Babylon "The Great Whore." The passage he cites speaks of Babylon, and Jack Chick believes that Catholicism originated in Babylon. [[FridgeLogic Never mind that early Christianity developed into Catholicism several centuries AFTER that book was written, and that there are far likelier targets available]].
*** [[http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0071/0071_01.asp The IHS on the host (communion wafers) are initials for the Egyptian gods Isis, Horus, and Seb/Geb]]. (They're actually the first three letters of {{Jesus}}' name in Romanized Greek.) Anyone with even rudimentary knowledge of EgyptianMythology can see how mind-bendingly laughable it is to connect Geb with Isis and Horus in a positive fashion.
** [[http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0071/0071_01.asp All protestants take the Lord's supper symbolically.]] ([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther#Eucharist_controversy Martin Luther would beg to disagree,]] and other denominations teach that there is a spiritual "real presence" of Christ in the sacrament, just not a physical or substantial one.)
** [[http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1031/1031_01.asp Allah is not God]]; he is some kind of Babylonian moon god that was left over after Muhammad threw all the other idols out of Mecca.
* ''{{Azrael}}'', in ''spades'', the second series even more so than the first.
** A particularly [[{{Egregious}} egregious]] example is the 2011 BatFamilyCrossover ''Judgement on Gotham.'' In this crossover, Azrael ([[Characters/{{Batman}} Michael Lane]]) teams with the Crusader, a superpowered psychotic, in order to destroy Gotham City, which they perceive as a modern day Sodom/Gomorrah (It's later revealed that they were manipulated into doing this by Ra's al Ghul, who apparently likes to play with Dominoes). In accordance to TheBible story on the topic, however, they decide to instead first see if there is one righteous soul in the city. So, [[SarcasmMode naturally]], they decide to test Batman (Dick Grayson), Catwoman (Selina Kyle) and Red Robin (Tim Drake). If they find one righteous soul, they'll spare the city. Aaaaaaaandd here's where it fails. In the original Sodom and Gomorrah story, God agreed with Abraham to not destroy the cities for the sake of ''ten'' righteous people. This then begs the question of why Azrael and the Crusader didn't just take a poll of the local Christian churches. We the readers are then expected to believe that 1.) The biggest "sin" that the Sword of Sin (a sword that when plunged into a person's body reveals to both the victim and the wielder the sins of the victim) could dredge up from Dick Grayson was not helping some random guy from the circus when he was a ''kid'', as opposed to, say, fornication, lying, lustful thoughts, use of profanity etc. 2.) We are further expected to believe that Azrael and the Crusader sincerely think that they can find an individual without sin, which, according to TheBible, yes, ''TheBible'', is impossible with the sole exception of Jesus Christ. 3.) In relation to point 2, we are then expected to believe that Tim Drake, who, as good a guy as he is, has lied, thought lustful thoughts, and used profane language, is "sinless." We are also expected to believe that [[OutOfCharacterMoment Tim is pretentious enough to even think he has no sins, which he does think, according to his opening monologue]]. 4.) We are then expected to believe that Selina Kyle, ''Catwoman,'' would fail the "sinless" test solely because she ''wouldn't kill her sister "in the name of God"'', as opposed to her history of stealing, fornication, etc., this test ''completely'' violating every rule of Christianity. The reason it's so ridiculous is that the entire premise of this crossover relies on Azrael and Crusader, the former being a staunch Catholic from boyhood, being completely ignorant of the Bible's most basic principles, to the point that ''Catwoman'' knows more about Christianity than they do ("God and God alone can judge").
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Fan Fiction]]
* ''FanFic/TwilaTheGirlWhoWazInLuvWithAVampyre:''
-->"I DONT BELEVE IN GOD I AM N ATHEIST. i thnk [[DevilButNoGod saten]] [[ComicallyMissingThePoint created dis universe]] god [[LogicBomb bles u satan]]" [sic]
* The "Ten [[strike: Commandments]] Commodents" from ''FanFic/StarkitsProphecy'', including:
--> 11. No BENG GAY!f [sic]
** [[IncrediblyLamePun But then what will we do about our muscle pains?]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Film]]
* In ''{{Dogma}}'' the concept of Plenary Indulgence is wrong. Multiple characters who ''should'' know better (angels and a cardinal) describe it as a clean slate, and the forgiveness and removal of all sins. It's not it. Plenary Indulgence is the removal of need for temporal punishments of sins that have ''already'' been forgiven -- It does not remove nor wipe out a person's sins. One might argue that Bartleby and Loki failing to understand the concept properly [[FridgeBrilliance is part of the joke.]] Also, Metatron calls himself a "seraphim" and reveals two wings. The singular of "seraphim" is "seraph," and they have six wings.
