History Main / TurbulentPriest

How the Turbulent Priest conducts himself depends on his rank and standing. If he is the equivalent of a Monk or Parish priest, he may offer sympathies to the hero, hide him in a SecretUndergroundPassage under the church, and give him food and supplies. If the work is set in TheEmpire or similar, expect him to be part of LaResistance and usually given more freedom than the average citizen, because the Church retains some power and would not like to see its clergy picked on. If the Turbulent Priest is a bishop or other high-ranking member of the Church, expect him to publicly decry the plans, encourage resistance, and be able to deploy resources (financial and personnel--heavily-armed KnightsTemplar warrior-monks). If his beef is with one person, sometimes questioning whether his soul is as safe as he thinks is an effective deterrent. Both styles may overlap with a BadassPreacher or a ChurchMilitant; the antagonist one is usually a SinisterMinister.

How the Turbulent Priest conducts himself depends on his rank and standing. If he is the equivalent of a Monk or Parish priest, he may offer sympathies to the hero, hide him in a SecretUndergroundPassage under the church, and give him food and supplies. If the work is set in TheEmpire or similar, expect him to be part of LaResistance and usually given more freedom than the average citizen, because the Church retains some power and would not like to see its clergy picked on. If the Turbulent Priest is a bishop or other high-ranking member of the Church, expect him to publicly decry the plans, encourage resistance, and be able to deploy resources (financial and personnel). If his beef is with one person, sometimes questioning whether his soul is as safe as he thinks is an effective deterrent. Both styles may overlap with a BadassPreacher or a ChurchMilitant; the antagonist one is usually a SinisterMinister.

A Turbulent Priest is a member of the clergy who will resist the plans of somebody with power. Usually their fight is with a secular authority who threatens the Church or general morality, but struggles against other clergy attempting to subvert what the Church stands for is just as viable a cause.

This trope can be depicted in either a positive or a negative light. If the Turbulent Priest is portrayed as in the right, his opponent is usually interested in money or power, and will quite gladly engage in [[KickTheDog animal cruelty]] and other immoral behavior to get it (sometimes said opponent will also attack the church to try and remove any opposition). They could also just be someone who has [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney money]] [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections or]] [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem power]] and [[ItsAllAboutMe thinks this gives them the right to kick anyone in their way]], with this often being TruthInTelevision regarding such situations. If he's in the wrong, the Secular Authority is generally trying to improve society, and the Priest is afraid of change. The TropeNamer (see below) is actually quite neutral by most understandings.

How the Turbulent Priest conducts himself depends on his rank and standing. If he is the equivalent of a Monk or Parish priest, he may offer sympathies to the hero. If the work is set in TheEmpire or similar, expect him to be part of LaResistance and usually given more freedom than the average citizen, because the Church retains some power and would not like to see its clergy picked on. If the Turbulent Priest is a bishop or other high-ranking member of the Church, expect him to publicly decry the plans, and encourage resistance. If his beef is with one person, sometimes questioning whether his soul is as safe as he thinks is an effective deterrent. Both styles may overlap with a BadassPreacher or a ChurchMilitant; the antagonist one is usually a SinisterMinister.

Named for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Becket Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury]], who spent most of his tenure arguing with King Henry II over his plans to exercise increased royal control over the Church in England, leading Henry II to utter the quote at the top of the page. There was no real right or wrong side from a modern perspective, as Henry saw clergy abuse the Ecclesiastical Legal system to escape secular punishment, and Becket saw the sovereignty of the Church as being threatened; in summary, both were convinced the other was going to make a power-grab then abuse that power. Interestingly, [[BeamMeUpScotty what Henry actually said about Becket is not exactly known]], though several of his knights apparently [[RhetoricalRequestBlunder took the quote as a royal execution order]], and murdered the Archbishop at the altar of his own cathedral, getting their king in trouble with the Pope.

-> ''"Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?"''

** While some have believed that Hitler was Christian, his personal views were complex. He was RaisedCatholic, but by the time he was an adult he had a highly syncretized set of personal beliefs. He concluded a Concordat with the Vatican (overseen by Monsignor Pacelli, the future UsefulNotes/PopePiusXII) and several Protestant and Catholic priests advocated voting for Nazis over the Social Democrats, but this did not mean he supported Christianity or saw Nazi Culture as Christian. He considered Christian concerns with compassion and charity a significant weakness. Hitler also believed the core values of Nazism – like nationalism, obedience and loyalty to the state – were contradicted by religious teachings. Still the Church was sufficiently powerful that Hitler never made any great campaign to curb or persecute Christians [[http://alphahistory.com/nazigermany/religion-in-nazi-germany/ until 1936 onwards, one such instance being that 15,000 Jehovah's Witness were detained in concentration camps where a quarter of them died]]. In the later stages of his regime, Hitler also sought to replace Christianity with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Reich_Church the National Reich Church]] which, among other things, sought to prohibit the printing of Bibles and replace the Christian cross with the swastika. The "[[InNameOnly German Christian]]" movement was formed to fuse Nazi ideology with Christianity, aiming to overhaul and then replace the latter.

