The Joy of Sect

"The Joy of Sect"
The Simpsons episode
Various residents of Springfield being forced by the Movementarians cult into growing and harvesting lima beans.
Episode no.	Season 9 Episode 13
Directed by	Steven Dean Moore
Written by	Steve O'Donnell
Production code	5F23
Original air date	February 8, 1998 (1998-02-08)
Episode features
Chalkboard gag	"Shooting paintballs is not an art form"[1]
Couch gag	Tiny versions of the Simpsons climb on the couch, and a normal-sized Santa's Little Helper comes up to the couch, takes Homer in his mouth, and runs off with him.[2]
Commentary	Matt Groening David Mirkin Steve O'Donnell Yeardley Smith Steven Dean Moore
Episode chronology
← Previous "Bart Carny" Next → "Das Bus"
The Simpsons season 9
List of episodes

"The Joy of Sect" is the thirteenth episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on February 8, 1998. In the episode, a cult takes over Springfield, and the Simpson family become members.

David Mirkin conceived the initial idea for the episode, Steve O'Donnell was the lead writer, and Steven Dean Moore directed. The writers drew on many groups to develop the Movementarians, but were principally influenced by Scientology, Heaven's Gate, the Unification Church ("Moonies"), the Rajneesh movement, and Peoples Temple. The show contains many references to popular culture, including the title reference to The Joy of Sex and a gag involving Rover from the television program The Prisoner.

"The Joy of Sect" was later analyzed from religious, philosophical, and psychological perspectives; books on The Simpsons compared the Movementarians to many of the same groups from which the writers had drawn influence.

Both USA Today and The A.V. Club featured "The Joy of Sect" in lists of important episodes of The Simpsons.