# Is Lisa Simpson an atheist? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 23, 2002, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-lisa-simpson-an-atheist/133551 "2002-10-23T17:34:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Bird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Little\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Bird)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-lisa-simpson-an-atheist/133551/21 "2002-10-24T02:42:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor \* > \*\*\ No, **JuanitaTech**. Lisa Simpson is a _carrttooooon._\ 😃 \*\* I don’t know if it’s just the beer I just drank, but that line was _damn_ funny. ---
**Author:** ![hazel-rah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hazel-rah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hazel-rah)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-lisa-simpson-an-atheist/133551/22 "2002-10-24T03:42:21Z")
No true Simpsons fan could say the Lisa-centric and sanctimonious vegetarian episode sucked… it _rocked_. -fh ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-lisa-simpson-an-atheist/133551/23 "2002-10-24T04:14:54Z")
And lest we forget: There was a Simpson’s halloween special where the world was ending. The whole Flanders family, down on their knees praying, was raptured off to Heaven in a shaft of golden light. Then, a shaft of golden light falls on Lisa, and **she’s** getting raptured into Heaven! Except Homer grabs her when she’s about 3 feet off the ground and says, “OH no you don’t!” and pulls her back to Earth. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-lisa-simpson-an-atheist/133551/24 "2002-10-24T06:01:38Z")
Well, I’m a true Simpsons fan, and I say the santimonous vegetarian episode sucked _and_ blowed. How dare she ruin Homer’s barbeque? And why does _he_ have to apologize to _her?_ Fortunately, the sanctimonious environmentalist episode took some of the sting off, especially when they were ridiculing that blond guy. “Level-five vegan,” chuckle, snort. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-lisa-simpson-an-atheist/133551/25 "2002-10-24T08:03:57Z")
Let’s get a few things straight. The Simpsons has been going on for well over a decade, and even a lot of established character development has been thrown to the wayside or contradicted at some point. The whole point of The Simpsons is edgy humor (that’s why Bart was touted as the original star, although it was really overblown). As far as the writers are concerned, consistency and believable characters are nice, but not a big priority. One of the _most common_ episodes is the one where a big hot-button issue hits Springfield, and different characters enact the different sides to the issue (the one where anti-immigration fervor forces Apu to take a citizenship test is especially memorable). These are not set-in-stone personalities by any means…they can bend to whatever the episode requires, so no one should really be surprised when it happens. So there is absolutely no way of nailing down Lisa’s religion, or, for that matter, her stance on vegetarianism (Exasperated note to writers: Haphazardly dredging up the issue once in a while does not constitute “continuuity”.), or her true feelings toward Bart/Milhouse/Ralph/Marge/Mayor Quimby. Yes, I know what she said during one epsiode in the very first (or was it second?) season contradicts a bunch of stuff that happened afterward…how could it _not?_ Anyway, my guess is that she’s agnostic _most_ of the time, but with plenty of room for the occasional convenient conversion (which is usually just for that one episode, anyway). ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-lisa-simpson-an-atheist/133551/26 "2002-10-24T13:50:34Z")
> [@](#): > > _tracer_ > There was a Simpson’s halloween special where the world was ending. The whole Flanders family, down on their knees praying, was raptured off to Heaven in a shaft of golden light. [comic book store guy]Pssk. THoH episodes are not canon. [/cbsg] ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-lisa-simpson-an-atheist/133551/27 "2002-10-24T15:04:51Z")
> [@](#): > > _originally posted by lost4life_ > If you remember, at the end of the angel episode, when the angel rises, she grabs her mother’s hand. Marge took this as a sign of belief. Yeah, but… well… Marge is quite an idiot really. She takes on the persona of conservative, reactionary, narrow minded, middle American mother all too easily and this episode featured her ugly side prominently. Marge couldn’t bear to think she had a nasty athiest for a daughter so took whatever sign of faith she could (despite the fact that Lisa explicitly said she had a spiritual side). An eight year old kid grabbing her mother’s hand when an angel appears to rise from the ground ain’t faith, it’s seeking reassurance. What pisses me off about Lisa is that she really was a far more interesting character in the early days of the show. She had a more philosophical bent, and was more than the precociously obnoxious smart kid she is today. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-lisa-simpson-an-atheist/133551/28 "2002-10-24T17:11:37Z")
Yeah, but Marge is also pretty liberal-she’s the one who kept telling Homer to stop being such a jerk about John just because John was gay. ---
**Author:** ![hazel-rah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hazel-rah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hazel-rah)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-lisa-simpson-an-atheist/133551/29 "2002-10-24T17:30:47Z")
> [@](#): > > Well, I’m a true Simpsons fan, and I say the sanctimonious vegetarian episode sucked and blowed. Sorry Bryan, you’re out. Tear up your membership card and sit quietly at the back. -fh [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-lisa-simpson-an-atheist/133551.md?page=1)