Journalist Mark Pinsky spoke with several of the show's writers for his book The Gospel According to The Simpsons: The Spiritual Life of the World's Most Animated Family. Here's an excerpt from his conversation with writer Al Jean:

"I consider myself someone who believes in the teachings of Jesus Christ, but who is not a huge fan of organized religion," said Al Jean, who returned to the job as The Simpsons' runner in 2001. "We respect everyone's belief." Jean began working on the show in 1989 and, with [Mike] Reiss, is credited in over 200 episodes, which provides him with perspective on the way the presentation of religion in the series has evolved. "Often things on the show grow of their own accord," he said. "We didn't set out on the show with an agenda. But very early on we showed characters going to church, and we began exploring that venue, which was obviously very rich. So, for example, we looked at the Ten Commandments as source material. As writers, we are always looking for aspects of life that are under-covered or under-represented on TV, and religion is definitely one of them." And the frequent inclusion and favorable slant on faith? "It wasn't because of any conscious attempt at the beginning," he said. "We didn't want to take cheap shots. It was a subject that was not explored much in prime time sitcoms. We're not perfect, but we definitely are very thoughtful and funny. The show is something a family can watch."

Jean acknowledged that there are some taboos in the religion area: No crucifixion or resurrection jokes. "People are very sensitive to those things," he said. "Images of Christ on the Cross, things like that can't avoid offending a huge group of people. We're pretty cautious about that." Crossing such lines, he said, "would erode all the good will the show generates, and would undermine the show's moral messages."

While there are people on the staff who may now be irreligious, he said, religion plays a part in The Simpsons because the writers were raised in middle or upper middle class homes where faith and observance were part of their lives. "We're just aiming to depict what we saw as reality. We just want you to believe these are real people.... Without a doubt, religion has been accepted in the show because it is reflective of life, but we never forget that comedy is the real point of it all."