“Religulous” Reviewulous

Filed Under Indies, Movies, Political Films

I didn’t have much in the way of a religious upbringing, thank God. I’ve never read the Bible, but I did see “The Passion of the Christ” because I heard it was a gorefest. I think religion can be of some value to people who seem to have a much easier time believing in a fairy story than in themselves. Okay, now I’m starting to sound smug. I’m starting to sound like Bill Maher.

But Maher’s smugness is part of what’s great about “Religulous,” Larry Charles’ documentary about faith and the faithful. Like Michael Moore, Maher inserts himself in the proceedings, interviewing various and sundry religious leaders, followers and even a few non-believers. He’s not afraid of calling people on the myriad paradoxes and contradictions that are couched in their belief systems. A couple of times, I thought he was going to get punched in the nose. But he gets some priceless responses (like the politician who tells him you don’t need an IQ test to be in the Senate), and Charles has directed a movie that’s every bit as hysterical as his previous film, “Borat.”

Maher was never a comedian or social critic I’d followed with much enthusiasm, so he was a bit of a revelation for me in this film. That he knows more about religion than some of the people preaching the gospels makes for some spirited discussions. Most of the interviewees come across as folks who honestly don’t seem to have given very much thought as to why they so passionately have faith in the first place. Their grasp of Ancient Egyptian history is also a bit spotty. In about 1200 B.C., a fellow named Horus took the phrase “What Would Jesus Do?” quite literally in that his story is virtually identical to Christ’s. I wonder if that’s what the “H” in Jesus H. Christ stands for: Horus. I used to think it was Hussein.

Unfortunately, I feel this film will preach to the [un]converted, like most documentaries. The fundies are no fun at all and don’t have much of a sense of humor about religion. They’d rather put a saddle on an anamatroic triceratops in a Christian theme park, suggesting dinosaurs co-existed with ancient man several millennia ago, rather than acknowledge the Bible left out several bajillion years of prehistory before Adam and Eve came onto the scene. Trying to reconcile modern science with a 2,000 year old religious text isn’t going to wash. We as a culture need to rethink our approach to religion, to not take the passages quite so literally.

Now I’m starting to sound preachy. Maher takes this approach as well in the film’s final moments. But he does have a point. Our world is definitely falling into a state of disrepair and it’s not because our deeply religious elected officials have chosen to be like those super-nice Mormons who go door to door, selling the word of God like it’s a vacuum cleaner. No, Bush stole the election in 2000 because God wanted him to be president. Our country is fighting in Iraq endlessly because people like Sarah Palin think it’s a mission from God. Banning gay marriage is up for a vote in the state of California because of that goddamn bit of nonsense in Leviticus. Are these goofballs serious? It’s okay to steal and to kill, but not to allow people basic human rights? Yeah, I’ve gone off on a tangent here, I know. I’m trying to show the hypocrisy.

I’m asking the most basic religious question, “What the hell?!”

-Brad Lohan

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