Enter The Real O’Neals, a sorely under-appreciated ABC sitcom that premiered in March of this year. The show is about a gay teenager named Kenny (Noah Galvin) and his wacky Irish-Catholic Chicago family, including his ultra-religious mother Eileen (a typically fantastic Martha Plimpton). Over the season and a half that have aired so far, Kenny’s coming out has caused his family to grow closer, to learn to look out for each other in new ways. See, for example, the recent episode where Kenny joins the wrestling team to help out his brother Jimmy (Matt Shively), only to face an obstacle when the opposing team won’t wrestle him because he’s gay. Jimmy’s reaction is heartwarming and affirming.

From the very first episode of the show, religion has played a role in the family’s response to Kenny’s revelation. His family discovers he’s gay at a church function, and a large part of Eileen’s reluctance to accept her son is due to her fear of what her church friends will think. For a while, the family stops going to church out of embarrassment, Eileen’s entire social circle shaken by the revelation that she has a gay son.

Eileen avoids her church frenemy in an early episode of the show. (via Tumblr)

It’s a storyline that no doubt feels familiar to many gay people who grew up in the church. Organized religion can sometimes feel oppressive, as a space that was one a source of community and love now feels threatening and scary. It can be exceedingly difficult for gay kids with religious families to come out, thanks to fear that their families won’t accept them for religious reasons. After all, we now have a Vice President who became nationally known for signing his state’s “Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” a euphemistic name for a bill making discrimination against gay people legal that explicitly locates the source of its animus in religion.

In focusing Kenny’s coming out narrative through his family’s relationship with the church, The Real O’Neals shows that coming out is a process; even though Kenny’s siblings are on board right away and his father makes a genuine effort to be supportive, Eileen takes longer. She must reconcile her love for her son with her faith. She loves Kenny, and she knows in her heart that the church’s oppression of gay people is wrong. It just takes time for her to figure out her place in that dichotomy.

By the time of Season 2, Episode 7 — “The Real Christmas” — which aired this week, the O’Neals are back to being regular churchgoers. Eileen is in charge of directing the church’s show choir in a local Christmas competition, and Kenny wants the solo. The episode has a typical sitcom structure — the A story involves Kenny’s machinations to steal the solo back from a newcomer, while B- and C- stories show his brother spying on a competing choir, and his sister getting too involved with her new boyfriend.

However, as the episode goes on, Kenny gets more and more frustrated with newcomer Brett (Sean Grandillo) and his attempts to steal the spotlight. Finally, Kenny follows Brett into the church, standing near the altar, the camera sure to keep the pews in frame so we remember where we are.

“I’m a likable person!” Kenny says. (He is, but he has an overinflated sense of self sometimes). “Why don’t you like me?!”

“That’s the problem… you idiot,” Brett says. “I do like you.” And then he goes in for the kiss.