Bill Maher
From Philosopedia
Bill Maher (20 January 1956 - )
William Maher Jr. is the son of a "mixed" marriage, his mother a Jew, his father a Catholic. When a young comic, he claimed he brought a lawyer to confession: "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. . . . I think you know Mr. Cohen."
Born in New York City, he grew up in River Vale, New Jersey, graduated from Pascack Hills High School in Montvale, New Jersey, then received his B.A. in English from Cornell University in 1978.
A stand-up comedian, with the help of Steve Allen he appeared on Johnny Carson's and David Letterman's shows in 1982 and since has been in movies - D.C. Cab (1983), Ratboy (1986), Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death (1988), and Pizza Man (1991). He is best-known for having been the host of Politically Incorrect (Comedy Central TV Network and ABC).
Currently, he is host of Real Time With Bill Maher on HBO.
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Anti-Catholic Accusations
William A. Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights has noted that Maher "has consistently been listed in the Catholic League’s Annual Report on Anti-Catholicism" for acts of bigotry.
Donohue claims that among his offensive acts, Maher has a habit of "slandering all priests as molesters and mocking the Eucharist". In the League's 2003 report, it claimed "no one insulted Catholics more than Bill Maher". Regarding one series of slurs, Donohue explained: "Bill Maher has been attacking Catholicism for years, and this explains why the Catholic League is now at a breaking point with him. It seems ‘the Catholics’ (a telling use of words) are always causing him pain. It was also revealing to note that when challenged, he moved from blaming all priests for molesting young boys to raping nuns." In 2002, on Politically Incorrect, Maher himself stated "I have hated the church way before anyone else."
On Religion
Maher is often critical of organized religion. He has described religion as a neurological disorder that spreads guilt and hatred among people while offering nothing in return. In two separate appearances on Real Time, atheist comedian George Carlin and Maher alleged that organized religion is a cause of many of society's problems and that the practices of organized religion are mired in hypocrisy. Maher credited Carlin's views as inspiration for him to speak out against organized religion.
Maher has said many times that religion works under the guise of morality but that its tenets generally have nothing to do with morality, that religious prohibitions are being confused with moral law. In Maher's view, just because a religion prohibits abortion or decries homosexuality, that does not mean that having an abortion or being homosexual are immoral acts. Instead, Maher argues that an immoral person is one who harms others through activities such as murder or rape.
Maher opposes religious monuments, such as having The Ten Commandments, placed in or near court houses, saying that this violates the separation of church and state. He has countered the assertion of conservative Christians who claim that American law is based on the Ten Commandments by saying that of the ten, only two (the prohibitions on murder and theft) apply to American law. The other commandments, he argues, such as honoring no god before the Judeo-Christian God, keeping the Sabbath holy, or honoring thy mother and thy father, are not American laws at all. In answer to the suggestion that a divine moral authority is necessary, he suggests
- Couldn't we just get together and agree on the few basic Commandments that are laws? Like 'I won't slaughter you, and don't take my shit.'
Maher has stated on both Politically Incorrect and Real Time, and in several appearances on Larry King Live, viewpoints that reference a kind of deism, although Maher has never declared himself a deist. He has stated that he does indeed believe in a God, but that organized religion is nothing more than tradition and superstition.
In 2002 he told the Onion AV Club, "I'm not an atheist. There's a really big difference between an atheist and someone who just doesn't believe in religion. Religion to me is a bureaucracy between man and God that I don't need. But I'm not an atheist, no. I believe there's some force. If you want to call it God. . . . I don't believe God is a single parent who writes books." He asserts that organized religion provides answers to questions that "cannot possibly be answered," questions such as "Where do I go when I die?" or "Is there a heaven?" both impossible to answer. By claiming to have the answers, Maher argues, organized religion is dishonest and it "stops people from thinking."
During Maher's appearance on Larry King Live on August 11, 2005, he said he was an agnostic who nevertheless is still quite open to the idea that God exists. The following exchange also occurred on that program:
- CALLER: "Hi. Well, my question is, the Lord spoke to me approximately three years ago, and if the Lord spoke to you [Maher], I was wondering if you'd become a believer."
- MAHER: "No, I'd check into Bellevue, which is what you should do. . . ."
Maher then explained that certainty in one's religious belief is absurd, using the example of Scientology: "You [a Scientologist], like all religious people, have a neurological disorder. And the only reason why people think it's sane is because so many other people believe the same thing. It's insanity by consensus."
Although, depending upon who is asking, Maher has said he is not an atheist, the Rush & Malloy "Side Dish" syndicated column on 25 October 2009 quotes his grilfriend Cara Santa Maria (carasantamaria.com) as saying that if they married, "Neither one of us believes in God or marriage, so I guess a big church wedding is out."
On Apatheism
On 24 April 2007, Maher declared himself an apatheist instead of an agnostic on an American political talk show called Scarborough Country.