** {{Dogma}} also states that angels can't have sex when the Bible says they fathered children. The film further states that the Catholic church has a huge conspiracy to conceal the existence of Jesus Christ's brothers and sisters. The same ones that are mentioned explicitly as such in the Book of Matthew. And the Book of Acts. And the Book of Luke. And the Book of John. Seriously, worst conspiracy ever.
*** Well, as to the first point there, {{Dogma}} also has angels unable to swallow alcohol because God got mad at one of them for getting smashed and messing things up. Maybe that's not the ''only'' thing that's been removed after it was misused.
*** And as to the second point, there's a lot of debate in theological circles as to what exactly the Bible means by "brothers of Jesus," as the phrase could have meant any number of things.
*** Accordingly, the Grigori (what Ben Affleck's character was) were a choir of Angels discussed in the Apocrypha, which is considered non-canonical by Catholicism. Moreover, in Catholicism (and several other denominations of Christianity), they follow the understanding of Angels under Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, in which case they A.) lack the sensitive powers inherent in animal and human souls and because of that B.) lack bodies. The only way the Angels/Demons be able to be at a location in any sort of temporal means would be to possess a temporal host. Other than that, position in space and time is utterly irrelevant to them. Grigori were the exception, but again, not viewed as Canon by the Catholic Church (and they had gender, and sired children. This was one of the reasons behind the great flood, to get rid of them).
* The B-movie ''Lost Souls'' starring Winona Ryder. The filmmakers have admitted to making up the Bible verse that is central to the plot.
** Not to mention that one of the main characters is seemingly doomed to be possessed by demons because he hasn't been baptized. No one thinks to just baptize him and end the issue. Apparently the director and writer thought Catholics can only be baptized as infants.
* Likewise, QuentinTarantino admitted to making up most of Ezekiel 25:17. Only the last part of Jules Winnfield's diatribe is (almost) the real verse, i.e.; "And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them."
* ''The Order/The Sin Eater'' starring Heath Ledger.
* ''{{Stigmata}}'':
-->'''RogerEbert:''' "Stigmata" does not know, or care, about the theology involved, and thus becomes peculiarly heretical by confusing the effects of being possessed by Jesus and by Beelzebub.
** It also features a desperate conspiracy by the Catholic Church to cover up the existence of the newly-rediscovered Gospel of Thomas, which would apparently destroy the entire institution of religion if discovered. However, it was actually discovered in 1945, and published (and translated) shortly after with no opposition whatsoever.
* In ''Keeping The Faith'' there is a scene where people in a synagogue are shown seated during kol nidrei, which would not happen in real life. This is not the only inaccuracy in the movie, but it's definitely the most [[{{Egregious}} egregious]] example.
* ''{{Legion}}'' is what happens when somebody puts the Bible through a paper shredder, haphazardly tapes it back together, and attempts to make a movie out of the resultant book.
* ''{{Constantine}}''
** Borrows symbols and names from Christianity, but that's where the similarities end.
** A major plot point in the film is that, according to Catholic doctrine, people who commit suicide always go to Hell. This has not been the case since 1997, when the Church decided that people who were mentally ill were not entirely responsible for their actions if they chose to take their own life. At least one of the suicides in the film was committed by a mental patient. Constantine's suicide is more complicated, since suicide is only an unforgivable sin because you can't repent for it before you die. Constantine is brought back to life, so he can repent. However, as Constantine died and saw hell, he has ''already'' been condemned in the eyes of God.
* "If you believe in God, you must believe in the Devil..." proclaims the trailer for ''TheLastExorcism''. No, you don't.
* Mrs. Carmody in the film adaptation of StephenKing's ''TheMist'' was pretty much described as crazy within the film, but anyone vaguely familiar with Christian scripture or theology should have been able to make a pretty convincing argument against her, on her own terms.
** While the main characters criticize Mrs. Carmody's ravings that it's the Rapture (and that human sacrifice is required to appease God), at one point a tough biker-guy volunteers to go on an expedition outside: his parting shot was that for the record, he did believe in God, but thought Carmody was a lunatic. This contrast was all-too-brief, because this man was killed shortly afterwards.
