History Main / ReligionOfEvil

* The Omekata cult from ''MiraiNikki''.

* ''VisualNovel/HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi'''s "question arc" revolves around an "[[AGodAmI Oyashiro-sama]]" based religion. Partially averted when "Oyashiro" makes a proper appearance and [[spoiler: is largely powerless and ''[[{{Moe}} adorable]]''. As well as ''very'' unhappy with the things that people do in her name.]]

* The Society of Light in ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' is never actually referred to as a cult, but it clearly is. (Its kind of obvious, given that meetings they have are clearly sermons. And seeing as the [[EldritchAbomination Light of Ruin]] is ultimately behind it, clearly evil.)

'''No RealLife examples''', please! This is a ''very'' controversial subject and likely to invoke edit wars. It is sufficient to say that certain features of the Religion of Evil can be found in historical religions of human history.

** An indoctrinated Hanar combines this with InsaneTrollLogic to come to the conclusion that since Hanar worship Protheans, and Protheans were turned into Collectors who now serve the Reapers, Hanar must worship the Reapers and aid them in their goal of total destruction.

** That said, as mentioned by CiaphasCain (in SandyMitchell's ''The Traitor's Hand''), many Chaos cultists start out presuming the organizations they're joining are relatively innocuous like crime networks, interesting occult or deviant pleasure groups, or even social reform movements; they often only grasp the true nature of what they've joined when they're far too corrupted to even care anymore. The cult in that book mostly consisted of the bored, and very few of them had any idea what they were getting themselves into.

* ''Videogame/DragonsDogma'' has Salvation, a cult that worships the Dragon that stole your heart as a harbinger of the endtimes and serve as TheUsualAdversaries for The Arisen.

* ''VisualNovel/HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi'''s "question arc" revolves around an "[[AGodAmI Oyashiro-sama]]" based religion. Partially averted when "Oyashiro" makes a proper appearance and [[spoiler: is largely powerless and ''[[MoeMoe adorable]]''. As well as ''very'' unhappy with the things that people do in her name.]]

** After [[spoiler: Light's death]] they reemerge, praying for Kira's return. Possibly a subversion since we never see them do anything evil.

* The Harbingers who worship the First Evil in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', and every cult of the series. At least one Wolfram & Hart security guard/soldier told Angel that he believed, specifically, in the cause of evil, by name. [[spoiler:Angel using the guy's own shotgun to blow his head off]] did make others at least briefly re-evaluate their positions, however.

** Ultimately it is a {{Deconstruction}} of the concept, showing that an organization composed of murderous sociopaths would [[RealityEnsues eventually collapse under the weight of the collective dysfunctions of the its individual members]]. Not enough of them are sane enough to have any clue what their doing.

* In ''RiseOfTheKasai'' the titular Kasai is an evil cult who's only purpose is to gather up six marks that are branded on to people's flesh, and use them to cast a spell that will allow their GodOfEvil to enter the world and wreak havok. Said marks are often found on children, who they will kill and skin to use the magic.

* In ''{{Metroid}} Prime 3'', the corrupted Space Pirates certainly seem to regard Dark Samus like Jesus, referring to themselves as disciples.
* The Order of the ''Franchise/SilentHill'' series worship a God that has promised to bring about the salvation of humanity and paradise on Earth. Given that their plans for helping God bring this about invariably involve physical and psychological torture and murder (''especially'' of children and childhood best friends) and that all of the Order members (with the possible exception of Claudia, who can be seen as just a ''WellIntentionedExtremist'') encountered in the series are amoral, vicious sadists, and/or outright insane, one can be forgiven for wondering what exactly their paradise would entail.

Most often a {{Fantasy}} trope, the Religion of Evil has no pretenses of being anything other than... well, evil. Quite often it'll be a CardCarryingVillain that refers to ''itself'' as evil; sometimes it won't say that word straight out, but its tenets and actions will be such that its followers are necessarily evil. Any time a temple's decoration involves lanterns made out of the [[NothingButSkulls skulls]] of their {{Human Sacrifice}}s, it probably qualifies here (but see the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedlec_Ossuary Sedlec Ossuary]] or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capela_dos_Ossos Capela dos Ossos]] for counter-examples).

