Admittedly, I haven't seen the movie, but I've heard and seen enough promotional material to feel sad for Maher. Clearly he's seeking something to fill the emptiness in his life, and it looks like he thinks maybe he can do it by persuading others to join him there, by "growing up."

In an interview I heard, he reconciled his support for Barack Obama by stating "I can only hope he [Obama] is lying" about his professed Christian Faith. That is profoundly bleak.

The question is not whether some religious people given to bigotry or zealotry or superstition -- clearly they are -- but whether, on balance if religion is good for us. Even as a non-religious person, I can't see how there is any doubt about that. As with the daily news, the negative aspects of religion get the headlines, while the simple compassion, generosity and goodness of countless small acts from countless religious people are consigned to the back pages, if they are mentioned at all.

Then again, this may all just be a stunt. After all, I'll wager he doesn't go after Scientology with the same vigor he does against the major religions. He might not be as popular with his Hollywood friends if did.