** Actually ''The Mist'' did a fairly good job of showing how people from both "sides" of the religious/secular spectrum can be either positive or negative: on the secular side, Andre Braugher's judge character is initially presented as a level-headed liberal type. When the mist envelops the town, Braugher doesn't believe Carmody's rants that its the Rapture, but starts lashing out at his own friends and defiantly insisting that its all an elaborate prank, because they secretly hate him. Even when presented with solid evidence, when they bring back a severed tentacle from a monster that tried to get in (which convinces everyone else including the originally skeptical store manager that it's not a prank), Braugher insists against all logic that it's a ridiculously complicated prank. Carmody might have been a lunatic, but there came a point when Braugher refused to acknowledge reality.
* In ''Priest'' (1994, dir. Antonia Bird) a major part of the plot involves a girl confessing that her father sexually abuses her, and the priest's (who also happens to be gay, just for the zeitgeist) subsequent attempts to protect her without breaking the Seal of the Confessional. This is incorrect according to the Canon Law of the Roman Church, but is commonly misunderstood (even by priests!): the seal applies only to confessed sins. The girl was not confessing a sin (her father raped her), and the priest was therefore not bound by the seal. Later, the father himself comes along to "confess" (actually to gloat). This is likewise not bound by the seal, as it applies only to genuine confessions - the father was gloating, not confessing, and was therefore not entitled to protection.
* Part of the massive backlash at Roland Emmerich's ''[[TwentyTwelve 2012]]'' was how it perpetuated the belief of many RealLife Christians (and others) who have tried to connect the end date of the Mayan calendar with their own belief of Judgement Day. The Mayans never equated the end of their calendar with the end of the world. After all, the Georgian calendar "ends" on December 31st, and no one interprets that as the end of the world. Mayan mythology had nothing resembling an apocalypse, ignoring the inherent absurdity of Christians looking to a non-Judeo-Christian source for their eschatology.
* Played for laughs in the poker tournament movie ''The Grand'', where Larry Schwartzman shows up to a table wearing a hijab and claiming to have converted to "Muslam". This was a scare tactic against "Sob Story" Barry Blausteen, an expert at psyching out his opponents who happened to be Jewish.
* In ''EndOfDays'' a priest claims that the 666 in Revelation actually means 999, and therefore the end of the millennium, since in dreams and visions writing and numbers may appear as mirror images or upside-down. Even if we agree to that, there is the problem that there is no way the writer of Revelation could have known about Arabic numerals, and even if he did, at the time their visual appearance had was not developed to a point where 6 and 9 resemble each other that closely. Revelation explicitly says "six hundred and sixty six", not "666"; and in Greek numerals that would be χξϛʹ, which doesn't look like anything upside down.
* ''TheMummy'': anyone else wondering why the ''Jewish'' God is bothering to reenact the ten plagues of Egypt (''out of order'', no less), for the sake of an ''Egyptian'' curse?
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* The main conflict in the Hugo-winning science fiction novel ''A Case of Conscience'' by James Blish depends entirely on the "fact" that the Catholic church rejects evolution. In fact, the Catholic Church has never opposed evolution, and in fact recently said the theory and religion are not mutually exclusive. This is more a case of Theology Marches On than a pure example of this trope, but the central character is a Catholic priest who is freaked out by the existence of an alien species that appear to be without sin yet have never known Christianity: in RealLife, the Vatican recently issued a statement to the effect that it was definitely possible humanity would find such a species out there in the universe.
** It would be incorrect to say that the Catholic has 'never opposed evolution'. It simply had not been as aggressive as Protestant strands of Christianity in denying evolution's validity in earlier times. For a long time, the Church simply did not make up its mind about what it thought of evolution. Some of its members spoke against it, some suggested there was no conflict and officially there was mostly silence. Nowadays, it seems to accept a form of 'theistic evolution', which considers God the director of evolution. It is notable that Catholic schools teach courses on evolution.
*** For the first decades after Darwin, the Church took no position at all. However, in the debates over Modernism (1910s-1930s mostly) it tended to get bashed, so the Church put out an encyclical in the 40s clarifying that it didn't oppose any part of the massively well supported theory. Before that there was no official position at all, but some ''individual'' priests/theologians/etc opposed it; but it is indeed accurate to say that the ''Church'' never opposed evolution.
*** Also, the book didn't depend entirely on that fact -- the really big conundrum was that the aliens appeared to be both sinless and godless at the same time.
*** Or, you know, the whole [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_J._Ayala Francisco Ayala]] thing. What with him being a former priest and famous evolutionary biologist, or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregor_Mendel Gregor Mendel]] You know that guy with peas who pretty much figured out genetics and was a Monk.
