rdfs:comment
| - A religion that appears benign, but was carefully designed from the ground up long ago for a nefarious purpose, usually either to force the subjects of a state to behave as its founders would wish, frequently specifically to never attempt to rise in station or do anything but what they're told (popular with constructed state religions), or to empower an evil god or force without anyone realizing that said god or force is in fact evil. The end result is a Villain with Good Publicity. This church is widespread in a large country or even the world, and accepted without question -- after all, questioning the Path of Inspiration is a heresy punishable by death. Members are sometimes clearly Brainwashed from an outside perspective.
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abstract
| - A religion that appears benign, but was carefully designed from the ground up long ago for a nefarious purpose, usually either to force the subjects of a state to behave as its founders would wish, frequently specifically to never attempt to rise in station or do anything but what they're told (popular with constructed state religions), or to empower an evil god or force without anyone realizing that said god or force is in fact evil. The end result is a Villain with Good Publicity. This church is widespread in a large country or even the world, and accepted without question -- after all, questioning the Path of Inspiration is a heresy punishable by death. Members are sometimes clearly Brainwashed from an outside perspective. Plato himself advocates doing this in The Republic. A specific subtype of Ancient Conspiracy. Distinct from the Corrupt Church in that instead of being a legitimate religion that went bad, the Path of Inspiration is by design rotten to the core. Distinct from the Scam Religion in that the Path's leaders are true believers, not con artists. If the religion is openly evil, it's the Religion of Evil instead. The typical high-ranking member is a Straw Hypocrite. Usually has a Dark Messiah as the figurehead, whose outright evil is part of The Reveal. May overlap with Hollywood Satanism, especially in Conspiracy Theories. Compare with the Cult. Contrast with the Saintly Church. Often serves as inspiration for Religion Rant Songs by disaffected believers. Examples of Path of Inspiration include:
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