[2] The series did win critical acclaim, including a Peabody Award for its "honest portrayal of the complexity of faith in the modern era"[3] and a Humanitas Prize.
Father Francis Xavier "Ray" Reyneaux is the head priest of St. Thomas Catholic Church, which is located in a low-income neighborhood of an unnamed city.
The series included plot lines ranging from "the homeless and local opposition to their presence, the church’s soup kitchen, [Sister Mo's] insistence that God be addressed as both Mother and Father, Ray’s temptation to rekindle a romance with an old flame, the desire of his assistant priest to escape the turmoil of the city to a quiet monastery, the dissatisfaction of a pregnant parishioner at Ray’s refusal to answer her directly about abortion, and a broken father-son relationship.
"[8] Among the sponsors who withdrew ads from the show in response to the boycotts were Red Lobster,[1] Ocean Spray,[1] Chrysler-Plymouth,[10] and American Honda Motors.
[10] Other Catholic organizations and figures defended the show, with one cardinal citing how the program depicts the "human struggles that people bring to their parishes.”[7][10][11] The Tidings, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, published an editorial in support of the series.
The site's consensus reads, "Nothing Sacred is an inquisitive study of religion in the modern world, with an appealing Kevin Anderson providing solid eloquence even when the series feels too self-satisfied in its sermon.
"[19] Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly gave the series a grade of A−, writing "True to its title, Sacred holds neither political nor religious correctness as sacrosanct.
Though the series offers a complex study of faith in the real world, its great strength is that it works as engaging human drama, apart from religious concerns.
"[15] Ray Richmond of Variety was less positive, criticizing the show for its lack of realism and writing, "Smart though often flippant, 'Nothing Sacred' is gutsy but a bit too enamored of its envelope-pushing sense of rebellion.