Most often a {{Fantasy}} trope, the Religion of Evil has no pretenses of being anything other than... well, evil. Quite often it'll be a CardCarryingVillain that refers to ''itself'' as evil; sometimes it won't say that word straight out, but its tenets and actions will be such that its followers are necessarily evil. Any time a temple's decoration involves lanterns made out of the [[NothingButSkulls skulls]] of their {{Human Sacrifice}}s, it probably qualifies here (but see [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedlec_Ossuary Sedlec Ossuary]] for a counter-example).

* ''BreathOfFireII'' was one of the first games to effectively pull this off. The Church of Evrai is seen as good, but as it turns out, [[spoiler: the high ranking officials are really monsters, Evan is actually a demon that worshipped the dark god Myria...aka ''Tyr''.]]

* The Lopto Sect of FireEmblemJugdral is a cult devoted to the dark dragon Loptous (A alternate spelling of [[NorseMythology Loki, Norse God of Evil]]), and a once-former Empire founded by a ex-Bishop named Galle who became [[FaithHeelTurn disenchanted with the divine dragons]] and [[DealWithTheDevil made a deal with Loptuous for power]] to conquer. They are rather keen on miss kidnapping of children to be used as human sacrifices to Loptous,and the tome that bears his name and was the source of Galle's power possesses the Final Boss, Prince Yurius, designed to be the dragon's vessel on Earth. All-in-all, a rather unpleaseant group.
* In FireEmblemAwakening, we have [[http://fireemblem.wikia.com/wiki/Grimleal the Grimleal cult.]] [[ExPy Expies of sorts]] of the Loptous Cult, they worship the Fallen Dragon Grima and are led by the EvilSorceror Validar. [[spoiler: And the PlayerCharacter is supposed to become its leader, as the "perfect" SoulJar of Grima.]]

* The Multitude in Videogame/{{Incursion}} is a, well, multitude of demon ghosts who each want you to go kill and slaughter and rape and be generally depraved in that particular ghost's name, and are willing to bribe you with power for it. Zurvash is slightly more philosophical about it, making no bones about the fact that he has no regard for civilization, ethics, or foresight, and glorying in brutality and domination.

** One of the DummiedOut bits from Soul Reaver before it was gutted due to time constraits would have involved Raziel killing a human priestess in the last human settlement who was using mind control to send humans into a vampire den.

* Franchise/{{Halo}} has an interesting example. While the religion of the Covenant didn't start out this way, thanks to the Prophets misinterpreting the sayings of the Oracle in their holy city ([[spoiler: actually a fragment of Mendicant Bias, a Forerunner AI who went nuts and joined the Flood for a while]]) and [[spoiler: their own corruption and thirst for power]], it soon turns the Covenant into an alliance of [[OmnicidalManiac omnicidal maniacs]]. Granted, they didn't think ''they'' were going to be killed as well.

* In VideoGame/MortalKombat, the Brotherhood of Shadow follows the fallen Elder God Shinnok.

* The Path of Dark in the old VideoGame/MightAndMagic verse is heavily implied to be either this or a ''Philosophy'' of Evil - it has adherents that self-identify as [[CardCarryingVillain Villains]], some members of it call you a do-gooder, or criticise your lack of cruelty if you happen to align with the Path of Light...

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' has the religion of Yevon, which at first seems to be a respected religion, but it turns out that 3 of the 4 leaders (Maesters) are corrupt, and betray their own teachings. Mika is an unsent, Kinoc blindly follows Mika, and Seymour is the worst, having ulterior motives and wishing to become Sin.

** The [[ComicBook/TeenTitans Church of Blood]]! Even Nightwing was a member at one point! Brainwashing was involved.
*** ''All Hail Brother Blood!''

*** Which is a case of Western confusion. Historical Thugs (those who practiced Thugee) may or may not have worshiped Durga in her form as Kālī, but the Kali associated with the Kali Yuga is a different figure--the names seem alike when transliterated. It works dramatically, anyway, so just go with it.
*** Actually, according to Hindu scriptures and religious authorities, this ''is'' the Kali Yuga. In fact, it's been the Kali Yuga since about 3000 BC. So, yeah.

