Bill Maher Takes On Religion In New Documentary "Religulous" (EXCLUSIVE VIDEO)

Bill Maher has a new film "Religulous," a documentary slated for release October 3 and Huffington Post has an exclusive clip.

The documentary bills itself as an "uproarious nonfiction film about the greatest fiction ever told." It's directed by one of the guys who brought you Borat, Larry Charles, who was also the executive producer of "Curb Your Enthusiasm." You can probably guess that it's going to involve man-on-the-street interviews with unsuspecting believers and a mic-wielding Maher and "gotcha" interviews with religious fanatics who get tangled up in a web of their own contradictions.

Here's an exclusive clip from the movie:

Also, here's the extended trailer (the trailer music includes a clip from "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley):

In a statement about the film, Maher explained his rationale for making it:

It has been my pleasure over the last decade and a half to make organized religion one of my favorite targets. I often explained to people, "I don't need to make fun of religion, it makes fun of itself." And, then I go ahead and make fun of it too, just for laughs.

With religious fanatics like George Bush and Osama bin Laden now taking over the world, it seemed to me in recent years that this issue -- this cause of debunking the man behind the curtain -- needed to have a larger, more insistent and focused forum than late night television. I wanted to make a documentary, and I wanted it to be funny. In fact, since there is nothing more ridiculous than the ancient mythological stories that live on as today's religions, this movie would try to be a real knee slapper. Unless, of course, you're religious, then you might not like it.

As part of the film, Maher has also created a website, Disbeliefnet, as a parody of Beliefnet, the popular spiritual website.

Comments

[RaisingAwareness]

Religions are becoming a scapegoat for the evils of the world. It's political fundamentalism, not religious fundamentalism that people should be much more weary of. Remember which uses guns and war to control the people.

[Kevbo68]

Both do. They like to mix for even greater effect.

[Imzadi]

I have not seen the separation of the two - Iran, for one, comes to mind. Darfur? Bosnia?

[AnnArky]

don't forget the good old U. S. of A.

[wadenelson1]

The "fundamentals" of Christianity are faith, hope, forgiveness, and "Loving thy neighbor"

Which of these fundamentals taught by Jesus does Maher ridicule?

Fundamentalists, well, they're a whole other ballgame.

Christianity isn't a religion. End all the Sunday morning services and Christianity wouldn't come to a screeching halt. Take away the collection plate too.

Religions, churches, admittedly SOME of them are part of the problem, not the solution to the problems in this world. Pedophile priests, for example.

Jesus commandment, the ONLY commandment he issued, is that we "Love one another as I have loved you" Never once did he say "Go on Sunday mornings and worship me"

It's easy to find fault with churches, religion, dogma, and so forth.

I challenge anyone to find fault with what Jesus actually taught about how we should live our lives and treat our neighbors, family, and friends.

[rue]

The problem with the Christian religion is that it creates an idol of Jesus rather than practicing the teaching of Jesus. It's probably more financially rewarding to do so. Religion is the problem not the teachings of Jesus or any number of other holy people. Other religions do the same thing with their "divine" personas for similar reasons.

[DrFelch]

The assertion the "christianity is not a religion" is absolutely ridiculous on it's face. Christianity is one of the 3 worst, and most damaging religions in history. You are just making excuses for your own
derangement. Jesus probably never existed AT ALL, so his "teachings" are simply a collection of folky morality plays and homilies. Totally made up and completely false. It does not really matter from where the myth of his "teachings" come, though, seeing as most "christians" totally ignore them anyway.

[AzRealProgressive]

Of course. All of the history proven to be true in the bible is fake, right? Ever hear of the dead sea scrolls, the other side of the Jesus story? And the prophet Muhammed who recognized Jesus ? The miracle of Fatima in 1917 where tens of thousands of people in Portugal witnessed a miracle?

All in all I would say that you would graduate with an A in atheism. Head of your class.

[Bibbo]

People(like Bill M.)who have such negative views on religion are an example of displaced anger. Its really quite simple...religion has become a proxy for what the individual is angry at. Why? Well usually the anger is not totally conscious so the persons unconscious needs to find a "safe" object to be angry at...but this object at the same time has to have some connection to the true object of anger to facilitate the phenomenon of "displacement". Predjudice(any type) is another example of displacement. The extreme wing of the "womens movement"... I'm thinking about those in the movement who are lesbians and fighting almost exclusively for abortion on demand are again examples...they displace anger from a male in thier past(abusive father?) to males in general...again much of this is unconscious.One can see that all discussion with such individuals is pointless since they dont know who they really distrust and are angry at.Thier arguments are based on emotion(most of it unconscious) not logic. Hillary is another example.

