Religulous

Religulous is the latest in the popular line of controversial documentaries, like Bowling for Columbine or The Age of Stupid. Like its predecessors, it sets out with the aim to get a message across; throughout the film, we will see Christian, Jewish and Muslim extremists turned into ridicule. Maher confronts them with the clear intention of making their statements at odds with "common sense", thus creating a permanent comedy effect. Despite its clear bias, Religulous is still worthy in that it tackles important issues, such as secularism and the place that organised religion has in modern societies. Can one nation's religion lead to war? Can it lead to legislation? The stance that Maher takes on the issue is obviously a secularist one, but Religulous has the merit of raising a question which had remained somewhat taboo: although the war on Iraq never was described as a religious conflict as much as an economic struggle towards oil, how acceptable would the action have been if it had been based on religion alone?

As is usually the case with such films, there are three ways to go and see Religulous: you can go to be entertained. You can also go and see it from your personal position. If you are a religious person, you will end up feeling glad your personal denomination is nothing like those in the film and slightly outraged at the association. If you are a secularist-atheist, you will spend the film nodding in agreement, taking notes for future arguments. Or, you can go and watch Religulous with an open mind, but in the knowledge that it is biased. Once you get past the frustration of its one-sidedness, you will actually find yourself challenged by the questions it raises, and surprised by the fact that the answers are not as straightforward as they appear.

Pierre Schramm