History Main / IllegalReligion

* ''Literature/TheLegendOfDrizzt'': Drow cities (at least Lolthite ones) ban worship of other gods. For non-Drow, the first offense means paying a heavy fine, the second death. Drow doing so is punishable by death no matter what.

* In the {{Film/Apocalypse}} film series, Christianity is considered illegal to practice, as One Nation Earth actively hunts down all who do.

** Hitler and the Nazis were not entirely friends of Christianity either. Hitler was publicly a Christian but the Nazi policy of state control by party meant that they clamped down on religious instructions and interfered in doctrines of the Church. Some Catholics and Protestants supported the Nazis but those who didn't could face jail time and execution or deportation to concentration camps. Jehovah's Witnesses were persecuted as a group over their refusal to swear loyalty oaths or serve in the military (both forbidden by Witness beliefs) with some being executed and many imprisoned in concentration camps. "YHVH" was even ordered erased wherever it was displayed in churches, as this was the "Jewish" name of God. In one instance, local Nazi officials ordered even crosses removed from churches, but this was a step too far as you might except. After protests, the edict was withdrawn. The Nazis also had plans to turn Jesus into an Aryan figure if they couldn't simply abolish Christianity and replace it with their own religion. For the moment, the Nazis backed a so-called "Positive Christianity" and "German Christian" movement which aligned with their ideology. Their supporters managed to take control of the Lutheran Church in Germany. The Confessing Church, made up of dissident Protestants that refused to join, was driven underground, with members subjected to the treatment stated above. Hitler initially signed a concordat with the Catholic Church on coming to power, but frequently broke its terms and by the late 1930s Catholics were actively being persecuted (even if they were not openly dissident). The Catholic bishops protest at the Aktion T4 program (exterminating disabled and mentally ill patients) which managed to stop it temporarily, especially angered Hitler, and he swore to "settle with them" after the war ended. Hitler's private beliefs are still not entirely clear, though he did denounce Christianity and of course Judaism. Even in private though he also denounced atheism, saying it was inhuman and claimed to believe in God (though perhaps of a deist or pantheist variety).

** Later historians note that the Japanese policy was a result of the advice given to them by Protestant Dutch traders. They pointed out that the Catholic Church had promoted colonialist oppression in South America among native peoples and destroyed the Mayan and Aztec ruling class. The Japanese shogunate, fearful of Christian expansion and persecution, felt he had to take a preemptive strike and force Christians to apostasize. Notably, while Catholic Christianity was banned from Japan during its period of isolation, Dutch traders and Protestant merchantmen were welcome at the port of Nagasaki (originally a Catholic majority port and seat), so long as they toed the fumie[[note]]A small wooden icon of Jesus which the authorities used to force Catholics to apostasize. The Protestants, being less ritualistic, did not see the fumie as a Christian icon and did not feel they were abjuring their faith.[[/note]] and stayed within limits. This continued until the end of isolation.

* In the ''Tanakh'' (Old Testament to Christian readers), worship of anything other than the one and only God was illegal and punishable by death according to many laws and decrees by the prophets and is listed as the First Commandment ("Thou shalt have no other gods before me."). But for much of Israel's history, many rulers not only allowed worship of other things, but actively facilitated it. They were okay with magi (Persian Zoroastrian priests) even in periods where they otherwise had officially banned all other forms of worship too, since Cyrus The Great was viewed as God's servant foretold by Isaiah after he freed the Israelites enslaved by the Babylonians, allowing them to return home. Today, Israel officially allows any religion to be practiced, but accounts from neo-pagans claim they would be cut to pieces if they ever publicly admitted to worshiping someone like Anat or Thor.

** When Christianity started gaining ground, the old pagan religions suffered declining faithful, proscription, and dereliction of their property. Temples of Jupiter and Mars were used as roadside privies, and subject to vandalism and MonumentalDamage. Christians also burnt many books and teachings from the era they now called "pagan". The Emperor Julian the Apostate, raised as a Christian but seeking and identifying with Hellenism, sought to end Christian persecution of pagans and Jews, while limiting its spread. He made efforts to halt the tide, but he died in battle after a brief reign and all his attempts at religious co-existence ended with him. Pagans were actively persecuted, temples and statues were destroyed (except for those preserved by the state and some responsible bishops and priests), and fell into disrepair.

* ''Series/TheManInTheHighCastle'': Christianity has been banned in the Japanese Pacific States, and this is {{implied}} within the Reich as well, given that even a Neutral Zone book shop owner only sells Bibles under the table. The Marshal finds this out and confirms with his reaction that it's basically contraband, even though the Neutral Zone technically has no laws. Hitler [[TruthInTelevision actually did have plans]] to replace Christianity with a [[CultOfPersonality new religion centering on himself]], according to some papers uncovered by the Allies. Judaism was banned in Nazi Germany already. In this setting, Imperial Japan has followed suit, with practicing it being punishable by death.

