History YMMV / TheSimpsonsS4E3HomerTheHeretic

* ValuesDissonance: Many modern viewers are surprised at the idea that Homer not going to church every Sunday is treated as a big deal--polls have suggested that as of 2021, only about 20% of Americans attend church weekly, and the majority of Americans--including Christians--don't go at all. Much of ''The Simpsons'' is [[TwoDecadesBehind based on the childhood of the writers]], where going to church every Sunday was almost socially mandatory even for nonreligious types, and even in the 90s, it was a lot more common, but nowadays attending church so stringently in a family like the Simpsons would be very odd. Made apparent when the show tried [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS13E6SheOfLittleFaith a similar premise with a different family member a decade later]], and Marge and the other Christians' aggression towards it is treated as far more close minded and hypocritical.

* HilariousInHindsight: One of the things Homer does at home after skipping church is make his "patented moon waffles". He enjoys them (and the rest of the things he was able to do due to skipping church) so much that he declares that he's never going to church again, eventually leading to him having a nightmare about God being angry with him for forsaking his church. [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E16HomerLovesFlanders An episode in the following season]] would have Homer inexplicably mistake a waffle on the ceiling for God and eat it, calling it "sacrilicious".

** During the scene of Homer trapped in a house fire, it seems as if Santa's Little Helper is going to save him, only for SLH to grab some food from Homer's pocket and leave instead. [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E19OldYellerBelly A later episode]] would have a very similar scenario happen, except Homer (who had to be saved by the cat because the dog was a coward) is furious with SLH for his cowardice, disowns him, and almost loses him to his original owner for good.

* HarsherInHindsight: At the end of the episode, when Homer is impatient to learn what the meaning of life is, God is bewildered Homer can’t wait six months. [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E18SoItsComeToThisASimpsonsClipShow Several episodes in Season 4 later (or six months), Homer has a very close call]].

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Homer's unwillingness to go to church every Sunday, and the outsized reaction it gets from everyone else, seems extremely out-of-place today, when church attendance has declined and is no longer such a strong social institution outside of the most religious of families and locations (which the Simpsons as a family and Springfield as a whole are certainly not). Also, Homer mentions the St. Louis football team (the Cardinals) having moved Phoenix. Until 2015, this line probably confused some fans of the St. Louis Rams (who have since moved to Los Angeles).

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Homer's unwillingness to go to church every Sunday, and the outsized reaction it gets from everyone else, seems extremely out-of-place today, when church attendance has declined and is no longer such a strong social institution outside of the most religious of families and locations (which the Simpsons as a family and Springfield as a whole are certainly not).

* StrawmanHasAPoint: While Homer does provide a few good arguments about his views on organized religion (or just Reverend Lovejoy's congregation), he is ultimately treated as being in the wrong and returning to the church at the end of the episode. However, some fans have argued Homer's points make a very compelling argument in his favor, not to mention that in this episode Homer is probably at one of his most spiritual, actually looking inward and reinforcing his faith in God as opposed to just miserably attending Lovejoy's church and ignoring his bland sermons. To alleviate it slightly, that technically ''still'' is what he does in the end, sleeping at church and having spiritual dreams of God, making Marge pressuring him into submission a very PyrrhicVictory.

* StrawmanHasAPoint: While Homer does provide a few good arguments about his views on organized religion (or just Reverend Lovejoy's congregation), he is ultimately treated as being in the wrong and returning to the church at the end of the episode. However, some fans have argued Homer's points make a very compelling argument in his favor, not to mention that in this episode Homer is probably at one of his most spiritual, actually looking inward and reinforcing his faith in God as opposed to just miserably attending Lovejoy's church and ignoring his bland sermons.

* DesignatedVillain: Marge says that she'll have to tell the kids that Homer is "wicked" for not going to church. Homer had understandable reasons for not wanting to go to church that day (ripping the pants of his church clothes, the extremely cold weather and the ''polar bears'' outside), and the rest of the family is miserable at church because the furnace is broken, and they're stuck there for hours afterward because the church doors freeze shut and the family car freezes up. Homer even apologizes towards the end for allegedly being rude to the religious characters, but aside from not wanting to donate to Krusty's religious-related fund and showing innocent but disrespectful amusement at some of Apu's Hindu beliefs, he's generally perfectly accepting of them.

* HarsherInHindsight: At the end of the episode, when Homer is impatient to learn what the meaning of life is, God is bewildered Homer can’t wait six months. [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E18SoItsComeToThisASimpsonsClipShow Several episodes in season 4 later (or six months), Homer has a very close call]].

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Homer's unwillingness to go to church every Sunday, and the outsized reaction it gets from everyone else, seems extremely out-of-place today, when church attendance has declined and is no longer such a strong social institution outside of the most religious of families and locations (which the Simpsons as a family and Springfield as a whole are certainly not.)

* DesignatedVillain: Happens InUniverse when Marge says that she'll have to tell the kids that Homer is "wicked" for not going to church. Never mind that Homer had understandable reasons for not wanting to go to church that day (ripping the pants of his church clothes, the extremely cold weather and the ''polar bears'' outside). It's so cold that Sunday morning that there are ''polar bears'' going through the Simpsons' trash, and the rest of the family is miserable at church because the furnace is broken, and they're stuck there for hours afterward because the church doors freeze shut and the family car freezes up. Homer even apologizes towards the end for allegedly being rude to the religious characters, but aside from not wanting to donate to Krusty's religious-related fund and showing innocent but disrespectful amusement at some of Apu's Hindu beliefs, he's generally perfectly accepting of them.

* DesignatedVillain: Happens InUniverse when Marge says that she'll have to tell the kids that Homer is "wicked" for not going to church. Never mind that Homer had understandable reasons for not wanting to go to church that day (ripping the pants of his church clothes, the extremely cold weather and the ''polar bears'' outside). It's so cold that Sunday morning that there are ''polar bears'' going through the Simpsons' trash, and the rest of the family is miserable at church because the furnace is broken, and they're stuck there for hours afterward because the church doors freeze shut and the family car freezes up.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Marge's intense fixation on religion in this episode (to the point of calling Homer "wicked" for not attending church, and telling him to his face that she values her religion over him) doesn't reflect her outlook in most later episodes; while she's still the most religious member of the family, it's extremely unlikely she would deliver such lines today. Some of this is a result of the ValuesDissonance mentioned below; in the childhoods of the writers for this episode, that level of religiosity was often simply assumed, whereas today it would be considered an unusual and defining character trait (and has quietly faded from Marge's characterization as a result.)

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Marge's intense fixation on religion in this episode (to the point of calling Homer "wicked" for not attending church, and telling him to his face that she values her religion over him) doesn't reflect her outlook in most later episodes. Some of this is a result of the ValuesDissonance mentioned below; in the childhoods of the writers for this episode, that level of religiosity was often simply assumed, whereas today it would be considered an unusual and defining character trait (and has quietly faded from Marge's characterization as a result.)

* ValuesDissonance: Many modern viewers are surprised at the idea that Homer not going to church every Sunday is treated as a big deal--polls have suggested that as of 2021, only about 20% of Americans attend church weekly, and the majority of Americans--including Christians--don't go at all. Much of ''The Simpsons'' is [[TwoDecadesBehind based on the childhood of the writers]], where going to church every Sunday was almost socially mandatory even for nonreligious types, and even in the 90s, it was a lot more common, but nowadays attending church so stringently in a family like the Simpsons would be very odd. Notably when the show tried [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS13E6SheOfLittleFaith a similar premise with a different family member a decade later]], Marge and the other Christians' aggression towards it is treated as far more close minded and hypocritical.