History PlayingWith / ReligionOfEvil

** [[ScaryAmoralReligion The cult's action's are horrifying, but their religion isn't inherently evil.]]

** Evil people would naturally want to worship an evil god who approves of their wickedness.

** The evil cult was created to make an evil ruler more powerful.

** [[ScaryAmoralReligion The cult's action's are horrifying, but their deity isn't really evil.]]

** The ''followers'' of Azaaroth do bad things, but it's pretty clear that Azaaroth himself is not evil.

** Azaaroth isn’t real, he was made up by the EvilEmpire as a way of keeping its subjects in line.

** Subverted/Played For Laughs: The Cult of Azaaroth [[ParodyReligion is actually a bizarre and elaborate prank.]]

** Evil people would naturally want to worship an evil god who approved of their wickedness.

** The Cult of Azaaroth literally worship the concept of evil, wanting to [[TheCorruption ensure it's victory]].
* '''Downplayed''': The Cult of Azaaroth promotes selfishness, amorality, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking wearing dark clothes]], and they describe their god in spooky terms.

* '''Subverted''': The Cult of Azaaroth seem to be scary black-robed cultists, but instead turn out to be death-worshippers who wish to ease the suffering of the living.

** [[CaptainErsatz Morton Lither]], a former priest of The Cult of Azaaroth, decides to [[StartMyOwn start a protestant branch of it]] after a disagreement over something relatively silly, like the color of the "tablecloth" they use to cover the alters during the virgins' sacrifices.

* '''Straight''': The dark Cult of Azaaroth wears [[BlackCloak black cloaks]] and [[VirginSacrifice spills the blood of virgins]] in tribute to their dark god.

** The Cult of Azaaroth literally worship the concept of evil, wanting to [[TheCorruption ensure it's victory.]]

** Azaaroth is a malevolent GodOfEvil worshipped by the [[TheEmpire Evil Empire]] and has no need to [[PathOfInspiration disguise his true intentions]].

* '''Exploited''': A ChaoticEvil [TheHedonist Hedonist]] joins the Cult of Azaaroth to apply a religious justification to his evil deeds.

* '''Invoked''': A ChaoticEvil ImmatureHedonist starts a cult of excess and wanton cruelty, the better to partake of these himself and attract like-minded allies.
* '''Exploited''': A ChaoticEvil ImmatureHedonist joins the Cult of Azaaroth to apply a religious justification to his evil deeds.

* '''Downplayed''': The Cult of Azaaroth promotes selfishness, amorality, and wearing dark clothes, and they describe their god in spooky terms.

** The cult is scared shitless of Azaaroth, and wishes to placate him so that they might be given what little mercy the dark god is capable of.

** The Cult of Azaaroth began as a brutal, vicious, bloodthirsty religion... but since [[HaveYouSeenMyGod Azaaroth is nowhere to be seen]], the religion eventually goes mainstream and, to attract converts, slowly turns into a LighterAndSofter version of itself. Red wine substitutes for blood, unpleasant tenets are explained away as complex metaphors or swept under the rug, sacrifices are replaced by plays in which nobody actually gets hurt, and the few traditionalists who still bother with skulls at all use ceramic ones instead instead of the real deal.

** Azaaroth then rears his ugly head into the picture. His cult then turns very real.

* '''Downplayed''': ???

* '''Exploited''': ???

** Azaaroth thens rears his ugly head into the picture. His cult then turns very real.

* '''Reconstructed''': ...And then one side starts using "spiritually pure" ChildSoldiers as magically enhanced TykeBomb armies.

** The PathOfInspiration, who wear shiny white robes but are [[KnightTemplar no less evil than their counterparts]].

** The [[LightIsNotGood Sun Order]] is composed by zealously brutal {{Knight Templar}}s that have sworn to purge the world's evil with [[HolyHandGrenade light]] and [[AbsurdlySharpBlade steel]]. And because of their ridiculously strict standards and a twisted interpretation of their own precepts, that amounts to [[OmnicidalManiac every lifeform in the whole planet]].

* '''Exaggerated''': The Cult of Azaaroth builds a giant [[NothingButSkulls skull-shaped temple]] on the side of an active volcano and considers [[EatsBabies baby-eating]] to be a sacred rite.

* '''Justified''': Azaaroth is a malevolent GodOfEvil worshipped by the [[TheEmpire Evil Empire]] and has no need to [[PathOfInspiration disguise his true intentions]].

* '''Inverted''': The PathOfInspiration, who wear shiny white robes but are [[KnightTemplar no less evil than their counterparts]].

* '''Parodied''': The evil cult of Azaaroth goes door-to-door handing out pamphlets and seeking converts to their evil cause, which mostly consists of PokingThePoodle in HollywoodApocrypha style writing.
* '''Deconstructed''': The "evil cult" and the Most Popular Religion that fight them are actually two denominations of the same religion that worship the same god in different ways. Each side sees themselves striving for good and fighting evil...
** The Cult of Azaaroth began as a brutal, vicious, bloodthirsty religion... but since [[HaveYouSeenMyGod Azaaroth is nowhere to be seen]], the religion eventually goes mainstream and, to attract converts, slowly turns into a LighterAndSofter version of itself. Red wine substitutes for blood, unpleasant tenets are explained away as complex metaphors or swept under the rug, sacrifices are replaced by plays in which nobody actually gets hurt, and the few traditionalists who still bother with skulls at all use ceramic ones instead instead of the real deal.
* '''Reconstructed''': ...and then one side starts using "spiritually pure" ChildSoldiers as magically enhanced TykeBomb armies.

* '''Discussed''': "You remember the rhyme - 'If cloaked all in red, just aim for the head'? The Darklight priests only wear red."
* '''Conversed''': "All those skulls on that temple had to come from somewhere; you'd think someone would have noticed and, you know, asked them to leave some for the rest of us."

* '''Parodied''': The evil cult of Azaaroth goes door-to-door handing out pamphlets and seeking converts to their evil cause.

Back to ReligionOfEvil, or it's the [[MontyPythonsFlyingCircus Comfy Chair]] for you!

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* '''Invoked''': A ChaoticEvil {{Hedonist}} starts a cult of excess and wanton cruelty, the better to partake of these himself and attract like-minded allies.

* '''Zig Zagged''': ???
* '''Averted''': There ''are'' no evil deities in the universe, or at least none worth worshiping.

** Alternately, the religion was originally imagined by panicked MoralGuardians, and was taken up by an oppressed minority as a method of rebelling. (See also: Witchcraft, when associated with Satan.)