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

[adnmoh1]

in the words of Carl Sagan, "we are drifting in space shoved into a galaxy with 100 Million stars, in that galaxy we are but 200 BillioN or more in number, and yet it only represents 4% of the known, compared to to 96% of the unknown." if only humans could understand their insignificant place in this universe the -isms, the perversions of religion, or even the politics of fear would never exist. Too bad, "i derive great pleasure to know that you alone cause your kind to suffer and die, your greed, your lust, your envy....your suffering. to believe that you will eventually be saved is truely the cruelest joke of all." ---(mysterious stranger, mark twain paraphrasing)

[ROBOT8]

"Shake off all the fears of servile prejudices, under which weak minds are servilely crouched. Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call on her tribunal for every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear.

- Thomas Jefferson

"In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot.... they have perverted the purest religion ever preached to man into mystery and jargon, unintelligible to all mankind, and therefore the safer engine for their purpose."

- Thomas Jefferson

[muadibe]

Thomas Jefferson was a very wise man indeed.

I know it won't happen in our lifetime, but i truly hope there comes a day when people who must worship god(s), keep that aspect of their lives as private as they do their sex lives so the rest of us can get on with reality unencumbered by the strain of religion.

[OhComeOnNow]

Extremely well put - excellent post!!

[RenegadeUvFunk]

Written by a man who died deeply in debt due to his overly extravagant lifestyle, lived by the sweat of slaves, and fathered illegitimate children by a mother whom he let die in slavery rather than setting her free, and responsible for the slaughter of indian populations. Quite the spokesman for values...

I prefer the writings of John Adams, a true christian.

[ElPerro]

Why is is considered arrogant or in bad taste to mock or disagree with religious folk? If there were 100s of millions of adults in this country that still believed in Santa Claus, The Tooth Fairy or that stepping on a crack would break you mother's back, wouldn't it be the responsibility of the rational sane folk to straighten them out, and failing that, to ridicule them mercilessly?

The only reason why belief in jesus holds more weight than belief in unicorns is that a lot more people believe in jesus. Reminds me of a saying I once heard; What's the difference between a religion and a cult? Membership numbers.

[whatsthatsound]

You are clueless. Wise, sane, intelligent, scholarly, etc., people have experienced a lot more from their religions than anyone ever did from believing in The Tooth Fairy. For you to think it's the same thing reveals your ignorance, not their foolishness.

I guess to someone who doesn't speak or read English, a Harlequin Romance and "To Have and Have Not " appear pretty much the same too.

[thundermummy]

The ancients experienced a lot from their religions, we now call them myths, but no doubt they were as sure of their beliefs as modern day believers. Jesus, Allah, Krishna, Zeus, Mithras and Santa all have a lot in common.

[mbrownNY]

I'm sure little kids appreciate the tooth fairy and santa claus more than they do going to church. You're just a little kid in a grown-up's body.

[Kevbo68]

Someone you call wise, sane, intelligent, scholarly etc. is not truly deserving of those descriptors as religious belief is illogical, unreasonable and contrary to all that would make a man wise, intelligent etc.

But religious experience is not proof or substance that can make one ridiculous belief superior to another. A belief in a god is the very same thing as a belief in a tooth fairy. People could have the very same experiences in the name of the tooth fairy that they do with major world religions. In fact they do when they are told the fairy exists and they find a coin under their pillow. The child takes it as proof of what they were told when it isn't reality at all.

There is no more substantiation of god then there is of a tooth fairy. Both are childishly accepted on the word of others and what is considered proof isn't real at all.

The Bible, a Harlequin Romance, to Have and Have Not are all the same... fiction written to elicit emotional responses for the purposes of power, profit, control and commerce.

[CactusTom]

Indeed, all religions are merely cults that for no particular good reason have gone on to become full blown religions. Usually what happens is that some powerful ruler takes a shine to the ways of a particular cult and makes it the official religion of his region or nation, much in the way Christianity was adopted by Constantine I when he ruled the eastern Roman empire. Like much in life, the spread and power of a particular religion is an evolutionary crap shoot.

