Full disclosure: I was raised Unitarian, which is technically a distant branch of Protestantism, but which (as my Christian friends used to scoff) is pretty much “just” a philosophy that cherry-picks most of the “be nice to people” bits of the world’s belief systems while jettisoning all the dogma and certainty.
So I’m very much the choir to whom Bill Maher is preaching in his current documentary, Religulous, which posits fervent religious belief as a potentially dangerous mental disorder that’s caused untold suffering and could easily lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy of man-made Armageddon if the rational atheists and agnostics of the world aren’t willing to stand up and be counted.
Of course, one topic Maher doesn’t cover in his fish-in-a-barrel interviews with “reformed” homosexual Christians and deluded Muslim rappers is the hypocritical dogma of many atheists, whose strident and absolute faith (ah, there’s that word) in a godless universe is just as annoying and potentially harmful as the religion they rail against -- the Khmer Rouge, Maoists, Stalinists and Manson Girls managed plenty of atrocity without benefit of supernatural holy books, after all -- and Stephen Hawking can Vocoder me ‘til he’s blue in the face about the Big Bang, but I’m still gonna wonder what came before that and what it’s all for...and until science can absolutely prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that my soul is nothing but chemical illusions and existence is essentially meaningless, I’ll happily continue to ignore THAT grim fucking view of things, no matter how much the atheists shake their heads and chuckle at my naïveté.
But far more conspicuous in a movie predicated on skewering religion is Maher’s near total refusal to criticize one important world religion centered in the Holy Land that's had an effect on recent (and ancient) Middle Eastern history...no, not the Christians or the Muslims but, y'know...
...Jews. There, I said it, and I hope this doesn't make me anti-Semitic...but, I mean, come on, Bill! Not one mention of tribal/religious Israeli-Palestinian tensions? Not one mention of the way Jewish faith, like Christian faith, shapes American foreign policy (not to mention presidential elections...just ask Sarah Silverman)? Not one mention of the type of unchecked, undisguised anti-Muslim bigotry I’ve heard over the years from any number of otherwise smart, progressive Jewish friends, acquaintances and politicians? Not even a snarky Kabbalah joke?
Oh, sure, the movie pokes fun at a goofy inventor who comes up with devices to help Jews get around Sabbath restrictions. And there’s a joke about circumcision, and one about Moses (and other prophets) hearing voices (y'know, like crazy people do)...but aside from the aforementioned inventor, only two Chosen People are portrayed in the same negative light as their Christian and Muslim co-stars: a man who turned his back on Judaism to become a Jew for Jesus and an Orthodox Jew who questions the legitimacy of Israel and pals around with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Look, I get it: there are fewer Jews than Muslims and Christians. Judaism is far less wacky than Christianity and Islam. And, to be honest, fundamentalist Christians and Muslims scare me a hell of a lot more than Orthodox Jews and Zionists. But it seems absurdly disingenuous and counter-productive (especially for a card-carrying member of the "Hollywood Elite") to make so much noise about “sticking it” to religion while basically giving a pass to one major, world-influencing belief system (especially when Maher does find time to go after also-rans like Scientology and Mormonism).
And, hey, where were the fucking Hindus?
Okay. That’s it from me. Nice knowing you all. I’m gonna go hide in a cave now...though, to be honest, this post will probably provoke far less controversy than the one where I attacked The Dark Knight...
...here endeth the sermon, amen...
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Screengrab Review: Religulous
Trailer Review: Religulous