Movies

Religulous: Bill Maher's call for an Atheist Uprising!

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Early on in Religulous, Bill Maher throws up a bar chart illustrating the number of people in America who are non-religious. That number is 16%, more than blacks, more than Jews, more than numerous other minority groups who seem to have no problem making themselves heard and getting Congress to do their bidding. Maher wonders aloud why non-religious people are so underground, and why they aren’t having an impact on the national discussion. His film is aimed squarely at that 16% of the country, and almost no one else. His goal, and he clearly has one, is to give those people the motivation they need to come out of the closet and do something… before it’s too late.

Religulous begins with Bill Maher, standing alone in Israel at a place called Meggido; a worthless pile of rubble where many of the planet’s religions believe the end of the world will begin. From there, Maher pushes us into an intense, honest, and brutally funny discussion of blind belief, presenting the possibility that maybe we should all consider doubt instead. We follow him around the world, as he travels from place to place talking to religious people of different faiths on different continents. The surprising thing here is that even though Maher definitely has an agenda, his movie never skews into the realm of propaganda.

It’s not propaganda, because Maher isn’t running out and finding weirdos to use in smear tactics against the devout. Typically anyone trying to make a case against God goes right to the pedophile priests and the suicide bombers, but Maher makes it a point to focus on normal, reasonably sane religious people. He’s not stacking the deck in his favor, because he doesn’t need to. He talks to truckers in a roadside chapel, he chats with random, middle-class tourists at a Christian-themed amusement park. He talks to religious shop owners, small town preachers, televanglists, Jews for Jesus, fundamentalist U.S. Senators, Vatican priests, religious scientists, secular Muslims, gay Muslims, people in America, Utah (come on, we all know it’s not really America), Europe, and even in Jerusalem. Though those fumbling for an excuse to discredit him may claim otherwise, these aren’t extremists or lunatics. These are for the most part sane, rational, even intelligent people who believe something which Maher believes is insane........[more at http://www.cinemablend.com/reviews/Religulous-3380.html]
  • added September 29, 2008
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13 responses // Religulous: Bill Maher's call for an Atheist Uprising!

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    Our founding fathers were serious about the separation of church and state for a very, very good reason. I think what Bill is doing is merely making the point that since then, the church has become the state.

    I do not care about the minority/majority rule in this case... separation of church and state means exactly that, and there should not even be a discussion about it. Keep religion in churches, and out of our schools, courtrooms, politics and policy.

    ninepounds6
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    looking forward to this one.

    pennyharford
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    I can't wait to see this. I really admire Bill Maher's humorous approach to this issue. A lot of us, Bill included I would think, feel very strongly about it, but ranting and raving just isn't going to work. I think this movie is going to be an enormously successful step toward the society that we skeptics/atheists/rationalist/whatever want.

    edzwa
    1 response to this
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    http://www.godlovesmebest.com/tvseries.html
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    If you are excited about Religulous, please take some time to view some clips from my independent comedy pilot God Loves ME Best! It makes many of the same points that Mr. Maher touches on, but takes a different approach. While Religulous explores the real nutters out there in the world, God Loves ME Best! is a scripted series designed to dissect extremism, and expose hypocrisy and insanity in religion.

    merkaba
    1 response to this
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    It's a different format, but a different approach? Nutters versus insanity?

    edzwa
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    hi - just thought id see if theres anyone out there who genuinely wants to start an anti-religious world uprising. Religions destroying this world rapidly - it's the underlying cause. So, calling all athiests - let's band together and take on these zealot freaks in control - the world could be such a nice place if we did. Freedom. REAL freedom. For ALLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! not jokin, like. Need numbers though- even a few to start, and once it starts, people who say they're religious will admit it's all bollocks really and join the cause - you know it's true. Fanatisism is justified when it's anti-religious. I demand world equality, fanaticaly, and so should you. It's our duty as true-minded individuals who aren't under the spell of capitalism (imperialism) or religious controls to take up the responsibility of liberating this confused, sleep-walking worldly population of mindless drones. So get up off yer arse and start taking out power depots, infrastructure, and basicly anything related to capitalism. Down with our world consuming ways. NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!nO time like the present. No excuses.

    larfinsmyler
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    It not even a matter of being an athiest, but a matter of being able to question that which we are taught is true and unquestionable.
    Certitude when something can not be proven is like believing in magic. Most Scientists believe that something created the universe but they do not know what. They are not athiests rather they admit that they do not know what created it.

    carmalite
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    Dear Bill:

    You've been added to my prayer list.

    Love,

    Me

    kjoknoswazzup
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    have this movie on DVD and have watched it no less than a dozen times. Laugh my ass off every time..

    wirehedd
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    @kjoknoswazzup Nice handle, you must already know this, but for those who don't: http://www.flickr.com/photos/13371969%40N07/1368445278/

    edzwa
    1 response to this

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