*** The GuardiansOfTheGalaxy had a StoryArc that culminated in the CrisisCrossover ''TheThanosImperative'' dealing with the Cancerverse and its residents, the Universal Church of Truth, led by the {{Evil Counterpart}}s of Adam Warlock and CaptainMarvell and worshipping the new rulers the Many-Angled Ones, whose members include Shuma-Gorath and its brethern. The Many-Angled Ones tricked Mar-Vell into [[EnemiesWithDeath killing death]], procedeed to [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwash]] the entire universe (except for [[AntiMagic the Machine Resistance]]), and added it to their ever growing collection of universes. Eventually, with Death gone, life grew out of control and the Universal Church of Truth invaded the mainstream Marvel-verse and planned to repeat the process, but were ultimately destroyed by the Guardians and {{Thanos}}.

* David Weber's ''[[TheWarGods WarGod]]'' series has a pantheon of evil gods. The one who appears most often in the trilogy is Sharna, a [[DemonicSpiders scorpion-God]] of demons and [[ProfessionalKiller assassins]], although in the second and third books several more show up. Their worship is pretty classically evil, with rituals involving [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil gang rape]], mass [[ColdBloodedTorture torture]], and [[IAmAHumanitarian cannibalism]]. [[FateWorseThanDeath Or worse.]]

*** [[FridgeLogic Strangely enough,]] although it's frequently emphasized in the text that no form of power is inherently evil and that it's only the ''methods'' that make dark wizardry evil, there seems to be no incentive for wizards to stay 'white,' since there are no 'good' institutions to counterbalance the Church of Carnadosa. The only representative of white wizardry is [[TheArchmage Wencit of Rum,]] and he seems to have no interest in taking apprentices or forming a new White Wizard academy (even though a similar institution exists for magi.) He's much too busy going around and executing wizards on the spot without any opportunity to reform. The practice of wizardry is also described as so seductive that those born with the talent cannot resist using it. And since it's illegal in every country in the world, you can't exactly join a support group for it. So essentially, [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption if you are born with any kind of wizard power, you have no other options besides joining the Church of Carnadosa, practicing blood magic, and eventually getting killed by Wencit of Rum.]] [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Nice.]]

* In Creator/RobertEHoward's ''ConanTheBarbarian'' story "Literature/AWitchShallBeBorn", Salome institutes HumanSacrifice as part of the religious practices.
** In both "Literature/ThePhoenixOnTheSword" and "Literature/TheScarletCitadel", the worship of Set. Indeed, the first story has the only hint of WhiteMagic and the intervention of good gods in Howard's stories.
*** The nation of Stygia is crawling (or slithering) with really nasty Set worshippers. Pythons are allowed to eat people in the streets as sacrifices.
** In a move sure to annoy RealLife Hindus, Howard also depicts the religion of Hanuman as evil.

* ''Franchise/StargateVerse'':
** ''Series/StargateSG1'' has the religion of Origin, which while not evil in an of itself, is run by Alterans that have managed to Ascend. Its Priors also twist the meaning of the religion's holy book to justify mass murder and conquering other people whether they want to convert to Origin or not.
** The Wraith worshippers in ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' are mostly in it for the benefits (not getting eaten).
*** Not quite. They're tortured until they believe that the Wraiths are gods.
*** They also addict their victims to [[PsychoSerum Wraith enzyme]].
*** Actually, it's not clear that all Wraith worshippers are tortured into it. Presumably, some people just believe it's "better to be the right hand of the devil than in his path" so join with the Wraith to avoid death and to reap the benefits of the enzyme, addicting though it may be.

* The Harbingers who worship the First Evil in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', and every cult of the series. A list would cover at least an A4 page.
** At least one Wolfram & Hart security guard/soldier told Angel that he believed, specifically, in the cause of evil, by name. [[spoiler:Angel using the guy's own shotgun to blow his head off]] did make others at least briefly re-evaluate their positions, however.

*** Hextor's church falls between this and PathOfInspiration. Where his clerics have power, they openly preach his creed of militarism, conquest and tyranny. In other places, they claim he's a god of fitness, discipline and strength.

*** Interestingly, becoming a thinking undead is actually ''discouraged'' for the majority of the the faithful. This is because the Bloods' faith places a lot of importance on the potential divinity inside a mortal -- the undead are seen as having given up their chance for true divinity in order to protect and guide the faithful (also, most Blood-followers don't actually regard ''life'' as a torment, it's the death part that is seen as pointlessly cruel [which makes sense considering what the known afterlife looks like in Eberron]).