[Imzadi]

Psycho-babble hooey!

[sarasotajeff]

codswollop. complete and total codswollop... written by a white christian male, we're reasonably sure...

[w&cheneysuck]

Right! the extremes are what Maher targets. Everyone should beware of EXTREMISTS in any faith. People who are extreme have a tendency to justify their "actions" under the guise of religion.

[mddragon]

Wade, all wonderful ideas, it's the implementing them that alot of religious folks have trouble with. I will say this, whether Jesus was the son of "god" or just a visionary human the message is still the same.

[RedStateCenterLeft]

Makes me want to start getting ready for Festivus! Now, where's my list of grievances.....

[mddragon]

Come on George pin your Dad. Festivus for the rest of us!!!!!

[RButler]

Where's my aluminum pole? Actually, an aluminum pole is more tasteful than a crucifix. It's a good thing Jesus wasn't impaled. That would have been too much as a symbol to put in front of a church or hang on a chain around one's neck.

[marymansour]

I have had severe withdrawal without the Bill Maher's Real Time this summer during its break. Maher is straigtht to the point and hilarious. I dote on his show.

[All57States]

Bill Maher is a younger version of Don Imus. Totally unfunny.

[marymansour]

I beg to differ, I consider Bill Maher one of the funniest guys around. He's my guru.

[Redrover666]

"Guru", that was well put and very accurate. Bill Maher makes a living ridiculing those who believe differently than himself. There are those of the same mindset that truly enjoy the bashing of others and are delighted. An admirable trait.

[OhComeOnNow]

Au contraire!! Now go back and finish watching BillO, Rush, and Faux News.

[Oblique]

Who would want to follow a religion based upon child sacrifice? (Catholic)

[Redrover666]

Could you be more specific? I had the impression Christianity was based on the teaching of Jesus Christ.

[JohnFromCensornati]

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

[CactusTom]

There is something beyond preposterous that anyone should believe that a loving God would find it necessary that he have his son tortured on the cross as a means for forgiving mankind of its sins. To highlight the ridiculousness of such a concept, let’s give it a more contemporary setting.

Suppose a seemingly nice single parent father moves into a typical middle class Christian neighborhood. Suddenly early one bright and sunny Saturday morning folks in the neighborhood are startled to hear horrible screams coming from the front yard of their new neighbor. They rush out of their homes, heading for the sound of agony to witness the father nailing his son to a cross. What in heavens name are you doing they yell at the father. Why I killing my son so as to save your children from their sins, the father calmly replies.

To which some of the neighbors immediately jump upon the father, while others try and rescue the blood soaked young man from his deadly predicament, and another among them quickly dials 911 to summon the police and paramedics. Of course there is no doubt whatsoever in the minds of these good folks of the neighborhood that this new fellow among them is a sadistic maniac, as the next morning they routinely trot of to church to praise their loving God for having sadistically sacrificed his only begotten son so that they may have ever lasting life. Would there be a disconnect here?

[KillgoreTrout43]

Atheism is is simply the lack of faith in a god. It is disbelief based on a lack of hard evidence. That's it. They aren't anti-religion for others. They simply can't bring themselves to rely solely on faith as the main factor in believing there is a god. It's like religious people claiming there is a bar of gold in a box, and you can't see through the box. Faith would have you believe there actually is gold in the box. An atheist just wants to see the bar of gold, reputed to be in that box.
One can be spiritual without faith. It happens everyday. Religion is myth and cultus. The problem with modern religions is they are still trying to teach us myths that are no longer relevant in the 21st century.

[tombollocks]

No, its not my lack of faith due to lack of hard evidence. I just think its plain stupid to believe in imaginary, schizophrenic, bi-polar beings. I reject all gods.

If a god truly existed and wanted to be worshiped, it would need to be at least a moral and decent entity.

[AzRealProgressive]

I had thoughts like yours when I was younger and full of myself.

Then I realized that I was the created, and what business did I have demanding that the creator live up to my expectations ? It was hard to accept how arrogant my presumption had been.

[RenegadeUvFunk]

I believe what you're describing is typically called agnosticism rather than atheism. And agnostics and atheists may not be anti-religion, I totally agree. But Bill's film in my opinion could easily be described as anti-religion. Do you disagree?

[KillgoreTrout43]

No I am describing atheism. Without THEISM. It's not complicated what-so-ever.

