Reverend Lovejoy
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Reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...
Timothy "Tim" Lovejoy, Jr. is a recurring character in the
animated television series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...
''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
''. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the episode " The Telltale Head". Rev. Lovejoy is the minister at The First Church of Springfield—the Protestant church (from a fictitious branch called "presbylutheranism") in Springfield. Initially kind-hearted and ambitious, Lovejoy has become somewhat bitter and apathetic towards other people and religion because of
Ned Flanders Nedward "Ned" Flanders Jr., commonly referred to by his surname, is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Harry Shearer and first appearing in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an ...
's chronic, over-the-top scrupulosity.


Role in ''The Simpsons''


Profile

Lovejoy is the pastor of the Western Branch of American Reform Presbylutheranism First Church of Springfield, which most of the show's characters regularly attend. He attended Texas Christian University. He initially came to Springfield in the 1970s as an eager, enthusiastic, young man, only to become cynical and disillusioned about his ministry, mostly due to
Ned Flanders Nedward "Ned" Flanders Jr., commonly referred to by his surname, is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Harry Shearer and first appearing in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an ...
, who constantly pesters him with minor issues such as "coveting his own wife" or thinking that he "swallowed a toothpick". Lovejoy would deal with Flanders' concerns very briefly, so that he could return to playing with his model trains. At one point, Lovejoy "just stopped caring"," In Marge We Trust" but rediscovered the joy of helping others, though Ned still irritates him. Lovejoy even suggests Ned join another religion, as he believes that "they are all pretty much the same". In the season two episode " Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment", Lovejoy helps Lisa with her family's illegal cable hookup. His sermons vary between dreary recitations of more opaque parts of the
Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...
, to the occasional " fire and brimstone" about
Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...
. He disapproves of popular music, as shown in " Bart Sells His Soul" when Bart gets the congregation to sing " In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" as an opening hymn; he punishes Bart for the prank by making him clean the organ pipes that he has "befouled".


Acceptance for other religions

Lovejoy demonstrates his acceptance for Hinduism when he performs a
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
marriage ceremony for Kwik-E-Mart shopkeeper Apu (though Lovejoy does not know much about the faith, referring to it in an earlier episode as "Miscellaneous"), co-hosts a religious radio program with Krusty the Klown's rabbi father, and admits evolution may be true. However, he does not tolerate
Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
, as when
Lisa Simpson Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television sitcom series ''The Simpsons''. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa was born as a character in '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' short ...
converted to it, he referred to her as "Marge Simpson's devil-daughter". He also appears bitter about the tall Episcopal church across the street, wanting to build a larger steeple, and when mentioning the other church, placing the emphasis on " pis". He maintains two
rolodex A Rolodex is a rotating card file device used to store a contact list. Its name, a portmanteau of the words "rolling" and "index", has become somewhat genericized for any personal organizer performing this function, or as a metonym for a total a ...
es – one for
Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
, and one for non-Christians. While he seems to have originally accepted evolution, he later advocates for
creationism Creationism is the faith, religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of Creation myth, divine creation, and is often Pseudoscience, pseudoscientific.#Gunn 2004, Gun ...
at his church to beef up its membership. He does not accept
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
either, as he is shown brawling with a priest. He tells Marge that he might as well do a Voodoo dance for Abe Simpson when asked to give him the
last rites The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. The Commendation of the Dying is practiced in liturgical Chri ...
. He also helps kidnap
Bart Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves List of Bay Area Rapid Transit stations, 50 stations along six routes and of track, including eBART, a spur line running t ...
to keep him from converting to Catholicism. Lovejoy also claims in " There's Something About Marrying" to various same-sex couples who arrive at his church to get married that "while I have no opinion for or against your sinful lifestyle, I cannot marry two people of the same sex anymore than I could put a
hamburger A hamburger (or simply a burger) consists of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. The patties are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or chilis ...
on a hot dog bun" and tells them to "go back to behind the scenes of every facade of entertainment." When Marge objects, Lovejoy tells her the Bible forbids same-sex relationships, but when Marge asks which book in Bible forbids it, he merely claims "The Bible" and then continuously rings the church bell after Marge continues to press him on the matter.


