American Horror Story has featured many blatant and many subtle references to religion and Christianity through its six-season run. When watching an episode of this television series, it is not hard to pick out religious imagery or make small connections to Christianity, as there are many religious characters and often conversations occur about God and good vs evil. In the horror genre, religion has often played a large role in the plot and theme.  Classic horror films, such as The Exorcist and The Omen, use religion as an important source of the storyline, often in the form of exorcisms plots, which we do see featured in season two of American Horror Story. In these films, religion is important because is offers a "tangential idea of evil: that it targets the good and the innocent." (Hanley) Historically, religion has often been used in horror films to show that evil can target anybody for any reason or no reason at all and while this theme is reflected in American Horror Story, religion is important to the series and horror in another way. The horror of much of the religious elements in the series comes from the terrible things that those who practice Christianity do. It is not just from the targeting of the innocent by greater forces, but also from the target of the innocent from those who claim to be spreading the word of God. While some of the elements in American Horror Story simply reflect religious themes, stories, and characters, many others serve as a criticism of the church and institutionalised religion itself. The following two sections will focus first on the religious themes, symbolism, and motifs, and then on the elements that can be criticised and analysed as a deeper message of what is wrong with religion.