Religious and Anti-Religious Fanatics

Virtually all publicized religious debate and news is dominated by fanatics (sometimes called "fundamentalists"). There are fanatics on both sides of every issue, including whether there is a god or not. Two examples of fanatics who have gotten lots of attention are Pat Robertson and Bill Maher.

Robertson seems to enjoy the spotlight so much that he deliberately makes obnoxious assertions about what God wants or is going to do. Either that or he really believes God is sending messages for him to send along to us. Either way, he has a problem.

Bill Maher is another perfect example of a self-righteous fanatic. He is an atheist, though he has labeled himself a "rationalist," which is simply incorrect. A fanatic by definition cannot be rational. And Maher is far from rational when he brings up religion on his HBO show. He talks about it with foul, dripping loathing. You can hear it in the way he says the word “religion”: REEEE-LIH-JOHNNNN, drawn out with equal emphasis on each syllable.

Maher lumps all religious people together and effectively calls them superstitious, deluded and stupid. Using hugely broad stereotypes is a classic characteristic of a fanatic. Maher has occasionally been rebuffed and criticized for this on his show, often by people whom he’d never expect to be religious.

I have to give him credit because, after each of these incidents, he does seem to moderate himself for a while. Until something new sets him off.