* The Archdeacon of the Cathedral in Disney's ''WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' interferes with Judge Frollo's more morally questionable acts, such as drowning babies and violating the sanctuary law. Amusingly, the original Frollo from [[Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame the book]] was both a more moral person... [[DecompositeCharacter and archdeacon of Notre Dame]].

* Its spinoff book Literature/FireAndBlood had the Shepherd, a one armed preacher who, upon the death of [[spoiler: Heleana Targaryen]], took advantage of the rabbles anger and railed against the Targaryen's and their dragons. This grew to the point that the Smallfolk [[spoiler: stormed the Dragonpit, the stables that house the majority of the dragons of Westeros, killing five of them and, in the process, getting the Crown Prince Joffrey Targaryen killed.]] The Shepherd drew hundreds to his cause, but eventually was defeated and arrested by the invading Baratheon force. [[spoiler: Refusing to repent to Aegon II, his tongue was torn out and he was burned alive, along with his most loyal followers.]]

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girolamo_Savonarola Girolamo Savonarola]], the 15th-century Florentine preacher, political reformer, and self-proclaimed prophet. He was charismatic enough to have won converts like Sandro Botticelli [[MadArtist who willingly burned his own paintings during the Bonfire of the Vanities]]. It ended however in overall failure because, as Creator/NiccoloMachiavelli said, Savonarola was a charismatic but an unarmed prophet and he had no army to enforce his theocracy before his defeat. He was burned as a heretic by the Roman Inquisition after denouncing the Pope.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antônio_Conselheiro Antônio Conselheiro]] was a Brazilian preacher that supported the monarchy and opposed the newly formed Republic established by rich farmers who deposed [[UsefulNotes/PedroII Dom Pedro II]]. He rallied support from the disenfranchised, former slaves and many others into creating an autonomous community in the Northeast, which culminated into the Canudos War, the bloodiest conflict fought on Brazilian soil.

* Creator/RosemarySutcliff got a lot of mileage out of religious conflicts. Fanatical druids stir up anti-Roman revolts in ''Literature/TheEagleOfTheNinth'' and ''Literature/FrontierWolf''; monks bicker with KingArthur in ''Literature/SwordAtSunset''; Augustine of Canterbury rocks up to convert the dubious Anglo-Saxon kings in ''[[Literature/TheDolphinRing Dawn Wind]]''; zealous Puritans ally with Parliament against King Charles in ''The Rider of the White Horse'' and ''Simon''; and Presbyterian Scottish Covenanter priests reject the rule of English kings in ''We Lived in Drumfyvie'' and ''Bonnie Dundee''.

** The Second Spanish Republic, mainly through the efforts of socialists and other left-wing parties, moved against the church by nationalizing their property, banning priests and nuns from teaching, and expelling the Jesuit Society from the country. They also turned a blind eye to anti-clerical violence, as well as the destruction of religious ground, such as churches and cathedrals. The Pope issued an encyclical titled "On Oppression of the Church In Spain," demanding an end to the violence. In the end, the church avoided total destruction through the efforts of Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War, who ended the persecution and made the Church one of Spain's most powerful institutions again.

* Thomas Becket, as described above.

* In medieval China, a wandering monk named [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hongwu_Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang]] put an end to 100 years of Mongol rule in China and seized the throne as the Hongwu Emperor, first of the Ming Dynasty [[note]]''Hongwu'' was Zhu's [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_era_name era name]]; his decree that every emperor from him onwards should only have one era name lasted until the fall of the Qing Dynasty more than 500 years later. The only exception was [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Yingzong_of_Ming Ming Yingzong]], who had two separate reigns and thus two era names.[[/note]]. Since he had been born in a dirt-poor farming family, his is also one of the most epic RagsToRoyalty stories ever.

* In medieval China, a wandering monk named [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hongwu_Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang]] put an end to 100 years of Mongol rule in China by himself and seized the throne as the Hongwu Emperor, first of the Ming Dynasty. Since he had been born in a dirt-poor farming family, his is also one of the most epic RagsToRoyalty stories ever.

