No animated comedy lampoons religion quite like "South Park" Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the times “South Park” dug into one of their favorite topics: religion.
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00:00The Book of Mormons says a lot of strange stuff, like that Adam and Eve lived in Jackson County, Missouri?
00:04Yes?
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo!
00:07And today we're counting down our picks for the times South Park dug into one of their favorite topics, religion.
00:14Well, haven't I done well, Elrond?
00:16Haven't you enjoyed my acting?
00:18Which film did you like best?
00:20Number 10.
00:21Christian Rock.
00:23Season 7's Christian Rock Hard comments on the commercialization associated with organized religion,
00:30using the Christian music industry as an example.
00:33Wait! Walk out that door, Token, and you'll regret it the rest of your life.
00:36Christians have a built-in audience of over 180 million Americans.
00:39If each one of them bought just one of our albums at $12.95, that would be...
00:43$2,331,000,000.
00:45Still want to leave, Token?
00:47In an effort to become rich and win a bet with Kyle,
00:51Cartman forms a, quote, unique Christian band with Butters and Token called Faith Plus One.
00:57While he claims to be doing God's work, his music just replaces words like baby with Jesus.
01:03All we have to do is cross out words like baby and darling and replace them with Jesus.
01:10But of course, Faith Plus One becomes wildly popular.
01:14It's a scarily realistic argument about how easy it is for certain people,
01:19i.e. immoral people like Cartman, to exploit religion for money and try to pass it off as a masterpiece.
01:26Your love is my life.
01:29You know when I'm without truth, there's a black hole in my life.
01:32Oh, I want to believe.
01:34It's alright, but I get lonely in the night and it's up to you to save me.
01:41Number 9. Camp New Grace.
01:44After again finding himself on the receiving end of one of Cartman's pranks,
01:48Butters is accused of being bicurious, not that he knows what it means.
01:53Is that true, son? Are you feeling confused?
01:58Yeah, I'm pretty confused, alright.
02:00You see?
02:01So his dad sends him to Camp New Grace, where extreme Christians strive to pray the gay away.
02:07Not surprisingly, the kids are wrongfully taught that there's something wrong with them,
02:12resulting in self-loathing and anxiety.
02:15That's right, Bradley. I think we're well on our way to being healed.
02:19We've got another one, room 22.
02:20Oh, darn it.
02:21This is a difficult topic to handle in a comedic way,
02:25but what makes it work is Butters' wholly innocent point of view.
02:29His monologue at the end shows that he doesn't even know what bicurious is,
02:34but he does know that forcing anyone to live in denial is far from godly.
02:40And I'm bicurious.
02:42And even that's okay.
02:44Because if I'm bicurious, and I'm somehow made from God,
02:48then I figure God must be a little bicurious himself.
02:51Number 8. The Super Adventure Club.
02:54Season 10's premiere draws parallels between the boys' relationship with an old friend
03:00and the creators falling out with a long-time member of their cast.
03:03Hello there, children!
03:05He's back!
03:07Yeah!
03:11Jeff! I can't believe you're back!
03:13Well, it's true.
03:14But are you back for good?
03:16That's right.
03:17Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman are thrilled when Chef returns from an excursion
03:22with the Super Adventure Club.
03:23However, as soon as Chef opens his mouth, it's clear something is not quite right.
03:29It turns out he's been brainwashed by the club,
03:32which secretly takes part in sinister activities.
03:38How would you like to join the Super Adventure Club?
03:43No.
03:48Dude, what are you doing?
03:49As hard as they try, the boys are ultimately unable to save Chef.
03:54In Kyle's speech at the end, he blames Chef's loss on his involvement with the nefarious club.
04:00A nod to Isaac Hayes' departure from the show after his Scientology entourage
04:05allegedly made a statement on his behalf following health issues.
04:09We shouldn't be mad at Chef for leaving us.
04:12We should be mad at that fruity little club for scrambling his brains.
04:18Yeah, he's right.