** Protestantism [[NotSoDifferent in turn persecuted other minority faiths]], ''and other Protestant sects''. Martin Luther was fiercely antisemitic and wrote many pamphlets that were revived by the Nazis, and he also allied with state authorities against Protestant sects that were more egalitarian than he was (namely Thomas Muntzer) and suppressed them.

* In ''Literature/Timeline191'', the US government faces rebellions from the Mormons of Utah during every war they fight with the CSA, with the Union Army crushing the rebels each time. This mirrors the real-life conflicts of the Mormons with the USA, and UsefulNotes/TheTroubles.

* In Creator/HarryTurtledove's ''[[Literature/WorldWar Colonization]]'' trilogy, [[LizardFolk the Race]] does not exactly outlaw human "superstitions" in their territories, but they do want to encourage conversion to their own reverence of the Spirits of Emperor's Past. To accomplish this, they impose certain restrictions, such as charging people a fee to enter temples and forcing students in their medical school to pay respects to the shrine of the Spirits of Emperors Past. They have better success in China, where they managed to frame the practice in ways already similar to traditional Chinese ancestor reverence, and worse luck in the Middle East, where poor words from the Race ground troops make it a direct challenge to Islam.

* In the ''Tanakh'' (Old Testament to Christian readers), worship of anything other than the one and only God was illegal and punishable by death according to many laws and decrees by the prophets and is listed as the First Commandment ("Thou shalt have no other gods before me."). But for much of Israel's history, many rulers not only allowed worship of other things, but actively facilitated it. They were okay with magi (Persian Zoroastrian priests) even in periods where they otherwise had officially banned all other forms of worship too, since Cyrus The Great was viewed as God's servant foretold by Isaiah after he freed the Israelites enslaved by the Babylonians, allowing them to return home. Today, Israel officially allows any religion to be practiced, but accounts from self-identified "pagans" claim they would be cut to pieces if they ever publicly admitted to worshiping someone like Anat or Thor.

* In Creator/HarryTurtledove's ''[[Literature/WorldWar Colonization]]'' trilogy, [[TheReptilians the Race]] does not exactly outlaw human "superstitions" in their territories, but they do want to encourage conversion to their own reverence of the Spirits of Emperor's Past. To accomplish this, they impose certain restrictions, such as charging people a fee to enter temples and forcing students in their medical school to pay respects to the shrine of the Spirits of Emperors Past. They have better success in China, where they managed to frame the practice in ways already similar to traditional Chinese ancestor reverence, and worse luck in the Middle East, where poor words from the Race ground troops make it a direct challenge to Islam.

In cases involving a genuine, overt ReligionOfEvil, as opposed to a faith that is merely painted as such by their opposition, this trope is usually not portrayed in the same negative light as banning a faith for other reasons. In such cases, the faith's priesthood will be given ample KickTheDog moments, usually involving HumanSacrifice, to make it abundantly clear it really ''is'' deserving of prohibition.

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* ''Fanfic/ThEndOfTheWorld'' The Capitol has banned religious worship, but several times it's shown that most of District 8 still practices Judaism in secret.

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** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', as part of the White-Gold Concordat which ended the [[GreatOffscreenWar Great War]] between the [[VestigialEmpire vestigial Third Tamriellic Empire]] and the re-formed [[AntiHumanAlliance Aldmeri]] [[TheEmpire Dominion]] (it's third iteration, under [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Thalmor]] rule), the worship of Talos, the Ninth Divine, the God of War and Governance, and the Hero God of Mankind, was banned in the Empire. Talos is a DeityOfHumanOrigin, and the ascended god-form of Tiber Septim (possibly [[MergerOfSouls among others]]), who [[FounderOfTheKingdom established]] the Third Empire by [[TheConqueror conquering Tamriel]] and [[CurbStompBattle shattering]] the Second Aldmeri Dominion, which left many [[OurElvesAreBetter Mer (Elves)]] quite angry. To this day, many of them refuse to acknowledge the ascension of Talos as one of the Divines. The ban on Talos worship has driven a wedge between the Empire and Skyrim, Septim's ([[WrittenByTheWinners supposed]]) homeland, which is aggravated by the Empire permitting the Thalmor to travel freely throughout the Empire (especially Skyrim) to suppress Talos worship and arrest its practitioners (or worse). [[spoiler:As it turns out, the ultimate goal of the Thalmor is to [[KillTheGod destroy Talos]] by [[GodNeedsPrayerBadly depriving him of worship]]. The Thalmor follow the extremist Aldmeri religious belief that the creation of the mortal world was a cruel trick by a malevolent god which robbed their divine ancestors of their pre-creation divinity. By destroying Talos, they hope to [[OmnicidalManiac undo creation]], believing that it will allow them to [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence return to that state of pre-creation divinity]]]].