Personal
In November 2004 Maher was unsuccessfully sued for 9 million dollars by his ex-girlfriend, Coco Johnsen, for breach of a non-marital relationship contract. Johnson claims that Maher did not fulfill promises made to her and that he physically and verbally abused her. Maher publicly disputed her allegations on Larry King Live on November 23, 2004. His lawyer responded to the lawsuit with a claim that Maher is a "confirmed bachelor" and never promised to marry or support Johnson and that "California law doesn't allow for the palimony suit brought by Ms. Johnson." On May 2, 2005, a superior court judge dismissed the lawsuit.
In late May 2005, Alabama Congressman Spencer Bachus sent a letter to Time Warner's board of directors requesting Real Time be cancelled due to remarks Maher made about low military recruiting numbers on the May 13, 2005, episode which Bachus felt were demeaning to the military and in bad taste. Maher's comment was "More people joined the Michael Jackson fan club. We've done picked all the low-lying Lynndie England fruit, and now we need warm bodies." Maher responded by reiterating his support for the troops and asking why the Congressman criticized him instead of actually doing something about the problem.
Controversial Views
Maher favors partial privatization of social security, ending corporate welfare, and legalizing gambling, prostitution, and all drugs (he is a member on NORML's Advisory Board, an organization that supports the decriminalization of marijuana). Additionally, he describes himself as an environmentalist and frequently alludes to the topic of global warming on Real Time.
He supported Bob Dole in the 1996 U.S. presidential election on the basis that Dole was a war hero and the kind of "old-fashioned" Republican he appreciated, as he stated numerous times on Politically Incorrect: "A mean, old man who will guard my money!" Although he told Libertarian Party candidate Harry Browne at the end of a Browne appearance on Politically Incorrect that Browne would have his vote, ultimately he said he instead voted for Ralph Nader in the 2000 U.S. presidential election.
He has expressed disdain for many of the liberal positions regarding hate crime, sexual harassment, etc., as being "things that make women nod."
Maher publicly supports PETA, an animal rights organization, and has expressed his distaste for the pharmaceutical and health care industries in general, on the grounds that they make their money out of curing people who are made sick by consuming unhealthy food that society urges upon the public. He has expressed skepticism that vaccines are responsible for helping to eliminate many diseases. On the August 11, 2005, episode of Larry King Live, Maher said he is not a vegetarian but eats meat rarely.
Prior to the 2004 U.S. presidential election, Maher became forthright in his opposition to the re-election of George W. Bush, and in his support for John Kerry as the best candidate to defeat Bush, going so far as to publicly kneel on his show, with director Michael Moore, and beg Ralph Nader to drop out of the race. Maher often says that the word "liberal" has been unfairly demonized, and during the elections he criticized Kerry for being ashamed of the word. Inasmuch as Maher supports the death penalty, the legality of abortion and euthanasia, he often states his position humorously as "pro-death." Expanding on this statement, he revealed his belief that the size of the human population has led to damage to the earth's ecosystem, so that he is generally in favor of anything that would reduce it. Since 9/11/2001 he also has on numerous occasions stated his endorsement of racial profiling at airports.
While discussing FEMA's failure regarding Hurricane Katrina, Maher suggested it was a failure of "federal responsibility" and faulted President Bush with negligence.
He was originally against the war in Iraq, but briefly offered less skeptical commentary in light of the Iraqi election of 2005. Maher in 2007 views the Iraq War as a failure and implied on the February 24, 2006 episode of Real Time that Iraq was better off under Saddam Hussein and that the U. S. cannot control the sectarian violence the way Saddam did. He has said the invasion of Iraq has increased the threat of terrorism. He has also stated his concerns about the possibility of a future civil war in Iraq or about the possibility that Iraq is already involved in the early stages of a civil war.
A Spiritual Journey
Scheduled for release in 2008 was a film to be directed by Larry Charles (who directed Borat) that will give Maher's take on the current state of world religion. Cindy Adams's 9 April 2007 gossip column is headlined HE OF NO FAITH MAKES MOST UNGOLDLY MOVIE, which she predicts will be "the most sacrilegious movie ever made."
On 1 October 2008, Stephen Holden in The New York Times ended his review,
- John Westcott, a former homosexual who is now married and the director of Exchange Ministries in Winter Park, Fla., an organization whose mission is to reorient sexuality, can only smile when Mr. Maher reminds him that Jesus never addressed the subject of homosexuality. At a Christian theme park where the passion of Christ is re-enacted in a tacky musical pageant, the actor playing Jesus compares the Holy Trinity to the three states of water: liquid, ice and vapor.
- When “Religulous” turns from evangelical Christianity to Judaism and Islam, its tone becomes uncertain and its rhythm choppy. An attitude of glib condescension is inadequate to address clashing religions that have turned the Middle East into an ideological cauldron. Jihadism and Orthodox Judaism are red-hot topics that Mr. Maher addresses too sketchily to convey the same authority he brings to Christianity.
- Ultimately, “Religulous” turns into a thunderous warning about the future, complete with apocalyptic images of stampeding armies and mushroom clouds issued by Mr. Maher, standing in the ruins of Megiddo, the Israeli site from which the Book of Revelation says Armageddon will originate. Secular humanists, agnostics and atheists should rise up and make themselves heard, he declares. Instead of faith, he emphasizes, we should consider doubt.
- “Religulous” is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). It includes humor that many will consider blasphemous.
