CHICAGO, October 3, 2008 – Comedian Bill Maher has taken his disdain for religion – all religions – to the big screen. His film Religulous opens today in theaters across the country and while Maher’s claim is that “he’s asking questions about religion”, he doesn’t seem to be too interested in the answers. 

Father Robert Barron, Chicago priest and theologian, says Religulous is, well…ridiculous. “Religulous is a mindless and utterly unpersuasive attack on religious faith, and surprisingly, for those who consider Maher a comedic pundit, it’s remarkably unfunny,” says Barron. For a film that is supposed to uncover the flaws of the world’s religions in a sarcastic way, Maher’s film seems to concentrate on a few themes and delivers his conclusions without impact. He goes after what he calls “biblical literalism”, the “seemingly incompatibility of science and religion” and makes the unsubstantiated claim that “religion, in its irrationality, conduces toward violence.” He attempts to boldly question in these areas, yet the answers he receives are either illogical or incomplete. 

Barron believes we have nothing substantive to fear from Religulous. “Religulous is basically a one-joke movie: put Bill Maher in the presence of simple-minded folks and let the clever comedian take apart their beliefs. This might have worked as a five-minute sketch, but twenty minutes into the movie, I was gazing at my watch in boredom,” sighs Father Barron. 

Father Barron is available for interviews. Please contact Ashley Walker at 678-990-9032 or Christine Schicker at 404-610-8871, both with The Maximus Group. You can also read Fr. Barron’s full column and watch his video commentary on the film at www.WordonFire.org. 

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