[Bibbo]

No Killgore...you've got it wrong...ve­ry,very,ve­ry wrong.Actually we have proof of very little in life and understanding of even less yet we lead our lives entirely of the "faith" in things that lack proof but never give it a second thought. THe problem in understanding has to due with our really being made in the "image of God" which we cant possibly fully grasp since God has infinite attributes. The fear of death is a whiff of this dilemma. We fear death because we"sort of know" something is wrong if there is "nothing" after death. I belive its not that God doesn't want us to understand Him but we aren'tcapable of understanding Him directly(therfore no proof is possible) but we can choose to want to believe(faith) through free will. When people make this chioce to try to believe something happens inside of them...the fear leaves and is replaced by "just knowing" yeh ther is a God and things are OK. (I think thats called Hope). Its ironic..the more you insist on hard proof the further you get from knowing things(I think thats called pride) . This inner peace and lack of worry about yourself and your future(Gods around) generally causes a change in emphsis on whats important. You worry less about yourself and more about others( I know this is called charity)So there you have it. What you do with this opinion is up to you.

[Imzadi]

Who wants to chip in and buy this guy a grammar/fa­ct/spell-c­hecker??

[Johnagain]

"Actually we have proof of very little in life and understanding of even less ..."

I'm a scientist, and you have got it 'very, very, very wrong'. While we are far from being God ourselves, we do in fact understand a lot about the world around us compared to those who have immediately preceded us in human history. We're learning at an exponential rate.

I'll take reality any day. You can have your imaginary daddy in the sky.

[Shadow]

Anastasia:
Not true! There is no right to be wrong,but there is an obligation to be right The assumption that there is a right to be "right or wrong" has killed and maimed too many "sweet souls" for the race to continue to support these incredible religious A******s anymore.

If I can question your subjective choices , I can question your belief in fairy tales that puts the rest of us "sweet souls" in danger.

Sorry Anastasia,but the so called "religious community" demands to be ridiculed by it's arrogant stand that it's fantasies must be accepted sans question.

The Shadow knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men.......­..........­.........

[Redrover666]

The religious community amounts to 95% of the the worlds population and isn't the least bit "dangerous" to you or anyone else. Please share some anecdotal instances of the harm you personally have suffered. On the other hand logical, non fairy worshiping, far left regimes have exterminated more human being in the past hundred years than all the wars in previous history. There's plenty of bad behavior to go around.
There are common characteristics with atheists here in America. They are invariably far left. When not aggressively and intrusively insulting Christians, they are busy attacking and insulting every other American tradition and always have a low opinion of their own country. And always admire the likes of Castro and Chavez
Lastly and most notable, American atheists only attack Christians, though there are many Muslims and Jewish folks here. People like you and Maher are careful not to offend them. I suspect that like liberal assaults on conservative speakers, the joy for you is in the assurance that those you attack will simply let it go and you are careful with whom you bully and harass. It speaks to intellectual and moral cowardice.

[JohnFromCensornati]

What nonsense.
Maher "attacks" other religions.

[Anastasia]

While I'm definitely in the "undecided" column, both atheists and people of faith have something to offer society.

As loathsome as a lot of right wing Christians can be, the problem with Maher's approach is that he paints all Christians with the same broad brush. Some of the best minds I've encountered were formed and nurtured in Catholic schools. And there is something about believing in something larger than oneself, that has a positive impact on many people.

What's I find boring about Maher's atheistic rants, is his dead certainty that he has a pipeline to the truth. Butt how can anyone honestly say they have the answer? The person who is actively seeking is always more fascinating than the one who is fanatically of one opinion or the other.

[whatsthatsound]

He's a Snikwad-ian; what do you expect? Snikwad even credits him for the term "sky fairy" that Snikwad-ians love to use so sneeringly.

[AzRealProgressive]

I often ask, What has not been revealed to us yet? I never presume to have the arrogance that any level of education, or anybody here has an answer to the grand secret.

[toadicux]

Does he attack Rabbis who say Palestinians are animals? I kind of doubt it.

[cobobs]

I think he would skewer Rabbis who preach such racist crap. He tends to spike all all sacred cows. You need to see the rest of the film in order to make a judgment. Maher was raised Catholic in NJ, so when he goes into the church and says "Father, blessed me for I have sinned", it is only partially tongue-in-cheek. The idea of a humorless, vengeful God who gets upset because he is "blasphemed" by tiny little humans and bloodies them up like Saddam or Stalin if he feels threatened, is so repugnant that I began to withdraw. It was like, kill me at once, because I am not doing it any more. Maher's irreverence is actually quite liberating and bracing.