*** Actually, aliens that are sinless would make sense, since they are not human (descendants of Adam) and hence would not be subject to Adam's fall. Their possessing no knowledge of God would probably not be a major headache either, but rather an opportunity for evangelism. There would even still be an incentive for that, since all living creatures are supposed to glorify God, whether they need saving or not. You'd need to highlight other aspects of the Bible than the ones which concern human sin, however. But the Church would probably adapt quite easily.
** The claim that the Catholic Church/the Pope opposes evolution is still used today. Especially egregious considering that [[http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P19.HTM evolution is part of the Catholic catechism.]]
** Just don't tell [[MoralGuardians Bill Donohue]].
** Or [[http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1996-10-30/news/9610291284_1_unholy-alliance-unique-creation-evolutionary-scientists Cal Thomas]]
*** Actually Mendel's work and Darwin's work were largely independent of each other when they worked on it; it was not until afterwards that others linked them together.
* It's a pretty minor example, but in ''AmericanGods'', there are a couple of examples of NeilGaiman basing his presentation of a god on Victorian-era interpretations of {{Slavic mythology}} instead of the original. One example is the idea of Bielbog being the "good god" brother of the "dark god" Czernobog. Modern evidence is that the former didn't actually exist in Slavic tradition. Probably justified [[spoiler: as Bielbog is an [[JekyllAndHyde alternate personality]] of Czernobog]] in Gaiman himself admitting that he had sparse evidence of Slavic Mythology and so had to use artistic license. There's also the issue that [[spoiler: Loki]] is given some association with fire. This is the result of a [[YouFailLinguisticsForever a bad etymology]], most likely originating from the story where Loki ends up in a contest against Logi who is the personification of fire, and probably a bit of association of him with [[HijackedByJesus Lucifer]]. This one, as with the previous example could also be attributed to [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve things becoming true if people believe]] in this universe. [[FridgeBrilliance Which means...]]
** Well, they're not the original Slavic gods, they're representations of the originals brought by Slavic immigrants to America. Many of whom [[FridgeBrilliance would have immigrated in the 19th/early 20th centuries]]. Presumably, the original Slavic gods are still in Eastern Europe. The book makes it clear that America can clone or reincarnate gods while the originals are still in their home countries.
** Given that this was written by Gaiman as a response to the confusion he felt after coming to America after living in Europe, the dissonance might be intentional.
** An in-universe case of religious studies failure occurs within the book. Mr. Wednesday asks a random woman, who identifies as pagan, about Easter- and she responds that she doesn't follow that Christian crap, indicating she knows squat about paganism.
* There're some in-universe examples in ''FatherBrown'' stories by [[GKChesterton G.K. Chesterton]].
** In ''The Blue Cross'', a MasterOfDisguise criminal poses as a Catholic priest; but he makes a grave mistake of talking religion with Father Brown. False priest attacks reason, which is, as Father Brown says, bad theology; that, among other things, helps Father Brown to uncover the disguised criminal.
** In ''The Vampire of the Village'', there's an Anglican parson, whose behavior is a strange mix of High-Churchman and Low-Churchman traits. Which helps Father Brown to deduce that [[spoiler:he is just posing as a clergyman; but, due to ignorance in religious matters, he plays a [[TheThemeParkVersion Theme Park]] version of a parson]].
** Then there's ''The God of the Gongs'', in which Chesterton randomly decides that there's a form of Voodoo that involves HumanSacrifice (not to mention all the [[ValuesDissonance casual racism]] in that story). People from non-Abrahamic religions didn't get much respect in those stories.
*** The introduction to THE WISDOM OF FATHER BROWN explicitly states that the details of "mythology" and "native practices" are made-up.
** Then there is his novel THE MAN WHO WAS THURSDAY, where an anarchist relates that he tried disguising himself as a bishop, but when he entered the drawing room shouting "Down! Down! Presumptuous human reason," people somehow figured out that he was an impostor, since it seems that real bishops don't act like that.
* ''Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth'' has a woman pull her daughter out of school because the mother believes fossils are fakes, and home schools Mary to teach her creation instead of evolution. What this outright ignores is that modern creationism does not reject that fossils exist, it merely rejects the belief that millions of years are required for them to form, citing some modern examples (like 70-year-old petrified teddy bears found in a cave) to justify belief that a [[TheGreatFlood rapid global flood]] could do just as much damage in a year-and-a-half.
** Forgiven in that there is absolutely no more evidence to support a world flood than there is that Satan planted the fossils in the ground and the scientific knowledge which dictates that they must be ancient in our minds exactly 10 minutes ago.