[goodbyehorses]

Spot on CactusTom! I just can’t fathom why people don’t just look to history and realise that Religion is simply a tool used to forge National identity and cohesion. As Karl Marx said, "religion is the opiate of the masses."

I always put history first. Take Christianity for example, from a historical (and most logical) point of view, Jesus was a man who had great teachings of how man should treat his fellow man and one could look to his teachings for moral fibre and inspiration and he was a great man, however, a man he was. There is absolutely no proof that he was the son of god. He was a cult leader and that cult became more and more numerous until it forged critical mass to be considered a “religion”. What if the Greeks had gone on to conquer the entire world back then, say beating Rome? We might all be worshipping Zeus today!

Its in the History stupid!

[eternalkerri]

its not bad taste to disagree. its bad taste to mock.

atheists want their belief in the non-existence of a god to be respected.

religious folk want their belief in the existence of a god to be respected.

no preferential treatment should be conferred on either party.

respect should be given on both sides.

respect is a two way street.

[japobere]

The problem is that atheists are currently one of the least understood and most disrespected groups of people. We feel like we have to assert our beliefs (or lack thereof) strongly and that sometimes comes across as arrogant. In reality, we're just trying to catch up with everyone else. I agree that mocking (at least on this scale) should probably be off limits ethics-wise, but there's always freedom of speech.

[liberalgirl31]

I agree 100%! The founding fathers wanted our country to have religious liberty in this country--that means you can worship whatever you like, or you can worship nothing at all.

Remember, liberals are supposed to be the ones who are open-minded and tolerant of different viewpoints.

Religiophobia is as bad as any other form of prejudice, like racism, sexism, and homophobia.

All I will say about Bill Maher is that this guy dated and is still friends with the venonmous Ann Coulter. That might tell us a lot about Maher.

[cobobs]

OK, Eternal Kerri,

I get your point, but in the last 20 years, we have been assaulted by hordes of pushy religionists trying to "save" us and to indoctrinate the kids. They have claimed America for their religion and sought political and military power to back that claim.

Don't you think it is about time for some healthy satire to help bring things back into balance peacefully?

[cobobs]

Could you answer this one: does God get angry or upset when people like Maher blaspheme him?

This question is for eternalkerri

[Kevbo68]

Wrong. It is not always bad taste to mock. If someone believes in something so ridiculous as a god or a son of god that turned into the undead, it merits mockery for its silliness and illogic. An adult that believes things without proof should be mocked so that others will aspire to greater knowledge of the world.

Atheism is not a belief. It is a lack of belief. It is a demand for proof. There is no proof of god therefore there is no god to know. But some atheists are looking for god. There simply isn't proof yet.

Religious belief does not deserve respect because it is illogical, unreasonable and the cause of so much bloodshed and division for no valid reason.

Silly, illogical things do not deserve respect. Scientific, empirical, provable and real things deserve respect. Logic deserves respect as do those who practice it. Atheism is reasonable and logical and deserves respect for its promotion of exploring, experimenting and self-correction as knowledge of our universe grows.

[CactusTom]

While my rational mind is in full agreement with Bill Maher’s view of religion, I also understand that we humans have both a rational mind and emotional needs. The two are at odds. To wholly deny either the rational, scientific part of our being or the religious, poetic side is dangerous. Both religious fanatics and people who suppress their poetic emotional side are in danger of coming to violent end. A good life is sort of a schizophrenic balance of a rational and poetic view of life.

In other words, for sanity purposes our emotional needs require that we not face an endless barrage of tough reality. For instance, when a close loved one dies there is something soothing about talking about the departed as being safely in the hands of God, even if we do not understand it as a literal truth. Of course there are vast bodies of folks for who something can not be seen in such split terms, it’s either God’s truth or it’s hog wash.

Personally I have no trouble going into a great cathedral full of coral music and being a part of a heart warming experience without having to literally accept the underlying theology. Indeed, I refuse to either subvert my rational thought or emotional fulfillment. We humans, like it or not, are both rational and emotional creatures. I do, however, find humor in Bill's punching holes in religious logic.