In Saudi Arabia, it is totally sick how those characters in white dresses move around harassing women and controlling people "for God". While you are there, just do what they say or they could beat you or disappear you just like that.

Meanwhile, in America, people need to end the era of religious right domination of social and political life and usher in a new age of reason. Send Pat Robertson and his ilk to the museum. Jerry Falwell already went to the great museum in the sky, should I say amen? Amen. Sometimes Religion could be harmless or positive, but this rapture invention is not a benign vision and could be deadly in the hands of religious nuts wielding political and military power.

[AzRealProgressive]

People dominate religion. Not the other way around.

[AzRealProgressive]

I heard something about that. Out of the thousands of rabbi's in Israel less than a handful used those terms. They were upset because some Palestinians had saw fit to blow up a bus full of kids to demonstrate how peaceful and non violent they were.

So what is your point about their comments?

[totalliberal]

Sorry, education has enabled us to not "need" a god/gods to explain things. Ignorance is still the norm though.

[AzRealProgressive]

In the late 1800s the man who ran the patent office in the US suggested that it be closed. Know why?

Because everything that could be invented had been. No need for any more patents, He was an educated man.

Think about that. What has not been revealed yet?

[marzipan]

God is a comedian, playing to an audience too afraid to laugh.
Voltaire

[martinchill]

"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."

sayeth he...

[marzipan]

HuffPost's Pick

Animals have these advantages over man: they never hear the clock strike, they die without any idea of death, they have no theologians to instruct them, their last moments are not disturbed by unwelcome and unpleasant ceremonies, their funerals cost them nothing, and no one starts lawsuits over their wills.
Voltaire

[Redrover666]

Apparently that would also apply to those who are believers in nothing more than their own superiority. Some famous atheists come to mind, responsible for the extermination of at least 100 million human beings in the last century. Ironically, their own people.

[awcbuddy8]

What's the matter, don't know any Burke?

[eternalkerri]

"If our fathers were our model for God, and our fathers abandoned us...what does that say about God?" -Chuck Palhanuick

[AzRealProgressive]

It says Chuck was trying to be a comedian.

[whatsthatsound]

Snikwad-ians believe that stuff eventually became thinking stuff; but it took it a long, long time before it reached that point. Up until that time, stuff behaved so consistently, predictably, so precisely and ingeniously that we (stuff that thinks) refer to its behavior as "Laws". Except they weren't laws, of course, the universe was completely unconscious that it was doing anything ingenious, consistent, or even the least bit interesting. It only became able to figure out that it was doing ANYTHING at all in the incalculably miniscule recent past. Snikwad-ians are so sure that they are right about this that they laugh at anybody who sees things differently, and calls them deluded. It's a relatively recent religion, though, so it hasn't done much harm.

[mbrownNY]

whatsthatsound - I just want to apologize for my previous comment to you about the tooth-fairy and being a kid and whatnot. It was unnecessarily condescending. I do not know you spiritual beliefs, and you certainly seem like a reasonable person who does not follow the literalist interpretation of the bible. I don't agree with you, but I prejudged you. And for that I am sorry.

[whatsthatsound]

We cool, mbrown. I probably AM a big kid, anyway.

[BlueEyes08]

I have the greatest respect for Bill Maher, he is one of the great brains of our age. Religious people should welcome Religulous. Religion needs to be challenged, let everything that can be shaken be shaken and those with honest minds will get better. I think religion can be a force for good or for evil. Obama is talking about good religion when he says: "our individual salvation depends on our collective salvation". In other words, good religion builds communities and help us to see in every human being a brother and a sister. It builds bridges of peace in a divided society.

[RenegadeUvFunk]

Sounds good to me. Do you believe Bill Maher expounds good values that will build a better world?

[realityczech4u]

If Bill Maher is one of the great brains of our age, what does that say about our age, or about us, for that matter?

[AzRealProgressive]

You may be right. In intellect he certainly is comparable to say, Richard Pryor, another great brain of our times.

[ThinkForYourself2]

Much of the demonizing and ridicule of Muslims, through many media outlets, was orchestrated by the Bush administration so that the public would turn a blind-eye as he sent our military into the Middle East to secure oil. Many reports claim over 1,000,000 Iraqi civilians are dead and 4,500,000 have become refugees.

[RenegadeUvFunk]

That's an extremely broad statement. Do you have evidence of this? Did Bush send out a memo or something?