04:20Number 7. Showing a Certain Profit
04:24Marking the 200th episode of the series,
04:27this South Park storyline features nearly every celebrity they've ever taunted
04:31building an alliance to get revenge on the tiny mountain town.
04:35All of us together can put a stop to the slander coming from that town once and for all.
04:39No longer will they make snide remarks about whoever they want.
04:43Specific emphasis is placed on the issue of the Muslim prophet Muhammad,
04:47which had gotten Trey and Matt in hot water before.
04:51Well aware of what they're doing and the risks they're taking,
04:54they portray Muhammad as full of magical goo that makes him off-limits to mockery.
05:00Who is the one person on this earth that is completely free from slander?
05:05You want Muhammad because he can't be ridiculed?
05:08Muhammad has a power that makes him impervious to being made fun of.
05:12What if we could harness that power?
05:15If you haven't watched this two-parter, it's because you're technically not allowed to.
05:20Censorship has made both parts pretty much impossible to find.
05:24Still, it may be said that the creators showed remarkable integrity
05:29by standing by the satirical work of arts.
05:32Throughout this whole ordeal, we've all wanted to show things that we weren't allowed to show.
05:37But it wasn't because of some magic goo.
05:39It was because of the magical power of threatening people with violence.
05:46This two-parter follows the kids of South Park as they scramble to save their immortal souls.
05:51Children in this town have not been attending Sunday school after mass,
05:55and adults have not been coming to confession.
05:57If this does not change, I promise you, you will all be going to the black pit of Satan's world.
06:03That is all. Peace be with you.
06:05After Father Maxie warns them about the fires of hell,
06:08they begin to wonder who is eligible for damnation.
06:12Namely, Timmy and Kyle.
06:14Their fears lead them to take extreme measures to protect themselves,
06:18with Cartman turning into a very vocal fire and brimstone preacher.
06:22There is only one answer.
06:23As kids, we must abandon this town of sin and start anew.
06:27The episodes tackle questions that almost everyone is asked.
06:31But the creators managed to make these common anxieties both relatable
06:35and funny.
06:36Oh, and there's also a fun B-plot that chronicles the romance of Satan and Saddam,
06:41two great characters that haven't appeared since the movie.
06:45What took you so long, baby?
06:47Saddam, I'm just here to talk.
06:49Great! Let's talk!
06:53Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ was one of the biggest films of 2004,
06:58and it garnered lots of controversy upon its release.
07:01I've seen The Passion 34 times now, Kyle. You haven't seen it once!
07:05So, how could South Park not weigh in?
07:08In this episode, Kyle is horrified after seeing Gibson's movie,
07:12prompting him to question whether his people should feel guilty for the crucifixion of Jesus.
07:17Well, if you really care about your friend's soul, then perhaps show him the way of Jesus.
07:21Remember, Christianity is about atonement.
07:24Wait, that's it! Atonement! Of course!
07:27I know what I have to do now! Thank you, Father!
07:29Meanwhile, Cartman starts idolizing Gibson
07:32and uses his apparent anti-Semitism to justify a revamp of the Nazi party.
07:37But when we actually meet the show's incarnation of Gibson,
07:41he's, well, difficult to take seriously.
07:44The episode provides brilliant insight into the rabid religious debate that one movie,
07:50specifically a movie made by this guy, was able to cause.
07:56Oh, you've got to be shitting me!
08:00Give me back my money!
08:02The Vatican
08:04Widespread abuse in the Catholic Church became public knowledge by 2002.
08:08South Park was able to take the issue and turn it into something that makes us laugh and think.
08:14Nobody's going to tell us! This is going to drive me insane!
08:17Calm down, Tweek! There has to be a rational explanation.
08:19In the season 6 episode, the parents in town decide to become atheists in protest of the infamous scandals.
08:26Meanwhile, Father Maxie, South Park's resident priest,
08:30travels to the Vatican to put an end to the abuse,
08:34which, in this universe, applies to Catholics everywhere.
08:38If we don't change the holy document of Vatican law, then we might lose everyone to atheism!
