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Reality series follows would-be nuns

Do reality shows by their nature cheapen and dumb down the lives they depict? Probably. But Lifetime's surprising docu-series The Sisterhood: Becoming Nuns, may very well be an exception.

To be or not to be a nun is the question for (from left) Christie Young, Stacey Jackson, Francesca DiPaola, Eseni Ellington, and Claire Halbur on a new show. (SCOTT GRIES)
To be or not to be a nun is the question for (from left) Christie Young, Stacey Jackson, Francesca DiPaola, Eseni Ellington, and Claire Halbur on a new show. (SCOTT GRIES)Read more

Do reality shows by their nature cheapen and dumb down the lives they depict? Probably. But Lifetime's surprising docu-series The Sisterhood: Becoming Nuns, may very well be an exception.

Created by the folks behind Breaking Amish, it's about five women in their 20s who are considering taking the veil. Despite cleaving to most of the reality TV conventions, it manages to be serious and respectful - up to a point.

The six-episode first season premieres at 10 p.m. Tuesday.

The Sisterhood follows the five women as they undergo discernment, an early step in the process of becoming a sister when the candidate tries out life at a convent. Our five stay at three different convents over the course of six weeks. At the end, in a sort of reverse rose ceremony à la The Bachelorette, they choose to become a Bride of Christ or return home.

In the first episode, the women are gathered together for the first time at the Carmelites for the Aged and Infirm in New York State. It feels like watching the newbies enter the Big Brother house.

The would-be sisters are there to undertake a spiritual journey, but they can't help but compete with each other.

California girl Claire, 27, plays in a country music band and loves to date, but doesn't believe in sex before marriage.

She quickly reveals to fellow seeker Claire that she's had visions of Jesus.

One night, she says, Jesus took her into his arms and they swayed together in a slow dance. "It was, like, romantic," says Christie, "like he was flirting with me. And I was like, 'Whoa, Jesus, whoa!' "

It feels like a game of spiritual one-upmanship, the kind of thing we see on The Apprentice.

Despite their immaturity, most of the women seem genuine, though one suspects a couple are there to become famous.

Claire, 26, a music teacher, church musician, and singer from Joliet, Ill., is the most thoughtful of the women. Her conservative values alienate the others.

One sister wonders if ultraconservative Catholics could partake in the convent's primary mission, to minister to elderly patients of all faiths: "Do they have the capacity to pray and work with people with different beliefs?"

Some of the women are deeply riven. Eseni, 23, from the Bronx, N.Y., is an aspiring model who's in a serious relationship with a man. She says she's drawn to the serenity and simplicity of life in a convent because she suffered a chaotic and traumatic childhood. Does she have a true vocation, or is she running away from her life?

The vivacious Stacey, 26, "moved to New York ready to be on Broadway, ready to be a star." Dissatisfied, she now wants to follow in the footsteps of the Rev. Mother Dolores Hart, a '50s Hollywood star who gave it all up to take the veil.

Stacey says she feels a genuine calling to serve God, yet is troubled by the idea of giving up her dream of becoming a wife, mother, and artist.

Francesca, 21, from Harrison Park, N.J., is the youngest and clearly the least mature. Despite her strong faith, she feels completely ill at ease at the convent and misses the security of her large Italian family. She breaks down on-camera when she's told no one is allowed to wear makeup at the convent.

She cries bitterly and asks, "Would Jesus make me take off my makeup?"

TELEVISION REVIEW

The Sisterhood: Becoming Nuns

Premieres 10 p.m. Tuesday on Lifetime.

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