i think it's interesting that atheists are usually also jews telling Christians and muslims that god isn't real...

Extremism is all walks of life needs to be challenged however Faith/spirituality/religion are more complex and subtle than a documentary such as this portrays. My overwhelming sense having watched this film is of another form of extremism which is intolerant of any form of religion. The film portrays extreme minorities in most cases and sidelines any moderate voices. Interestingly the film seems to me to lack balance in relation to Jewish and Islamic extremism. The part that I find most worrying is Maher's piece to camera at the end of the film espousing humility and calling for the moderately religious to join his form of atheistic fundamentalism.
This film is everything it pretends not to be; Arrogant, self righteous, intolerant and fundamentalist.

I have just one thing to say after watching this documentary and reading the posts here: Reading the bible (or any other religious text) repeatedly will make you no more of a Christian than reading a physics textbook repeatedly will make you a physicist. As Mr. Maher so eloquently puts it, religion is a drug that makes people feel good about themselves by giving them something to blame for their misfortunes and something to thank for their supposed gifts. I wish the religious zealots would stop being so d*** closed minded and start thinking rationally. Nobody knows the truth about life on this planet. You can have your religion, just keep it out of my schools and out of my workplace. Religion belongs in a place of worship. Keep it there.

fuk fox news

i think neo cons are stupid racist crackers *** em all

I agree with you MJ and I guess it can be difficult to convey every aspect of every religion over the past two thousand years. I'm going to give Maher the benefit of the doubt on this one because what he is saying is so crucial. He is not promoting or selling anything, he is not trying to get people to believe in anything other than to be human, and to respect each other and to move on and develop into a better society and to just stop killing eachother. Brilliant documentary and I have to say funny too, despite trivialising some things. But I come from a country torn apart by beliefs for so long that I understand humour is just another way of dealing with the pain and suffering it brings.

Well put MJ....

Excellent documentary.
While I agree with Maher about religion itself, I find disturbing his hardline belief that Islam is intrisically and especially violent. Most religions are violent, at least in the beginning. How else are they spread? He's ignoring the history of the Christian and Jewish faiths and trying to get decent, everyday Muslims--who I believe actually represent most of the billion believers--to account for the violent acts of a few thousand extremists. I believe most Muslims are just as horrified by the violence as everyone else is.
I am also surprised by his closeminded view of the conflict in Israel. It seems he thinks it's a black and white issue, when really it is anything but. Innocents have been killed, hurt, and traumatized on BOTH sides, and with backing by America, the Jewish side is now committing most of the atrocities. Revenge only begets revenge, as Maher should consider.
But these are just my opinions. I'm not saying I understand what's going on any more than someone else.
Oh, and before someone jumps down my gullet about this, let me say that I am an American born and raised in the Bible Belt. I was raised by a Protestant mother and a Catholic father, and I've read the Bible more than most Christians I encounter. So there.