Katainaka no Ossan, Kensei ni Naru ~Tada no Inaka no Kenjutsu Shihan Datta noni, Taisei Shita Deshi-tachi ga Ore wo Hottekurenai Ken~ - Vol. 5 Ch. 20…

[Simpleton]

By the way, the ranking: Pope - Bishop - Priest - Fry

Seems like it should probably end with "Friar"

Anyway, thank you for your hard work.

 

[Naeko]

Correction:
In the image with the terms "pope", "bishop", "priest", and "fry", the word fry should be replaced with "friar".

 

[rexmundi]

Beat them old man!

 

[Dwarfy2k]

First up neat detail last page with MCs left hand still borked from the fire.

I know some people here are fine with the evil church trope but its just so predictably boring.

 

[Hovand]

4 swordsmen entered the church, all of em praying for their own lives

 

[Naagaa]

how come, a shitty religion gets that big?
i mean come on, you pray to DEAD person?? he's not even a saint, not someone holy. even those miracles are easily fabricated
just a swordsman??? yeah right

but again, even real life cult are like that and they have some believers too. although not as big as this, it's still dumbfound me

"praying to a dead person" my man that's just christianity, they literally carry the name of the dead dude as their designation

 

[Naagaa]

By the way, the ranking: Pope - Bishop - Priest - Fry

Seems like it should probably end with "Friar"

Anyway, thank you for your hard work.

It's funny to imagine a french fry in a friar outfit

 

[Simpleton]

It's funny to imagine a french fry in a friar outfit

He'd be the literal small fry in the hierarchy.

 

[Xerand]

Again... Which annoyed me to no FCKING END.
I fcking get it in real life that yes the church or any FORM OF RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS can be viewed as evil due to their shady ways. I am also so livid at the fact that it does not matter it is made up of religion in fiction. It stills irks me to no end. Give me ONE GOOD RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION THAT WHILE YES THEY'RE SHADY FOR A GOOD REASON BUT THEY'RE STILL VIEW AS THE GOOD GUYS IN THE STORY.... like gosh damn. it

Honestly, here they seem more like a renegade faction. That priest was worried and unapproving of bishop's actions while Schule seems to be loyal unto the end type of guy. Bishop though? Yeah, f that guy

 

[Xerand]

Haha, surely you aren't thinking Japan of all places would pick that as the reason for depicting a suspiciously Christian-looking fantasy religion as an evil/corrupt entity in too many fantasy/isekai series to count.


Japan decided to get rid of the Christian church back in the day, in the 17th century, executing every single believer who didn't renounce their faith. Probably ever since then, there has been such an underlying current that makes it easy for Japanese authors to use a Christian look-alike religion as a villainous entity in fiction.

Not really. They did that, but then people like missionary Zeno Żebrowski are considered heroes and influential figures. The Church alike is used more because it's such a classic fantasy evil guy, real Church did some corrupt things (but it also did a lot of good things), and Christianity in modern times is free real estate for mocking. Try that with Islam or Buddhism and there will be massive outrage. The cherry on cake is that Japanese do not take even their own history that seriously and there is plenty of remixes, "this historical guy, BUT genderbent/put literally anything else", parodies and what not in media, so they treat other cultures/regions/countries the same

 

[Kaarme]

Not really. They did that, but then people like missionary Zeno Żebrowski are considered heroes and influential figures. The Church alike is used more because it's such a classic fantasy evil guy, real Church did some corrupt things (but it also did a lot of good things), and Christianity in modern times is free real estate for mocking. Try that with Islam or Buddhism and there will be massive outrage. The cherry on cake is that Japanese do not take even their own history that seriously and there is plenty of remixes, "this historical guy, BUT genderbent/put literally anything else", parodies and what not in media, so they treat other cultures/regions/countries the same

Obviously it's not only for that, but it definitely plays a role, even if a minor. It's an organisation once vilified and crushed in Japan, so it's a part of the cultural heritage. Plus, like you said, it's free real estate because a mangaka or LN author doesn't need to fear for their life after making it the enemy.

Christian churches are huge organisations, so there obviously will be corruption. That goes for every single orgnisation that grows beyond a handful of people. That's just the human nature. Pure charity organisations like Red Cross have suffered their own setbacks with individuals stealing large sums of donation money. The fact you can criticise the Christian church, or use it as the enemy look-alike in fiction, without being afraid of lynching or professional consequences actually makes it less bad than any other organisation you can't attack without those worries.

 

[Scrabbleman]

So the Church has their own factions inside… The priest seems aware that things have been going missing, so it’s not like the Church is completely evil but rather, a small selection of people are using the Church’s influence for their own gains.

 

[Carn109]

I think the real blasphemy is fighting in a church

 

[Deathhappens]

Realistically, fighting a 3v1 of skilled people he should be dead already. So he's probably gonna win, but I expect to see them make it look good at least.

 

[Deathhappens]

I wonder WHY this is such a common trope in fictional medieval-like settings, a total mystery if I dare say, amirite?

Because the Japanese aren't majority Christian and thus the various trappings of the (mostly Catholic) faith are just as exotic to them as western-style knights and magic. It's not that deep.