I finally had a chance to see the movie Religiolous with Bill Maher. I liked the movie, but unfortunately, I don’t think it was good enough to make a difference. The documentary seemed a bit disorganized. It started off funny, slowed to a crawl in the middle and ended powerfully. The best part of the whole movie was the last 10 minutes where Bill talks about how religion has the capacity to destroy mankind.
One point was made clear in the movie. Basically, all religions are the same and have little connection with facts or reality. Most people actually know very little about their own religion, they simply believe what they have been taught without much thought or proof. I would have liked to have seem more time spent on the history and facts, as they relate to gods and science, rather than so much time spent talking to crazy people. But I guess that wouldn’t have been as funny and after all, Bill Maher is a comedian.
The take home message? Religion is detrimental to the progress of humanity. When religious fanatics are allowed to control governments, history has shown, from the Crusades to George W. Bush, that the results can be disastrous. Now that we have the power to annihilate ourselves, Armageddon could easily become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If rational thinking people do not stand up against religion, we are all doomed.
I doubt this movie will change the minds of many believers, in fact, I would guess that the people most likely to watch this movie are Atheists. Excuse the pun, but I’m afraid Religiolous will be “preaching to the choir”.
