Bill Maher has his share of detractors. Sarah Palin, Donald Trump and Michelle Bachmann all come to mind. If there is one topic excoriated by Maher more than any other, it must be organized religion. After all, the host of HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" made the documentary "Religulous," exposing what he views as the zany rituals of all kinds of faiths.
The Catholic League is not happy, particularly since it often finds itself the brunt of Maher's jokes. .
So incensed by Maher's wise-cracks and what they perceive as blatant "anti-Catholicism," their organization's president Bill Donahue issued a letter to HBO bosses... just in time for Easter. The Catholic League chronicled a list of examples of his "anti-Catholicism."
"There is no other entertainer in the nation who has repeatedly spoken about the Catholic Church, especially its priests, in more vile and obscene terms than Bill Maher, " the letter, signed by the organization's president Bill Donohue asserted. "[Maher's] bigotry is not merely visceral, it is relentless," the letter concluded, and the "time has come for someone in a position of responsibility to sit down and have a serious talk with this man."
During a recent show, Maher took on the Catholic Church following the election of the new pope, asking, "What other business could you be in where your company gets caught running a child sex ring since forever and you still keep your customers?"
Bill Maher has never made his antipathy - or rather disdain- for religion a secret.. He believes its concept is both silly, and worse, highly destructive.
"Religion to me is a bureaucracy between man and God that I don't need," he once said. His disdain for organized religion is a common motif on his show and his stand-up routines..
Maher is often known for his libertarian views even though he contributed $1 million to Priorities USA, a Barack Obama SuperPAC during the 2012 Presidential Elections.
