In Reply to: I agree posted by retrospective on October 30, 2005 at 01:39:28:
Yes, I saw that one. In another hilarious episode I saw last week, Bart and Homer convert to Catholicism. Given that there are many similarities between TF and the Catholic Church, especially in their official response to allegations of abuse, e.g., denial, hiding perpetrators, and rewriting their history, here's some classic lines from that episode. [some of these may be a slight paraphrase]
After Homer learns that priests are celibate [to which I say: wink, wink, nod, nod] he says: "You guys have more rules than Block Buster Video."
When refusing to obey his mother, Bart says: "This is the Catholic Church. Chicks don't have any say here."
In a scene where townfolks of different denominations are squabbling, Bart says: "It's all Christianity people. The stupid little differences are nothing compared to the stupid big differences."
Perhaps the most poignant line is by Lisa. For those who don't know, Lisa is an extremely intelligent 8 year-old. She is the social and ecological conscience of her family. In one episode she had a spiritual crisis and ended up choosing Bhuddism as her source of spirituality. In this episode on Catholicism, Lisa says: "Everyone should be free to choose their religion. I chose Bhuddism."
I think it was brilliant for the writers to have an 8 year-old child, admittedly an unusually precocious one, make that statement. Everyone, including children, should have the right to choose their religion. Children in TF are never given that right. In fact, they're not even given the freedom to choose how they wish to practice the religion that they are force fed from birth. Certainly, TF is not alone in indoctrinating children and denying them their rights, but that doesn't excuse them.