On the January 4 edition of the NBC show “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” Bill Maher commented on a remark about religion that was allegedly made by presidential contender Mitt Romney. In the course of his comments, Maher said the following:
“You can’t be a rational person six days of the week and put on a suit and make rational decisions and go to work and, on one day of the week, go to a building and think you’re drinking the blood of a 2,000-year-old space god. That doesn’t make you a person of faith…That makes you a schizophrenic.”
O’Brien, looking a bit uneasy, then asked Maher whether anyone who is religious is schizophrenic. To which Maher replied, “Well, yes, sort of, because they have walled off a part of their mind.”
Catholic League president Bill Donohue jumped on this today:
“There is no bigger anti-Christian bigot in the entertainment business than Bill Maher; he has shown that over and over again. While he may not like any religion, he has a special place in his portfolio of hatred for Christians, especially Roman Catholics. In Maher’s twisted mind—which has long walled off rationality, to say nothing of decency—the mere mention of religion sets off a tirade against Jesus. We’ll take the backhanded compliment.
“Unlike most non-believers, who are generally content to respect the right of most Americans to believe in God, guys like Maher want a brawl. He should be careful what he wishes for because there are those who pine to deliver.”