* ''LeftBehind'' is very accurate in its portrayal of the particular flavour of pre-millenial dispensationalists the writers belong to. ([[CreatorProvincialism Even if it is weird]] to see the formerly non-believing protagonists [[InstantExpert talk and behave like long term believers instantly upon converting]].) Everyone else (including but not limited to Catholics, Jews and Atheists) gets the shaft, badly.
* In ''TheirEyesWereWatchingGod,'' the people of Eatonville claim at one point that any romantic speech has to include references to Isaac meeting Rebecca at the well. Rebecca met ''Eliezer,'' Isaac's family servant, at the well; Isaac only met her when Eliezer brought her back to the Holy Land. Possibly [[JustifiedTrope this was meant]] to show the townspeople as being uninformed, as they're generally not the smartest bunch.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* On the ''[[{{QI}} QI panel game]]'', (You know, ''[[{{Irony}} the one that centres its entire premise around dispelling common misconceptions]]'') Steven Fry ''very'' gleefully stated as outright fact ([[ManipulativeBastard in the Christmas special, no less]]) that the whole of Christianity is based on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithras_in_comparison_with_other_belief_systems#Mithraism_and_Christian_Theology Mithraic Mystery Cult]] Quite apart from the fact that we know almost nothing about them (well the were a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin mystery]] cult), ''everything we do know'' contradicts each and every single claim made on the show (and by very, very, many others besides them). Sorry QI, but [[YouFailHistoryForever You Fail History]] and [[YouFailReligiousStudiesForever Religious Studies Forever]].
* ''{{Charmed}}'' and its portrayal of {{UsefulNotes/Wicca}} can certainly qualify, such as stating the Wiccan Rede to be "no personal gain" rather than "harm none" and completely disregarding Wicca's theology involving a Goddess and God instead focusing on a completely made up cosmology involving beings such as the Elders and Whitelighters.
** Most of the actual Wiccans who turn up on the show are made to look silly. What really bothers me is that the dialogue keeps using "Wiccan" as just a synonym for "witch". The "witches" in CHARMED mythology have little resemblance to either legendary witches or contemporary crafters; one can use "low" magic without adhering to the Gardnerian construct of a "Wiccan" religion; and one can accept the religion without being an initiated "witch".
** A particularly bad case was the episode about the warlock/deacon, which only made sense by claiming that ordination as a priest would somehow confer additional "protection" against evil magic.. especially as deacons are already in Holy Orders.
** The (allegedly) Wiccan ancestor in question was from Salem at the time of the witch trials, which makes this an explicit example of the very common misconception that Wicca is (a) an ancient religion, and (b) just the "polite" term for any sort of European pagaganism other than Norse or Greco-Roman.
* ''{{Buffy}}'' also portrayed {{UsefulNotes/Wicca}} as a way to get magick powers rather than an religion, {{lampshaded}} when Willow ran into a realistic Wicca coven in college and was annoyed with by the lack of spell casting. Same word, two completely different meanings.
--> '''Willow''': Talk, all talk! Blah blah, Gaia, blah, blah, moon, menstrual life-force power thingy. You know, after a couple of sessions I was hoping we would get into something real, but...
-->'''Buffy''': No actual witches in your witch group?
-->'''Willow''': No, bunch of wanna-blessed-be's. You know, nowadays every girl with a Henna tattoo and a spice rack thinks she's a sister to the Dark Ones.
* Any time ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' goes near religion. Most recently people have complained about the way Christianity and everything associated with it is being presented, but it's always had a bad track record with religion. Check out any episode where they talk about the old Pagan Gods; They Fail Religious Studies Forever by making it seem that there was apparently only one religion ever before Christianity hit the scene. The show just uses the term 'Pagan God' for any "god" of an old polytheistic religion. They specifically say the Trickster exists in Norse and Egyptian mythology, and that the Vanír were Norse gods, too.
** Lampshaded when Sam corrects a girl in the pilot, after she says that the pentacle is a symbol of Satanism.
** Recently they had Castiel scold the boys for believing that the Antichrist will be the son of Satan. "Your Bible gets more wrong that it does right," he explains. Except...[[DidNotDotheResearch the Bible never describes the devil having any children.]] You think an angel would know better.
** Samhain, that demon it "It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester". Samhain is actually the Celtic Sabbath that falls of Halloween, and it's pronounced SOW-EHN, not SAM HANE. Please, if you're going to insult every Celtic witch out there, at least [[DidNotDoTheResearch do it right.]]
*** That particular DidNotDoTheResearch becomes even more obvious when you realise that "Samhain" is also the Irish word for "November", so it wouldn't exactly be difficult to check the pronunciation...
