Born to a Catholic father and a Jewish mother, Maher was raised as a Catholic. He stopped practicing Catholicism as a child, becoming part of the 16 percent of America’s population that is unaffiliated with a religion. Now, as a religious skeptic, he is intent on proving his theory that “religion is detrimental to the progress of humanity.” As he travels around the world, Maher promotes doubt among believers by questioning the concept of faith and providing valid arguments that are often accompanied by relevant pop songs and movie clippings. (The funniest clip compares Jonah Hill to an awkward teenage Jesus Christ.)
In the two-hour documentary, Maher addresses as many religions as possible including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Mormonism and Scientology. He visits Florida, Utah, Washington D.C., Israel, Amsterdam and the Vatican for interviews with religious officials, creationists, scientists, truckers, tourists and others. Numerous interviewees are put under the microscope as Maher provides witty retorts to any flaws he finds in their answers.
One particularly hilarious interview features a former member of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, Jeremiah Cummings. Cummings claims to be a doctor, although subtitles make it clear that he has no such degree. This blinged-out minister attempts to defend himself against Maher’s accusation that he uses his parishioners’ church offerings to outfit himself in fine clothing with the argument that Jesus was very well-dressed. When Maher quips that in the Bible, Jesus preaches against riches and is modestly garbed, Cummings declares that Jesus wore fine linen.
Maher goes on to tackle the issue of homosexuality in religion. He interviews a formerly gay man, John Westcott, who is married to a former lesbian and has three children. Westcott, the director of Exchange Ministries in Winter Park, Fla., believes that gay people are unhappy and therefore aspires to convert them into heterosexuals. When Westcott states that nobody is born gay, Maher presents Little Richard as contrary evidence.
Staying in Florida, Maher tours The Holy Land Experience and speaks with tourists and employees. He meets with the actor who plays Jesus in a recreation of Christ’s last days, which is complete with tacky song and dance routines. In a moment of “brilliant” insight, this faux Jesus compares the Holy Trinity to steam, ice and water. Next, Maher travels to the Growing in Grace church in Miami. There he talks to Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda, who claims to be a descendant of Jesus Christ. The seed of Jesus apparently traveled from Jerusalem all the way to Puerto Rico, where the minister was born; Miranda boasts over 100,000 followers who believe his spiel.
Moving on to religion in politics, Maher visits Washington D.C. to address the claim that America is a Christian nation. Maher interviews Senator Mark Pryor, who doesn’t appear to have any intelligent insight regarding his evangelical Christianity. When Maher comments on the senator’s lack of knowledge about his religion, Pryor replies, “You don’t have to pass an IQ test to be in the Senate.” The camera zooms in on Pryor’s face as the senator realizes the stupidity of his statement.
Although it may seem that Maher is simply trying to make organized religion seem like a joke, this isn’t the case. In every interview, Maher interrogates people with legitimate questions, leaving some individuals to stumble over their responses and others to remain silent, unable to provide answers. The only man able to hold his own is a senior priest at the Vatican who is completely at ease and chuckles as he says that he doesn’t believe in hell—this belief is part of the outdated Catholic religious teachings.
The film loses a bit of its humor as Maher segues from Christianity to Judaism and Islam. Maher seems to step more lightly where these two religions are concerned, choosing to take a more serious approach to conflicts between the two religions in the Middle East.
“Religulous” is a spectacularly made documentary with shockingly humorous insights from Bill Maher. However, the tone of the film changes drastically in the last 15 minutes or so. Maher switches from questioning the validity of faith to warning everyone about the possibility of Armageddon caused by clashing religions. Despite this preachy turn of events, the film remains an eye-opening and entertaining experience.