[Kevbo68]

Yes. It's just sad that so many subvert their rationality for that extra something. It's sort of a left brain right brain thing. A little bit of reason applied to that pursuit of the poetic and one can find occasionally rapturous pleasure in art, music, literature and other people. No need to abandon all reason and logic to find the comfort that the religious sheepishly grasp at without thinking. It just takes a little bit more mental heavy lifting than people of faith are either capable of or willing to do.

[Johnagain]

I totally agree. One of my favorite things to do is visit Cathedrals. Their magnificence reflects one of the greatest aspects of humanity; our ability to conceive of something better than what life typically presents us with in our daily lives. Imagine the impression that entering a great Cathedral made on a peasant in the 15th century. In this respect it is interesting to compare a Cathedral like St. Peters in Rome with the typical aluminum barn megachurches that liter the American landscape.

[gnomic]

I don't believe in god or gods or goddesses or any other supreme being.

OTOH, I'm not an Atheist. Atheism is a religion too. It claims that god doesn't exist - a claim that cannot be proven any more than the existence of god. In absence of prove, atheism requires faith. It also has various doctrines and preachers and scams money from people. It is therefore a religion. It simply lacks the hierarchy that we have come to associate with most organized scams, er, religions.

Its every American's right - perhaps a human right - to believe is whatever we choose - even stupid and imaginary things. And its our right to point at these people and laugh at them. Evolution or the afterlife or lack thereof will eventually resolve the issue. (And if Falwell's twisted evil god is running things, I want nothing to do with Him).

But lets quit pretending Atheism is somehow morally superior. Frankly, the pagans are a lot more interesting and throw better parties.

[JohnFromCensornati]

It's not a religion and it doesn't require faith.
It just requires an appreciation of the odds.

[mbrownNY]

And an appreciation of reality.

[eternalkerri]

the odds that are what? 50/50?

[libshitz]

wow, that looks like a fascinating movie. Can't wait til August...I miss Bill Maher every friday.

[JLee]

My problem with organized religions is that they start with the Jesuses and Mohammeds, then end up being run by the Pharisees and the Quraysh. The history of religion is the history of faith decrying corrupt authority and that very authority eventually co-opting the trappings of faith to turn it into an institution of social control.

Maybe it's a necessary process in its way, I don't know. Maybe humans as a species just aren't mature enough to take the leap for spiritual growth without the comfort of being told what to do. This vulnerability is all too easily exploited by those who want power and control. Some, like Wiccans or Quakers, seem to have overcome this cycle by placing the emphasis on the individual rather than a charismatic leader, and these faiths hold my interest more than others.

[orangepetal]

Always love his work, can't get enough. Please work harder Bill !
Looks like he really enjoyed making the film.

[KeithMoon24]

BILL MAHER IS MY HERO!

[maca]

It's a shame that every debate on religion comes down to "god does/doesn't exist". That's a debate neither side can win, and is beside the point. Even if every man, woman, and child on the planet believed in god, that wouldn't change the fact that books like the bible, quran, etc, were written by MAN. The important debate to our world isn't the debate over whether or not there's a supreme being; the important debate is whether or not books written by men who have the audacity to say they're "the word of god" should be used as a basis for our lives, our laws, and our system of government.

Let guys with smoking jackets and snifters of brandy debate the existence of god to occupy their time on a cold winter's night. That has nothing to do with the undue influence of man-made religion, which in the opinion of many free-thinking people has become one of the most destructive forces on earth.

[karrezza]

"When it comes to bullshit, big-time, major league bullshit, you have to stand in awe of the all-time champion of false promises and exaggerated claims, religion. No contest. No contest. Religion. Religion easily has the greatest bullshit story ever told. Think about it. Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever 'til the end of time!