** Just to add to the list, according to Supernatural, if an angel falls from grace they become human, but according to Christian theology if an angel falls from grace then they become a demon. Hence the term "fallen angel".
* ''DefyingGravity'' has an episode in which Paula, a devout Catholic, proclaims the discovery of aliens as a sign of the upcoming Rapture. As stated above, the Rapture is ''not'' Catholic doctrine. (Possibly justified, however, if she has just picked up on pop cultural Protestant beliefs.)
* The worst example on ''{{The X-Files}}'' was probably the laughably bad portrayal of Judaism in "Kaddish", but attempts to portray AgentScully's Catholicism or any other forms of Christianity tended to run headlong into the writers' [[DidNotDoTheResearch total lack of research]].
** And Voodoo, and Wicca... Maybe they had a theme going?
*** Not to mention their conflation of Satanism and (Aleister Crowley's) Thelema, which had pretty much nothing to do with real-world Satanism or Thelema.
** A more specific example: in the episode ''3'', a character writes "John 52:54" on a wall, and Mulder (I think) is immediately able to bring the verse to mind. Problem is, it's actually "John 6:52-54" he's thinking of, and "John 52:54" doesn't exist.
* The new series of ''Series/DoctorWho'' fails hard in "The Satan Pit" when it's claimed that in every culture throughout history, horned beings have symbolised ''evil''. Horns were a symbol of potency, fertility and power in many ancient religions and were later demonised by Christian writers ''because'' they were so popular amongst the heathens. Ironically, in the Seventies serial "The Daemons", the Doctor actually mentions these varied connotations. "The Daemons", however, has its own failings; it implied that Beltane was a night for evil spirits, when it in fact was a day for purification, transition, and fertility rituals.
* The first episode of ''{{Bones}}'' written by Kathy Reichs had "Wiccans" who were all-female, descended from the Salem "witches," and who stole corpses and used bat bones in their ceremonies.
** It also claimed (through Sweets) that the pentagram is an Ancient Wiccan Symbol signifying solidarity and sisterhood. [[YouFailHistoryForever Sumer, Pythagoras, and Agrippa would like to have a word with you.]]
** To be fair, the corpse stealer was portrayed as a blasphemer that did curses for hire and was feared and pitied by the less [[spoiler: deliberately]] psychotic Wiccans. Everything else is true, though.
* In the third season of ''{{Veronica Mars}}'', Piz starts ranting on his radio show about how even though he is a Catholic school boy, the concept of Purgatory completely baffles him. He then goes on to completely incorrectly explain it as the place for people not good enough for Heaven (a common misconception among non-Catholics and Catholics alike, so maybe this is {{Truth in Television}}?). Purgatory is the place of purification for souls on their way to Heaven in which the temporal affects of their sins are cleansed.
* Then there's that episode of ''{{Lost}}'' ("Fire + Water", I think...) where Mr. Eko tells Claire that the dove that appeared after Jesus' baptism signified that John had cleansed Jesus of his sins. Actually, being the Son of God, Jesus was sinless, and the Dove was another way that God claimed Jesus as his son. Of course, this can partially be explained by Eko [[spoiler: not being a real priest, but actually a drug runner who caused the death of his brother and became a "priest" so that he could atone for his sins.]] Guess he didn't have much time to learn theology...
* In one episode of ''{{Psych}}'' a priest, who's supposed to be an experienced exorcist, immediately jumps to the conclusion that a girl was possessed because she had been having mood swings. He later then shows up to perform an exorcism on another girl without even taking any steps to find out if she was really possessed (I.E. sending her to a doctor or a psychologist, or even just interviewing her himself).
** Sadly, this can be TruthInTelevision if we're talking about clergy from some of the flakier Charismatic or Fundamentalist ''Protestant'' sects, some of whom will do exorcisms at the drop of a hat. But a Roman Catholic priest? Either he's a little loopy himself and/or acting without any official authority, in which case he'd get in big trouble with both secular and ecclesiastical authorities.
* On the TV miniseries ''{{Roots}}'', the people in Kunta Kinte's village are shown to be Muslim, and the women of the village walk around topless. Aside from the unlikelihood of Muslims in sub-saharan West Africa in the 17th century, the problem is that if the women were Muslim, they would certainly not be topless in public. The only specific command in the Qur'an about female modesty is that they must cover their breasts.
