Going Your Way

A priest, minister, nun, or other religious figure wants to leave their spiritual life behind, usually because they're in love with a lay person.

The Golden Girls

Appearances

• The Bob Newhart Show: Season 2, episode 4, "Somebody Down Here Likes Me" (1973). After seeing Bob for therapy, a reverend announces that he's leaving the ministry.
• The Mary Tyler Moore Show: Season 6, episode 3, "Mary's Father" (1975). Mary works with a priest on a documentary, but the priest backs out because he wants to leave the priesthood, and Mary thinks it's because he's in love with her.
• Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman: Season 1, episode 128 (1976). Father DeMarco Confesses to Cathy that he's in love with her and wants to leave the priesthood and marry her, even though he turned her down before.
• Soap: Season 1, episode 25 (1978). After Corrine tempts him for over 20 episodes, Father Tim Flotsky finally decides to leave the priesthood to be with her, and he asks her to marry him.
• Night Court: Season 2, episode 1, "The Nun" (1984). A nun takes a liking to Harry and decides to leave the convent for him.
• It's a Living: Season 4, episode 18, "Dot's Priest" (1987). Dot's college boyfriend, who is now a priest, is unhappy with the ecclesiastic life and considering leaving the priesthood to be with her.
• The Golden Girls: Season 2, episode 18, "Forgive Me, Father" (1987). Dorothy finds out the guy she has a crush on is a priest, and she's disappointed, but then he tells her he's thinking of leaving the church. Dorothy takes this to mean he's leaving the priesthood for her, and she feels guilty, but when she confronts him about it, he explains that he's just leaving his current parrish for another one.
• Seinfeld: Season 5, episode 11, "The Conversion" (1993). A Latvian Orthodox woman named Sister Roberta, who is about to become a nun, becomes smitten with Kramer and announces that she's leaving the church for him, but Kramer feels guilty for causing her to lose her religion, so consults the church elders, and they advise him on how rid himself of the "Kavorka."
• Dream On: Season 4, episode 18, "The Second Coming" (1994). Toby is head over heels in love with her new boyfriend, Sherman, but she's shocked to discover that he's a priest betraying his vows to be with her.
• The Nanny: Season 3, episode 24, "The Cantor Show" (1996). Fran falls for the new cantor at her synagogue, but when she introduces him to Mr. Sheffield and Burt Bacharach, he decides he wants to quit being a cantor to become a Broadway star.
• Father Ted: Season 2, episode 3, "Tentacles of Doom" (1996). Three bishops come to Craggy Island to upgrade the Holy Stone of Clonrichert to a class 2 relic, and after speaking to Dougal for just a few minutes, one of them decides to leave the church and travel with a group of pothead hippies in a spray-painted van.