But He loves you. He loves you, and He needs money! " ~ George Carlin

I dont need this film as I already agree with it, I do not believe in worshipping things that do not exist. Faith is good, Hope, but that there is really a thing, a deity listening? Sorry, dont buy it.. never will until he/she talks back

[Soulsurfer]

Voices, I hear voices................could it be??????

[eternalkerri]

I simply dont understand how gleefully the athiests can mock people of faith and look down upon them as ignorant. simply put, aren't they just performing just as arrogant and condecending an attitude as those religious people they despise. There's nothing wrong with being an athiest. As long as you conduct yourself morally theres nothing to complain about. Just as there is nothing with being wrong with religious. Really, yeah there are some bad apples out there, but throw a rock and you'll hit someone guilty and I bet a few of them will be athiests. Most religious people you dont ever hear about or read about because they dont stand out...because they are doing whats right, being kind to others, not judging, and respecting others.
Being an athiest is not an excuse for being an offensively rude person. Ok, so some religious people are rude and offensive. But when you hear some of the rhetoric comming from the other side, it doesnt sound much different. Just a bit more curse words and raw insults instead of religious incantations.
If youre an atheist that wants to ruin their faith, then why insult the religious? Why mock them and laugh at them? At least religious people respond with either pity or holy rage and brimstone and call them sinners who need to repent. They never call athiests stupid or ignorant.

If athiests are going to think they are better than people of faith....maybe they should act like it....

[martinchill]

"There's nothing wrong with being an athiest. As long as you conduct yourself morally theres nothing to complain about."

if only all christians believed that. your religion does not concur.

[eternalkerri]

who said it was my religion?

[jalapeno]

Religion is just bad for the economy. Not spending on saturday, promoting bad fashion, 10% income goes to church instead of Hot Topic and Forever 21.
Secularism is the "pot" in melting pot.

[thundermummy]

I never thought about the bad fashion. Another evil of religion!

[eternalkerri]

um, tea in china? huh?

[TheImpaler]

Your insinuation that religion = morality is very funny. Thanks!

[doug108]

Is something good because the Gods say it's good, or do the Gods say it's good because it is good?

[eternalkerri]

when did i ever insinuate that religion was the equivalent of morality? you have 30 seconds to find that waldo.

[bugsbonzai]

Funny. You take this post and reverse the terms "atheist" and "religious", and you have the point of view of most atheists. See how similar we are?

[eternalkerri]

more than most care to admit

[KillgoreTrout43]

Atheism is not a belief system. It is simply a lack of faith based on a lack of evidence. Atheist's just want proof. The faithful don't require proof. How is that the same?
I am a Taoist, and in Taoism there is no supreme being, only Nature. And to some, this makes me an atheist, and they would be correct. But the Tao has many parallels to Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and all the other religions. But there is no God required. Actually the Tao says it is older than God. (presuming that there is a God)

[doug108]

Religion is neither a sufficient nor a necessary condition for bad behavior. Take religion out of the world, however, and there would be a lot less bad behavior.

[eternalkerri]

and atheism is neither a sufficient nor a necessary condition for rude and inconsiderate behavior.

[awcbuddy8]

I'm sure the five people who see it will be thrilled.

[thefringecenter]

I'll be by to pick you up and please be ready. I don't want to miss a minute of it waiting for popcorn.

[thundermummy]

Don't be snippy, it's not like it will challenge Mel Gibson's "Jesus Chainsaw Massacre".

[martinchill]

ok seriously - i am laughing my ass off...

[emjay]

HAHA! I'm totally stealing that!

[nolabels]

Afraid of feeling foolish?

You can count more than five people right here that will see it.

[blist14]

funny

[jneems]

Sorry, Bill. There is nothing you can say or do that will ever make me a fan of yours after the way you treated the 9/11 truthers.

[martinchill]

the enemy of my enemy is my friend?

[onceler]

it was awesome how her personally helped bounce those idiots from his studio!

[mbrownNY]

How about the way the "truthers" treated Bill? Not interrupting his show once, not twice, but multiple times. Very rude, and not exactly the best way to give a conspiracy theory much credence.