| abstract
| - Dark Priests are a type of villains that are popular in many media, and despite this name, does not require the characters to be actual priests - any members of any clergy or cult is appliable for this position: a "Dark Priest" uses his/her position to knowingly commit crimes that are deeply at odds with his religion, often they will try to convince themselves or others they are doing good but other times they may simply not care at all. What makes a "Dark Priest" so dangerous is that despite his/her obvious evil, he/she can still hold great power in others and due to their status as a "man/woman of the cloth", he/she is often hard for a protagonist to counter without risking public backlash (especially if the setting is in the past, when the clergy had greater control than they do today). In many world religions, especially Christianity, a "Dark Priest" is also known as a false teacher or prophet. Alternatively, a "Dark Priest" may not actually be a member of the clergy at all but a deranged and/or evil being who has adopted the guise of a cleric for whatever reasons they may have, or a corrupt clergyman who renounced his divine alliegances to worship demons or more simply to commit crimes. Men of the cloth serve a plethora of roles in all branches of media, both modern and ancient. They may be wise counselors, corrupt bureaucrats or confused and bumbling but generally well-intentioned old duffers. But every once in a while, a preacher crops up who is intimidating, charismatic and completely devoid of morality. These archetypal villains typically serve as the Big Bad in their respective worlds, controlling vast hordes of starry-eyed True Believers or manipulating the inner workings of their Church. He is often a White Anglo-Saxon Protestantclergyman, but there's nothing saying he can't not be a white Anglo-Saxon and there's definitely nothing saying he cannot be a Catholic especially if the setting is in the Middle Ages), and is clean-cut and perpetually smiling while delivering sermons that alternate between gentle reminders of the importance of virtue and scalding fire-and-brimstone rants commanding their followers to rise and smite heathens in the name of the Lord, amen. The Sinister Minister is a one-man Corrupt Church (and it is usually a man in this role, though female examples are not unheard of) in that all power typically ends up resting firmly in his hands and his hands alone as opposed to being shared out within an organization. He seldom employs Sidekicks or advisors, preferring to rely instead on his own usually very devious brain for scheming while entrusting the main grunt work to the hordes of unwashed and sanctimonious Mooks who make up the bulk of his followers. Usually well-educated and cultured, the Sinister Minister is nonetheless unspeakably evil and regularly engages in acts of sexual depravity (or perhaps not; many a Sinister Minister is Straight Edge) and, if not outright violence, threats and intimidation. The Sinister Minister usually keeps his own hands relatively clean until late in the game when his power base is secure and he can act with impunity.
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