08:44It culminates in Father Maxie criticizing the Church for straying so far from the meaning of Catholicism
08:50by blindly following dogma written thousands of years ago.
08:54There's also a subplot involving a really immature poop joke,
08:57but hey, it's still South Park we're watching here!
09:01Yes! Yes, I did it! I crapped out my mouth! I crapped out my mouth!
09:07Number 3. The Super Best Friends
09:10And here we have another South Park classic that you'd be hard-pressed to find streaming anywhere.
09:16No way! Damn, that guy is the coolest guy in the universe!
09:20Season 5's Super Best Friends finds the boys getting swept up in a cult-like sect led by magician David Blaine.
09:27Stan soon grows skeptical of Blaine-tology's teaching and enlists the help of the Super Best Friends,
09:34a team of heroes made up of mainstream religious figures.
09:37I cannot face him alone. We must get the help of all the Super Best Friends.
09:41Buddha. Buddha, come in.
09:42Super Best Friends?
09:44This is Buddha, Jesus. Go ahead.
09:45Buddha, we may have a problem. I've just encountered a magic I've never seen before.
09:49Among them is the Muslim prophet Muhammad, whose physical portrayal resulted in this episode's ban.
09:56Super Best Friends not only draws subtle comparisons to Scientology,
10:00but it presents a witty critique of extremism and the harm it can cause.
10:05I think we should bail. If we leave the group, maybe other people will get the courage to leave too.
10:10Number 2. Scientology
10:12We've talked about this episode a few times on this channel, mostly in reference to Tom Cruise.
10:18Have you heard of Scientology? It's all based on the book Dianetics.
10:22A lot of really cool people are Scientologists, like Tom Cruise and John Travolta.
10:27But to play Scientology's advocate, Trey and Matt did attack the faith pretty liberally here.
10:33After taking a personality test, Stan inadvertently convinces church members
10:38that he's the reincarnation of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology.
10:42Young man, I know you don't remember it, but your name was L. Ron Hubbard.
10:48You revealed a secret which began the whole Church of Scientology.
10:51Through Stan's eyes, the audience gets an in-depth glimpse of the doctrine and practices associated with Scientology,
10:59including a few aspects that the show describes as nonsensical and unethical.
11:04Although it didn't sit well with certain followers of the Church,
11:08this Emmy-nominated episode is still considered one of South Park's best.
11:12You don't actually believe this crap, do you?
11:16Dummy! Brainwashed alien souls? E-meters and thetan levels?
11:21Those people out there buy that crap, but I thought you were smart enough to see what was really going on!
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11:42Number 1. Mormonism
11:45Matt and Trey's obsession with Mormons may involve a lot of roasting, but it's more affectionate roasting, if that makes sense.
11:52Joseph Smith was called a prophet, dum-dum-dum-dum-dum!
11:57They've poked fun at the Church's beliefs, traditions and members on multiple occasions,
12:02not just on South Park, but in their hit Broadway musical, The Book of Mormon, too.
12:07This season's seven episodes see Stan making friends with new kid Gary Harrison,
12:12who warmly welcomes him into his friendly-to-a-fault Mormon family.
12:17You coming, Stan?
12:17No, I was supposed to be home at eight.
12:19Aw, that's too bad! Well, it was really nice meeting you, Stan!
12:23Bye, Stan!
12:24Great to meet you!
12:25What makes All About Mormons so great is that it's able to call out the parts of a faith that seem far-fetched,
12:32but simultaneously express appreciation for the same culture.
12:37Not every show could pull off this delicate balancing act and still come out with a poignant and hilarious product.
12:43I have, in my possession, an ancient book written on gold plates that tells of Jesus Christ's second coming, here, in America!
12:52In America? Really? That sounds kind of…
12:56Dum-dum-dum-dum-dum!
12:58Did we miss any of South Park's religious roasts? Let us know in the comments!
13:03That's like God, who gives us life and love and health just so that he can tear it all away and make us cry,
13:11so he can drink the sweet milk of our tears.
13:13You see, it's our tears, Stan, that give God his great power.
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