Bill Maher Has a Beef With Religion

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(Oct. 3) - If religious diehards thought "The Da Vinci Code" was blasphemous, wait'll they get a load of "Religulous."
This hot-button new documentary from funnyman and loudly outspoken agnostic Bill Maher takes aim at organized religion, with the host of HBO's "Real Time" trotting the globe to ask devout believers -- from a man who plays Jesus at Christian amusement park to a group of gay Muslims -- simple (yet surprisingly hard to answer) questions about their faith.
The result? "I think the biggest surprise we found out making the movie was that religious people don't know much about religion," Maher said in an interview with Moviefone. Check out a sampling of Maher's other musings on religion below, or read Moviefone's full Bill Maher interview for "Religulous."
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'Religulous' Trailer

On Faith: "I was a little tired of the situation in this country -- if someone said the word 'faith,' it ... closes off the debate. 'That's my faith.' OK, we can't talk anymore about that because it might be insulting. But religion is just an opinion. It's your opinion, and it's no more sacred than my opinion about anything else."
On Whether He's Mocking Religion: "I don't think I'm mocking religion. I think religion makes fun of itself. I don't think I have to."
On His Beefs With Organized Religion: "Well, let's see, they're responsible for most of the wars we've ever had. The Crusades, the oppression of women, the oppression of minorities, exorcisms, killing witches, honor killings, suicide bombings, having sex with children, keeping women in the beekeeper suits, you know ... where does it end?"
"Religulous" is playing in theaters now.
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2008-10-03 16:28:04
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