* In the ''Series/MysteriousWays'' episode "29," a man sees the number 29 drawn by a toy pendulum during an earthquake and believes the apocalypse will occur on the 29th of the month, as the number 29 is always associated with disaster. Among the reasons he gives is "Many people believe Christ died at 29." Not only is Christ's death the ''opposite'' of a disaster, in Christian theology, but ''no one'', or close to it, believes Christ died at 29.[[hottip:*:[[http://www.google.com/search?q=christ+died+at+29&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=com.ubuntu:en-US:unofficial&client=firefox-a Google it for yourself.]]]] The most common age suggested is 30 or 33. Miranda's reaction (an annoyed "'Many people'?") possibly suggests that the error is the character's, not the writers'.
** There's also an in-universe case in the series finale "Something Fishy," in which fish rain from the sky onto a small town. One of the town's residents tries to explain the spiritual significance, but mixes up Bible stories as he does so, leading to tales of God punishing Pharaoh for not believing Noah (followed by Noah escaping the Parting of the Red Sea in his ark) and "mana from Heaven sent to the Israelites in the belly of the whale."
* The portrayal of {{UsefulNotes/Wicca}} on the episode 'Red Rum' of ''TheMentalist'' was a source of much outrage to actual Wiccans and Neo-Pagans. In their eyes, the [[InNameOnly "Wiccan]] [[CloudCuckooLander priestess"]] on the show was pretentious, irresponsible, and utterly immoral. It goes without saying that while every religion abhors murder, using magic (considered a sacred gift from the God and Goddess) to murder someone is beyond blasphemy. The characters consider the religion of Wicca and the practice of witchcraft as interchangeable (though [[TruthInTelevision this mistake is made in real life too]]) and have very dismissive opinions on it. Rigsby even goes so far as calling it an "alternative lifestyle like StarTrek or yoga". While it could be seen that the "priestess" was an [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation attention-seeking girl with no understanding of the faith she claimed to follow]], viewers were not shown any contrast to this image, which is essential in portraying something that most viewers know little to nothing about.
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[[folder:Music]]
* In USA For Africa's ''WeAreTheWorld'', a who's who of popular musicians sing about ending world hunger and the like. At one point they sing, "As God has shown us by turning stones to bread; that we all must lend a helping hand". They apparently confused the temptation of Jesus, in which Satan tries to convince Jesus to turn stone to bread and end his fast, with Exodus, in which God causes nourishing manna to fall from the sky to feed the Israelites.
** Or possibly with the Miracle of Loaves and Fishes, in which Jesus asked one follower to share his lunch with over five hundred others, and they ended up with [[BeyondTheImpossible twelve baskets of leftovers]], proving that a little kindness goes a long way.
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[[folder:Tabletop Roleplaying Games]]
* Almost anything in the ''{{World of Darkness}}'' series, new or old, is likely to run up against this, although the new system is far better at just inventing ''new'' fake religions for characters than trying to ham-handedly wedge ''actual'' religion into the games. The Long Night is a good example of one of these made up religions.
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[[folder:Web Comics]]
* Modern Wiccans (or those who claim to be) are skewered in [[http://somethingpositive.net/sp04242002.shtml this]] strip from ''SomethingPositive''.
** That actually is a fairly accurate (if slightly exaggerated) depiction of what some [[{{Wicca}} Wiccans]] refer to as "fluffy bunnies" -- people (usually teens) who think that all they need to be a real Wiccan is to read a few books on it and buy a few supplies. Outrageous and patently false past lives aren't unheard of among fluffies, either.
** That strip demonstrates some DidNotDoTheResearch though; the actual cause of the Salem witch trials is debated (and class conflict is not a particularly popular explanation), and Davan doesn't seem to mind bunny's burning-at-the-stake part -- nobody burned at Salem. Those who claimed they ''weren't'' witches were hung (they were deep in the devil's grip), those who "confessed" were let go (as they were turning away from the devil by confessing), and one guy was crushed under a load of rocks, because he refused to make any claims as to his practice of witchcraft or lack thereof.
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[[folder:Western Animation]]
* An episode of ''TheSimpsons'' had Flanders do some home television, reenacting Cain's murder of Abel. Then his kids asked how there came into being more humans when Cain and Abel were the only two humans (followed by asking whether or not [[HomosexualReproduction Cain and Abel had children with each other]]). Flanders has a snide remark with the implication that the kids shouldn't be reading too much into it (an indication he doesn't really know). However, TheBible makes it clear that Adam and Eve later had other children so they weren't the only two humans; the first one was named Seth. Cain is also explicitly stated to have had a wife in the Land of Nod. While where ''they'' came from isn't made clear, this trope is in effect because Flanders' kids basically asked if Cain and Abel had sex with each other and produced children that way, and Flanders' never corrected them.