How the Turbulent Priest conducts himself depends on his rank and standing. If he is the equivalent of a Monk or Parish priest, he may offer sympathies to the hero. If the work is set in TheEvilEmpire or similar, expect him to be part of LaResistance and usually given more freedom than the average citizen, because the Church retains some power and would not like to see its clergy picked on. If the Turbulent Priest is a bishop or other high-ranking member of the Church, expect him to publicly decry the plans, and encourage resistance. If his beef is with one person, sometimes questioning whether his soul is as safe as he thinks is an effective deterrent. Both styles may overlap with a BadassPreacher or a ChurchMilitant; the antagonist one is usually a SinisterMinister.

* The Archdeacon of the Cathedral in Disney's ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' interferes with Judge Frollo's more morally questionable acts, such as drowning babies and violating the sanctuary law. Amusingly, the original Frollo from [[Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame the book]] was both a more moral person... [[DecompositeCharacter and archdeacon of Notre Dame]].

* The Tower Guardian Dumont in ''Film/{{Tron}}'' is a CoolOldGuy who maintains the only free [=I/O=] Tower on the system, despite Master Control's persecution of User-Believers. He's on the verge of the DespairEventHorizon, but Tron and Yori convince him to help. After he's captured and facing certain de-rez for his actions, he is remarkably sarcastic and defiant, declaring that Master Control "started small, and will end small!"
* Subverted in the Movie ''Film/DraculaUntold''. The bearded monk is horrified when he finds out Dracula is a vampire, exposes this to his people and extols Dracula to cure himself or die. Dracula himself is benevolent and using this power to save his people from the Ottoman Turkish Empire. However, the other vampires he creates are bloodthirsty and malicious as the monk feared, and the monk saves Dracula's son from them by repelling them with a [[HolyIsNotSafe crucifix]], leading [[WellIntentionedExtremist Dracula]] to realize [[EvilIsNotAToy how dangerous vampirism is]].

* ''{{Film/Amen}}'': Bishop von Galen is part of the effort to stop the Aktion T-4 euthanasia program. Father Fontana later attempts to reveal and stop the Holocaust, aiding dissident SS officer Kurt Gerstein.

* During [[UsefulNotes/TheMexicanRevolution the Cristero War]], President [[MeaningfulName Calles]] restricted religious freedom in Mexico so as to turn it into a Marxist state. Because 90% of the country's population was Catholic, this was an unpopular move to say the least. The Catholics revolted, and kept fighting until America negotiated a peace. President Calles [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder immediately broke his end of the deal]], but soon he was exiled and there was a Catholic president in Mexico again. Today, most of Calles' anti-clerical laws are unenforced.

* Many leaders of the UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement in the U.S. starting in the 1950s were religious leaders, with the most famous examples being Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Many leaders in the continuing effort to correct racial injustices in American society today are also religious leaders.

* ''TabletopGame/TwilightStruggle'' has a couple of card events that mimic Cold War developments and the headaches they induced for each of the superpowers:

* ''TabletopGame/TwilightStruggle'' has John Paul II being turbulent for the Soviet player when he is elected Pope as a Mid-War card event -- it removes two Soviet infulence and adds one US influence in Poland, as well as allows the Late War "Solidarity" card event (adds 3 more US influence to Poland) to set off.

** During UsefulNotes/RedOctober, the Russian Orthodox Church was widely despised for its support of the deeply unpopular Tsar, its nasty antisemitism and opposition to any reforms and revolutions. So naturally the Bolsheviks felt compelled to suppress the Orthodox Church by promoting state atheism, by supporting minority religions (such as Russian Muslims, Jews and Old Believers), and by actively executing clergymen and closing down churches. This policy ended when Stalin, a centrist who made an effort to restore some of the privileges of the battered Orthodox Church, albeit within limits. He especially tapped into this sentiment during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII despite being an atheist on a personal level. He also reversed Lenin's policies towards religious minorities.

* In the third ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'' book, ''Children of Dune'', a man known only as "The Preacher" pops up on Arrakis condemning the religion of Muad'Dib that the Fremen have set up. Notably, he isn't condemning Muad'Dib himself, but rather the overbearing, controlling religion that has come about since Muad'Dib's death, and many suspect that he's trying to return the Fremen to their previous way of life. [[spoiler:The Preacher is Paul-Muad'Dib himself, returning in disguise after everyone believed him dead. He never liked the religion that sprang up around him when he took control of Arrakis, and after some reflection in the desert has committed himself to tearing it down.]]