A recent episode of “The Big Bang Theory” spinoff “Young Sheldon” featured the sexualization of a teenage baptism.
The episode focused on a recurring story surrounding Sheldon’s older brother Georgie and his crush on a fellow student named Veronica who becomes a Christian mid-way through his courting session. To keep close with Veronica, Georgie does all sorts of Christian activity with no sincerity whatsoever, including attending his mom’s Bible study and accompanying them to church. At one point in the episode, as the three give their prayers up to the Almighty, Georgie asks God to give him Veronica in exchange for his allegiance. Transcript provided by Media Research Center:
Pastor Jeff: And now, why don’t we take a moment to pray, uh, keeping in mind that our prayers should not be for our own benefit, but for our family, friends, fellow Texans, Americans of all races and religions and the world. Well, most of the world. Y’all know what countries to pick.
Mary: Lord, please look after my family. Give them everything they need to be happy and healthy. And this lovely young girl with me tonight, help her stay on the path of righteousness.
Veronica: God, please look after my sister. You can find her at the women’s correctional facility in Lubbock. Help her seek salvation in you instead of cocaine, marijuana and bass players.
Georgie: Jesus, I’m sure, even from Heaven, you can see how hot the girl sitting next to me is. And I know I’m not supposed to pray for myself, but here’s the deal: If you can get her to fall in love with me, and you know, make some bad decisions, I swear I’ll come to church every Sunday.
Mary: And thank you for bringing Georgie tonight, even though you and I both know why he came. Speaking of which, whatever he’s praying for right now, ignore it.
Veronica: And please protect me from impure thoughts, and teach me to respect the sanctity of my body.
Georgie: Now if for instance she and I were to go skinny dipping and one thing were to lead to another under the moonlit sky, get this: Not only do I become a devout Christian, I will also bug everybody I meet to do the same. And you know I can be real annoying when I set my mind to it.
Mary: Amen.
Veronica: Amen.
Georgie: I’m gonna take your silence as a yes. Amen.
Later, Georgie joins Veronica to be baptized in Christ alongside her, during which the show uses the sacrament as a chance to sexualize it.
“During the actual baptism, when Veronica is dunked in the water and comes back up, she is portrayed through the eyes of Georgie, who clearly sees her as a sexy young woman, flipping her hair around with a seductive expression,” LifeNews describes the scene. “After he himself is baptized, he is so elated he kisses a shocked Veronica, which promptly gets him punched and earns him a black eye.”
“Mary [Georgie’s mother], who is herself portrayed in the show as a devout Christian, acknowledges throughout the episode that she knows what Georgie is up to,” reports the outlet. “But it’s not until he kisses Veronica following their baptisms, that she bothers to reprimand or ground him for it.”