Jump to content

Religion in The Simpsons

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 65.30.180.228 (talk) at 23:01, 3 February 2010 (→‎Character attitudes). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

File:Reverend Lovejoy.png
Reverend Lovejoy is a leading Springfield citizen.

Religion is one of the major themes on the animated show The Simpsons.[1]

Much of the humor satirizes aspects of Christianity. However, the series is not necessarily anti-religious, as some episodes (such as Bart Sells His Soul and Alone Again, Natura-Diddily) are actually quite spiritual in nature. Most episodes call for a more sensible, tolerant and less fanatical, religious devotion. For example, the episode The Monkey Suit depicts Ned Flanders' campaign against evolution. This campaign is opposed by Lisa Simpson, who eventually explains that she respects his belief in creationism, but that it shouldn't be taught in schools.

Character attitudes

The most religious characters on the show are Ned Flanders and Reverend Lovejoy. Flanders, a graduate of Oral Roberts University, appears to be conservative Christian and appears to express little tolerance to other faiths and sexualities claiming they are all hedonistic, and those who follow said beliefs will go to Hell. Nevertheless, Ned is perhaps the most genuinely compassionate character on the show and is an exemplar of charity and the golden rule. He usually has a positive outlook on life and does not go out of his way to express his intolerance. Lovejoy seems to resent the fact that the Doctor Julius Hibbert's family joined the First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Springfield, while Ned tells Apu, who is a Hindu, that he might as well be praying to Hawkman. In another episode, Rev. Lovejoy says to Ned Flanders, during an annoying phone call: "Ned, have you considered any of the other major religions? They're all pretty much the same."

Lisa Simpson has been, since She of Little Faith, been a Buddhist, although she accepts the family's beliefs (after advice from Richard Gere), going to church with them and celebrating Christian holidays.

Deities

God has appeared several times - with a distinctively five-fingered hand - watching over and sometimes interacting with the show's characters (usually Ned Flanders or Homer.) The Hindu deity Vishnu sits in the centre of the earth, controlling the world with numerous levers.[2] There are also numerous references to the Hindu deity Ganesh, mostly by Homer when interacting with Apu. In many episodes Jesus is portrayed as a man with a long brown beard and white clothing, particularly when Homer is sent to heaven. In one intro for a Treehouse of Horror, Kang and Kodos fast-forward a baseball game until the earth becomes a giant vacuum that sucks in the entire universe; before all turns to a white emptiness, God (having a very similar appearance to Jesus) holds on to the edges of the world before he too is sucked in. Template:Reason=Please provide the episode ID/link/name

The Western Branch of American Reform Presbylutheranism

The Western Branch of American Reform Presbylutheranism is the Protestant Christian church which most Springfielders attend. It is the show's titular church, though not the only church in Springfield (AME and Episcopal churches also exist). The unusually specific name is a parody of Protestant reformed churches branching off into other denominations and movements.

Reverend Lovejoy is a member of the clergy of Presbylutheranism. The denomination, headquartered in Michigan City, Indiana, is led by "His Holiness, the Parson," who is also the elected head of the National Congress of Deacons.[3]

Formation

The Schism of Lourdes in 1573 marked the Presbylutherans' official split from an un-named Church over the Presbylutherans' right to attend church with wet hair. That right has since been abolished.[4]

Outlook on other religions

The church still remains at odds with Catholicism (even though they stopped feuding with each other). Reverend Lovejoy has a rivalry with a local Episcopal church,[5] and he engages in a brawl with a Catholic priest after an exchange of hostilities.[6]

Lovejoy dislikes Unitarians. When he offers the Simpson children a bowl of Unitarian ice cream at a church social function and Lisa points out that it is empty, Lovejoy indicates that that is the point.

Native religions, for instance those which are found in the south Pacific, are seen as inferior, and missionary activity is employed to ridicule away the beliefs of aboriginal peoples.[7] The church also has enemies on a more social level, including monogamous homosexuals and stem cells. However, the Presbylutherans have members of varying levels of religiosity and devotion, and are generally not at odds with modernism. It could be seen as a conservative Mainline Protestant church.

Movementarianism

The Movementarians Mass Marriage.

Movementarianism, whose followers are known as Movementarians, is portrayed as an evil brainwashing cult which for a brief time ensnared many of Springfield's citizens in the episode "The Joy of Sect". The Movementarians are led by a mysterious figure known only as "The Leader" who is seen only in portrait.

Recruitment

Movementarians recruit new members using the following method:

  1. Attracting the attention of potential members at airports and other public places and inviting them to a free weekend retreat.
  2. At the weekend retreat, the attendees are shown brainwashing films. Should that fail, the Movementarians use other techniques like feeding them meals of low-protein gruel, getting them to participate in chanting rituals or forcing them to sit before the circle of judgment where they are ridiculed to conform.
  3. Once members are ensnared, the recruits are obliged to hand over their life savings and the deeds to their houses. The recruits then move into the Movementarian agricultural compound to harvest lima beans.