*** The ''worst'' example of this trope in Ravenloft (possibly the worst example ''period'') is the cult of the god Zhakata in the realm of G'Henna. Zhakata is not even a real god. He only exists in the deluded mind of the realm's mad Lord, Yagno Petrovna. Followers of this religion believe that if they starve themselves, it will eventually bring about the coming of Zhakata in his role as the Provider, bringing endless prosperity and bounty. This had turned G'Henna into a poverty-stricken wasteland, with its citizens waiting for a pretend savior that will never come.

*** Ironically, the Harmonium - a group known for being LawfulStupid at best and a bunch of {{Knight Templar}}s at worst - admire St. Cuthbert the God of Justice, regarding him as their patron god. Whether St. Cuthbert approves - or cares - about this isn't know, although their are many clerics of his clergy among the Harmonium.

*** ''Fiendish Codex II'' notes that most evil people are egotistical-- they don't look at lemures or dretches (bottom-of-the-barrel devils and demons, respectively) and think that will be their afterlife. They think they'll shoot to the top of the infernal hierarchies immediately. In addition, resurrection magic doesn't generally leave the revived with memories of where their soul ended up, so nobody has firsthand information as to what happens after you get killed.

*** The Raven Queen also has a good bit of MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch, as plenty of her worshippers are a bit overenthusiastic. (Shadar-kai especially tend to end up as random encounters.)

*** The first edition also features the Seventh Generation, a human cult that serves the Wyrm's Defiler aspect.

*** The game's most enduring example are the Baali, an ancient sect of infernalists considered vile even by kindred standards.
*** And then there's the Sabbat, who could be considered the predecessors of both the Lancea Sanctum ''and'' Belial's Brood. Many of them worship Caine, the first vampire, and believe that during [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Gehenna]], he will rise up and save his childer from [[EldritchAbomination the Antediluvians]] that mean to devour them. Their membership consists of the most amoral vampires (and ''that's'' saying something), who often have to pick up [[BlueAndOrangeMorality alternate Paths of Enlightenment]] to avoid falling to their Beasts and practice twisted rituals that often involve human sacrifice (Their interpretation of the rite of baptism, for instance, requires [[BloodBath immersion in a literal bath of blood]]). And the real kicker? They ''fucking hate'' infernalists.

*** At least in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'', many of the cults initially present themselves as organizations for social and political change, something that the Empire could rather use.
*** Because of the way Chaos works (having an open mind will leave you defenseless against demons), Chaos often infiltrates and takes over ''actual'' rebellions and social reform movements.

*** In fact, the Imperial Cult worshipped by the Imperium? Created by [[Characters/WordBearers Lorgar]], primarch of the Word Bearers, as his first try at organized religion; when the Emperor smacked him upside the head with the fact he did ''not'' want any religions in his Imperium, even -- or especially -- if those religions deified him as a GodEmperor, Lorgar went running into the arms of the Chaos Gods.
*** The most interesting legacy of Lorgar may be the Chaplains, the unique sect of {{Warrior Priest}}s amongst the Space Marines. Their official purpose is to help keep Space Marines from being corrupted; however, not only were they created by the very first Legion to be corrupted (none of the other Traitor Legions have fallen Chaplains amongst their ranks because Chaplains were strictly found amongst the religiously-zealous Word Bearers), they were actually instrumental in corrupting the other Traitor Legions. Nobody remembers this fact now...

** What really makes it ironic though, is that its "prophet" didn't start it, and in fact was opposed to it. He merely found the Black Marker and was immune to its effects, and people that were effected by it started worshiping him as a prophet. He began trying to blow the whistle on a government plot to use the Marker as a weapon. The two military officials that were in charge of the project kidnapped him and killed him with a Necromorph to martyr him in order to strengthen Unitology, which would most likely throw suspicion away from the government and quell social upheaval that Altman was causing.

** ''Series/StargateSG1'' has the religion of Origin, which while not evil in an of itself, is run by Ancients that have managed to ascend. Its Priors also twist the meaning of the religion's holy book to justify mass murder and conquering other people whether they want to convert to Origin or not.

* The Order in ''VideoGame/Strife''. They worship a malignant god, which involves blood sacrifices, mass murder, human processing and overall plenty of evil, demented stuff. Said god is [[spoiler: actually an [[Eldritch Abomination]] from outer space which operates by draining worlds of all their life-force.]]