** One could argue that it's a case of FridgeBrilliance, parodying the fact many American Christians claim to know the Bible to the core when in fact they don't read it much.
** The question of where Cain got his wife is one that some like to use to back Christians into a corner, believing that they'll be unable to answer without admitting that God permitted incest. The truth is, many Christians don't mind admitting to just that because it's so obvious. ''Of course'' Cain would marry one of his sisters or nieces, there were no other options at the time. {{Squick}} if you must, but many fail to realize that incest wasn't forbidden by God until the time of Abraham when humanity had grown significantly in size and enough time had passed for congenital birth defects to become an issue. Adam and Eve were the first humans and by all accounts genetically pure, something they would pass on through their children for years without any problems.
*** Let's just take all the "or maybe the Bible isn't true" quasi-explanations as read. Because obviously, the Christians involved would either believe the Bible to be literally true on that point, or interpret all of Genesis as a metaphor. So it's not a problem either way.
*** Of course, 'genetic purity' explaining lack of birth defects [[YouFailBiologyForever makes no biological sense]].
** In another episode, somebody digs up what appears to be an angel's skeleton. Lisa, the skeptic, is the only person to suspect it's fake. All of the other people in town, including Reverend Lovejoy, criticize her for her lack of faith. Except that, according to Christian tradition, angels do not have physical bodies and cannot die. Therefore even those who believe in angels, ''especially'' the preacher, should have called it out as a fake from the beginning.
* In the ''AmericanDad'' episode "Rapture's Delight," Stan expects the rapture despite being an Episcopalian. The whole episode follows the RuleOfFunny by overdramatizing even the already overdramatized ideas perpetuated by things such as the LeftBehind books. A lot of stuff doesn't match up with even the most rudimentary aspects of Rapture belief.
* Played for laughs in the "Jewbilee" episode of ''SouthPark''. Judaism is portrayed as the worship of Moses, who takes the form of the Master Control Program from ''{{Tron}}'' and has an obsession with children's arts and crafts. Haman, from the Book of Esther, is portrayed as a demonic creature that is worshiped by the denomination of Anti-Semitic Jews. Since Matt Stone is half-Jewish, it's obvious this all falls under RuleOfFunny.
** In "Cartmanland", Kyle's parents try to restore his faith in God by reading him the story of Job, but stop at the point where Job is stricken with boils, declaring that to be where the story ends. The account of Job actually ends with Job gaining a new family and twice the amount of wealth he had lost (not surprisingly, Kyle's faith is not restored).
*** Naturally, the continuation of the story could meet the same objection Kyle voiced at the abridged version. Sure, God granted Job a new family...after killing his old one. From a human perspective, that's abominable. A [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment certain rule]] applies to the [[UnfortunateImplications unfortunate]] religious implications.
** The episode "Probably (2)" featured everyone going to Hell except for Mormons. Mormons believe that only the truly wicked go to Hell and not because they weren't Mormon. In the SouthPark universe, hell is only bad if you were a bad person, otherwise it's not that bad. The Mormons go to heaven so they don't ruin hell for everyone else.
* ''FamilyGuy'' does not seem to know the difference between the defined Catholic dogma of purgatory and the theory of limbo. Apparently of their justification for Peter's stereotypes about Jews in the "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein" episode was that much of what Peter knows about his own Catholic faith is stereotypes.
** Seth [=MacFarlane is obviously=] a pretty big fan of RuleOfFunny and generally [[TheyJustDidntCare just doesn't care]], but his use of Jewish symbols is, unsurprisingly, way off the mark. In at least a couple episodes in ''FamilyGuy'' he shows Jews wearing prayer shawls at the wrong times (either outside of prayer, or at nighttime services when they are not worn), and ''TheClevelandShow'' at one point, in a fantasy cutaway, shows Cleveland reciting Kol Nidre, the Aramaic annulment of vows that begins Yom Kippur, by reading it out of a Torah scroll. It is a legal declaration, not a Biblical passage, and is certainly not found in the Torah (it's not even in the same language).
* Done satirically in ''TheBoondocks''. Uber-naïve Jasmine [=DuBois=] not only believes that Christmas is a celebration ''of'' SantaClaus, but that he is the central figure that all of Christianity revolves around.
* ''ScoobyDoo and the Witch's Ghost'' had a character identify as [[WitchSpecies one-sixteenth Wiccan]]. (This doesn't even take into account that would take at least five generations, which given Wicca's age is only barely possible if you involve a lot of {{squick}}.)
[[/folder]]
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