Beliefs

The Movementarians believe that their religious figurehead - The Leader - will one day open the doors of "The Forbidden Barn" and lead them to the planet of "Blisstonia" ("well known for its high levels of bliss"). The Cult members live in a Movementarian compound, where they do backbreaking labor all day and watch as the Leader rides around in what appears to be a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. Cultists are forced to perform labor for thousands of years before being able to travel to Blisstonia. The religion also includes a mass marriage in which all of its members are matched up on a printout. These marriages include same sex marriage and the marriage of parents and children. The Leader's will is actually carried out by a small group of especially devoted followers who recruit members, perform rituals (such as the mass marriage) and run the compounds.

The Leader

The Leader is a mysterious figurehead who is worshiped completely by the Cult followers. He aspires to brainwash and dominate the will of the people of Springfield and take their money. His followers try to bend others' wills to worship the leader via methods such as chanting, brainwashing videos and low protein gruel. The Leader lives in the "Forbidden Barn," and would sometimes observe the workers, while driving around in a black limo, and would wave his visible white-gloved hand to the people. In the end, it is revealed that The Leader is actually a fraud after Homer opened the doors to The Forbidden Barn. The cultists see a spaceship inside, which rises but eventually falls apart, revealing the Leader who is riding a flying bicycle filled with money bags, and making spaceship sounds with wax paper and a comb. At first, Kent Brockman, a local news anchor, was extremely skeptical of the leader, even starting a brief expose in which an image of the Leader looking like a hick is shown. But, it turns out that the station was bought by The Leader and Kent immediately begins singing his praises. The Leader is eventually caught after crash landing on Cletus's dirt farm - with Cletus claiming the town's money carried by the Leader with the aid of a shotgun. Mr Burns when hearing about the Leader trys to make his own religion, and after several failed attempts at a logo (Including the Kellogs Special K "K", to which Smithers states some people worship), they eventually come up with a green Christmas tree with a yellow B in the center. Burns is later shown as 'their God' in which he is portrayed as an incredibly muscley figure with long hair and beard, but at a ceremony the wax costume he is wearing catches on fire from a sparkler. Lenny claims "It's good... but it's no Special K!"

Education

File:Eyebrow baby.png
The Movementarian preschool.

In grade school the children are asked questions by a teacher with all answers being "the Leader". In pre-school, a dinosaur mascot remarkably similar to Barney sings "We love him, he loves we! We're The Leader's family!"

Influences

According to the DVD commentary for the episode, the Movementarians were largely inspired by Scientology, the Jim Jones cult and the Peoples Temple, the Heaven's Gate Cult, the Osho movement, the Raelians, the Oneida Society and Chen Tao. Also, the movementarian compound features elements from the Cult TV series The Prisoner, such as the Rover guard "balloon". Also, the mass marriage may reference the Unification Church, Mormon fundamentalist sects, or both.

Islam

Excluding the odd reference by Reverend Lovejoy to "churches, synagogues and mosques," condemning Krusty the Clown (who is Jewish, not Muslim) for corrupting the young in one episode, the religion of Islam or Muslim characters had not featured heavily in the show's 19-year history until the 2008 episode Mypods and Boomsticks. The episode was largely known for being the first episode of The Simpsons to have Islam portrayed in a large role.

Prior to this, major references to Islam or Muslims have been limited. However, in the episode "Marge Simpson in: 'Screaming Yellow Honkers'", Homer proclaims, "I'm gonna die! Jesus, Allah, Buddha, I love you all!" when fearing for his life. In "The Seven-Beer Snitch", the Simpsons go to see "Song of Shelbyville." There is a lyric in the main song which says that Shelbyville is home to Christians, Muslims, and Jews "although not many of the last two." This makes a rabbi and an imam in attendance feel uncomfortable. In "Grift of the Magi" Krusty touched upon many religions by saying, "So, have a merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, kwazy Kwanzaa, a tip-top Tết, and a solemn, dignified Ramadan."

Religious episodes

Listed below are examples of significantly religious episodes.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Bowler, Gerry (2001). "God and the Simpsons". Talkback. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
  2. ^ "Bart vs. Australia"
  3. ^ "Wedding for Disaster"
  4. ^ episode "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Guest Star"
  5. ^ "Bart Has Two Mommies"
  6. ^ "The Frying Game"
  7. ^ "Missionary: Impossible"

Further reading

  • Pinsky, Mark I. (2001). The Gospel According to The Simpsons: The Spiritual Life of the World's Most Animated Family. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 164. ISBN 0664224199. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

External links

Template:Religion in The Simpsons

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Religion_in_The_Simpsons&oldid=341775292"