Negative qualities

Lovejoy has been shown to do things that would be considered sinful. Lovejoy has been known to exploit his congregation for money, brawl with a
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
priest, encourage his pet Old English Sheepdog to foul
Ned Flanders Nedward "Ned" Flanders Jr., commonly referred to by his surname, is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Harry Shearer and first appearing in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an ...
's lawn, and implied that he once burned down his church for
insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...
money. In " Whacking Day", he made up a passage in the Bible to attempt to convince Lisa that "even God himself endorses Whacking Day". In " The Joy of Sect", the episode in which the whole town of Springfield is deceived into joining a cult, Lovejoy kidnaps Homer with Groundskeeper Willie from the cult and hits him across the head numerous times hoping to knock him out. Also, when Lovejoy sees the spaceship emerge from the "forbidden barn" he throws his religious collar on the ground. After it is revealed that the spaceship is fake, Ned Flanders notices his collar on the ground and informs Lovejoy, who picks it up and puts it back on. Lovejoy is not always enthusiastic about the
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
, calling it a "2000-page sleeping pill". It is unsure if he even owns a Bible, as it was once said he borrows one from the library every week. Sometimes he holds strange positions on the Bible and makes theological errors. In " Secrets of a Successful Marriage," an episode that dealt with marriage counseling, Lovejoy and his gossipy wife, Helen, both recommend that Marge should
divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...
Homer. Marge objects to this, pointing out how the Bible has strict guidelines against things like divorce, but Lovejoy claims, "Marge, ''everything'' is a sin. ''(holds up the Bible)'' Have you ever sat down and read this thing? Technically we're not allowed to go to the bathroom." However, despite these opinions, he is still deeply knowledgeable about the Bible, being able to recite a random passage purely from memory after Homer mentioned its number.


Family

Lovejoy's wife Helen was originally portrayed as a moralistic, judgmental gossip, but in voice actress Maggie Roswell's long absence, her character was seen but not heard. The Lovejoys' manipulative daughter Jessica was the focus of the episode " Bart's Girlfriend" where she was voiced by guest star Meryl Streep, but is otherwise rarely seen. Lovejoy's father is briefly shown in the episode " Bart After Dark" as an older version of Lovejoy (including clerical collar) who visits the Maison Derrière.


Creation and reception

Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is best known as the creator of the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2 ...
has indicated that Lovejoy is named after Lovejoy Street (which in turn is named for Portland co-founder Asa Lovejoy)Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956. in
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
, the city where Groening grew up.Levy, Shawn. Matt Groening: On what's so funny about Portland. ''
The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...
'', September 3, 1999.
When the character was created, producer Sam Simon did not want Lovejoy to be a "cartoony hypocritical preacher" but rather "a realistic person who just happened to work as a minister," as recalled by writer
Al Jean Alfred Ernest Jean III (born January 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter and producer. Jean is well known for his work on ''The Simpsons''. He was raised near Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his wri ...
. By season eight, the show had begun to explore secondary characters with Lovejoy being the central character in the episode " In Marge We Trust" because, aside from being noted as "the pastor who didn't care", he had not had much character development. Author Mark I. Pinsky writes of Lovejoy as "a foil in the series, personifying many of the failings of organized religion and Christian conservatism," and yet still a real human with faults and not simply evil. Harry Shearer has stated that his voice for the character is based on Ernest Angley.


References


Bibliography

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External links


Reverend Lovejoy
on
IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lovejoy, Timothy The Simpsons characters Television characters introduced in 1990 Animated characters introduced in 1990 Fictional Christian priests Male characters in animated television series Characters created by Matt Groening Male characters in sitcoms