Every once in a while, HBO’s Bill Maher feels the need to remind people that he is still an intensely anti-religious individual. Friday’s episode of Real Time was one of those occasions, as Maher used the election of a new pope to launch into multiple anti-religious ramblings in order to portray religious people as unintelligent and violent, but it was Maher who relied on intellectually unsophisticated arguments.
During his monologue, Maher recalled how, “the new pope already gave his first mass, oh it was a good one. He said some very interesting things. He said many people perceive Christianity as absurd and meant for the weak and unintelligent—finally a pope who gets me!”
Later, during his panel discussion with GOP Rep. Mike Lawler and ABC News contributor and Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, Maher quipped, “You’re both Catholic, so, I mean, and look, obviously I don't agree with that point of view. I was raised Catholic, so we were always Catholic; we all have that in common. I got over it, some people don't.”
As he reached for a profane analogy, Maher didn’t see what the big deal about the pope is, “But, honestly, you know, speaking of Trump, he put out a picture of himself as the pope last week and nobody cared. I feel like if this had happened in 1960 and Kennedy did that it would have been a giant scandal. It’s not just because of Trump, I feel like religion is so anachronistic at this point and nobody really—it's just like a hobby. It's a feel-good story, it's like when the pandas are fucking. You know, ‘We have a new pope, oh great!’”
He also asked and answered his own question, “Is it really anything more than the religion's royal family? Does anyone—does it matter who the pope is anymore and who went first in the NFL draft? I really don't think it does.”
Lawler responded by claiming Pope Leo could help reverse secularization and distrust in the Church:
We've seen a decline, obviously, generally speaking in America in terms of faith and certainly the engagement of faith in the public sphere, and so certainly there’s a much bigger rise in secularism, and so I think it's actually a good moment in time where you have the first American pope, and I think that may give an opportunity for someone to engage, frankly, within our country in a positive way and rebuild the trust in the church, which certainly in America has taken a beating over the years.
Maher replied, “Well, my opposing view would be India and Pakistan, two nuclear-tipped countries look like they are about to go to war. These are the same people, they are only divided by religion. That is the only difference between an Indian and Pakistani, Muslim and Hindu, is just, 'I know who god is and you don't.' That's why religion sucks.”
That's simply lazy. Maher is now talking about three different religions: Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism, but refusing to examine each’s teachings and truthfulness.
That also means that Maher is guilty of bad foreign policy analysis. In the less than 12 hours since Real Time aired, India and Pakistan have agreed to a ceasefire, and their nukes probably helped prevent a repeat of 1947, 1965, 1971, or even 1999. It is impossible to deny the role religion has played in the India-Pakistan conflict since partition, but one must also acknowledge the intense nationalism that arises from relatively recently becoming an independent country and the fact that the Kashmir region is of vital strategic importance as it is critical to both countries’ water security.
Maher may decry religious people as invoking a higher power to justify their ends, but the alternative is people invoking themselves and their own feelings.
Here is a transcript for the May 9 show:
HBO Real Time with Bill Maher
5/9/2025
10:02 PM ET
BILL MAHER: A new pope because now he's the leader of 1.4 billion Catholics, five of whom actually still go to church. So, one of the biggest things—the new pope already gave his first mass, oh it was a good one. He said some very interesting things. He said many people perceive Christianity as absurd and meant for the weak and unintelligent—finally a pope who gets me!
…
10:18
MAHER: You’re both Catholic, so, I mean, and look, obviously I don't agree with that point of view. I was raised Catholic, so we were always Catholic; we all have that in common. I got over it, some people don't.
MIKE LAWLER: We still have our Catholic guilt.
DONNA BRAZILE: We do.
MAHER: But, honestly, you know, speaking of Trump, he put out a picture of himself as the pope last week and nobody cared. I feel like if this had happened in 1960 and Kennedy did that it would have been a giant scandal. It’s not just because of Trump, I feel like religion is so anachronistic at this point and nobody really—it's just like a hobby. It's a feel-good story, it's like when the pandas are fucking. You know, “We have a new pope, oh great!”
Is it really anything more than the religion's royal family? Does anyone—does it matter who the pope is anymore and who went first in the NFL draft? I really don't think it does.
LAWLER [TRUMP VOICE]: You know, I could’ve been Pope Trumpus I
MAHER: A congressman who does impressions, that’s pretty—
LAWLER: Look, obviously, as a practicing Catholic, I’m Irish Catholic from New York, you know, the Catholic faith is still, I think, very strong in New York, Cardinal Dolan is a, you know, a character, somebody who certainly continues to have an impact in New York, but I think certainly we have seen, obviously, a decline in the number of people going to church, especially post-COVID.
MAHER: Yes.
LAWLER: We've seen a decline, obviously, generally speaking in America in terms of faith and certainly the engagement of faith in the public sphere, and so certainly there’s a much bigger rise in secularism, and so I think it's actually a good moment in time where you have the first American pope, and I think that may give an opportunity for someone to engage, frankly, within our country in a positive way and rebuild the trust in the church, which certainly in America has taken a beating over the years.
MAHER: Well, my opposing view would be India and Pakistan, two nuclear-tipped countries look like they are about to go to war. These are the same people, they are only divided by religion. That is the only difference between an Indian and Pakistani, Muslim and Hindu, is just, “I know who god is and you don't.” That's why religion sucks.
