"She of Little Faith"
"Original Air Date: 12/16/01"
Homer and Bart build a rocket that they loose control of and it accidentally crashes into the church lighting it on fire. After three weeks, the church is repaired thanks to Mr. Burns who turns the church into a giant sellout. Soon the church has billboards and little shops all over it. Lisa gets fed up and decides to leave the church and search for a new religion. She does and discovers the Springfield Buddist Temple. In it she meets Richard Gere who tells her about what Buddism has to offer. Lisa is swept away from Buddism and joins the religion. Marge who is worried about Lisa's soul asks the rest of the family to try and have her come back tome to Christianity. When the situation seems desperate, they decide to bribe her with Christmas. Lisa then runs away to the Buddist Temple. Richard Gere tells her that something about Buddism is that it respects the beliefs of other religions including holidays, giving Lisa the right to celebrate Christmas. So, she comes back home to celebrate Christmas with her family, but remains a Buddist.
Richard Gere guest stars as himself.
This is Episode #275 in The Simpsons series. It is Episode #6 in Season 13.