** Christianity endured periods of persecution, indifference, and finally active patronage on account to its growth during the "crisis of the third century". Christianity initially faced objections because they refused to acknowledge the Caesar as a GodEmperor, and the fact that its hero Jesus was crucified, which to Roman sensibilities marked him as a criminal and {{Outlaw}} beyond the pale. The Roman elite such as Lucian of Samosata saw Christianity as similar to other Roman and foreign cults which had cropped up across the empire at the time and viewed it with bemused contempt. Eventually, its appeal among Roman lower classes spread and finally it attained official support from the Emperor Constantine, who was claimed to have been led to victory by the Abrahamic God after seeing Christian symbols in a vision. He legalized it, though it wasn't until some fifty years later under Flavius Theodosius Augustus it became the state religion.

** Christianity endured periods of persecution (albeit sometimes exaggerated[[note]]Being fed to lions, plus many gruesome martyrdom stories have no historical evidence for them-much was written once Christianity triumphed.[[/]]), indifference, and finally active patronage on account to its growth during the "crisis of the third century". Christianity initially faced objections because they refused to acknowledge the Caesar as a GodEmperor, and the fact that its hero Jesus was crucified, which to Roman sensibilities marked him as a criminal and {{Outlaw}} beyond the pale. The Roman elite such as Lucian of Samosata saw Christianity as similar to other Roman and foreign cults which had cropped up across the empire at the time and viewed it with bemused contempt. Eventually, its appeal among Roman lower classes spread and finally it attained official support from the Emperor Constantine, who was claimed to have been led to victory by the Abrahamic God after seeing Christian symbols in a vision. He legalized it, though it wasn't until some fifty years later under Flavius Theodosius Augustus it became the state religion.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS2E65TheObsoleteMan The Obsolete Man]]", the State claims to have determined that Main/{{God}} does not exist and therefore has banned any form of religion. Possessing a [[Literature/TheBible Bible]] is punishable by death.

** Christianity endured periods of persecution, indifference, and finally active patronage on account to its growth during the "crisis of the third century". Christianity initially faced objections because they refused to acknowledge the Caesar as a GodEmperor, and the fact that its hero Jesus was crucified, which to Roman sensibilities marked him as a criminal and {{Outlaw}} beyond the pale. The Roman elite such as Lucian of Samosata saw Christianity as similar to other Roman and foreign cults which had cropped up across the empire at the time and viewed it with bemused contempt. Eventually, its appeal among Roman lower classes spread and finally it attained official support from the Emperor Constantine, who was claimed to have been led to victory by the Abrahamic God after seeing Christian symbols in a vision. He legalized it, though it wasn't until some fifty years later under Flavius Theodosius Augustus it became the state religion.

** Christianity endured periods of persecution (albeit considerably exaggerated), indifference, and finally active patronage on account to its growth during the "crisis of the third century". Christianity initially faced objections because they refused to acknowledge the Caesar as a GodEmperor, and the fact that its hero Jesus was crucified, which to Roman sensibilities marked him as a criminal and {{Outlaw}} beyond the pale. The Roman elite such as Lucian of Samosata saw Christianity as similar to other Roman and foreign cults which had cropped up across the empire at the time and viewed it with bemused contempt. Eventually, its appeal among Roman lower classes spread and finally it attained official support from the Emperor Constantine, who was claimed to have been led to victory by the Abrahamic God after seeing Christian symbols in a vision. He legalized it, though it wasn't until some fifty years later under Flavius Theodosius Augustus it became the state religion.

* According to ''FanFic/TheVictorsProject'', all religion in Panem is banned except for worship of the state. When the District 2 Victors celebrate [[YouMeanXmas Wintermas]], Boudicca offers a thanksgiving prayer to the Capitol and [[PresidentEvil President Snow]], and all colloquial references to God are instead replaced with "Snow," including in cursing.

* Many countries with a Muslim majority forbid conversion to another religion from Islam, or blasphemy. Prosecution of atheists, Christians, and minority religious adherents for alleged violations of these laws occurs in many parts of the Muslim world, along with extra-legal attacks. The most extreme is Saudi Arabia, which forbids anything but Wahhabist Sunni Islam in the kingdom. Christians are persecuted in the country, with churches, missionaries, and Bibles all illegal. Atheism is also forbidden and declared a form of terrorism.

* Contrary to popular belief, religion ''isn't'' outlawed in communist China. However, it is against the law for a member of the Chinese Communist Part (CCP) to follow a religion, presumably meaning you can't have a government job if you're religious. However, some sects (like the Falun Gong, independent Christians, and Tibetan Buddhists loyal to the Dalai Lama) are banned/persecuted. Religion generally was suppressed in the early period under Mao, especially during the Cultural Revolution.