Posted by Hemant Mehta in When it comes to religion and the absurdities within it, there are a number of ways to tackle the issues with sharp, biting humor. These are my personal favorite comedians or comedy bits:
- 5) Even Stephven (Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell) on The Daily Show
- 4) Ricky Gervais
- 3) Julia Sweeney
- 2) David Cross
- 1) George Carlin
Comedy Central yanked the video off of YouTube. But you can still watch the brief debate between Islam and Christianity here.
Gervais originated the role on the British TV show The Office that Steve Carell now plays in the US version. Here is Gervais giving us an analysis of the Book of Genesis (broken up into two separate videos)
Ok, ok. She doesn’t do stand-up comedy. But she’s still a fantastic storyteller. Her show Letting Go of God
The following excerpt has a little more backstory to the previous video (and it’s about twice as long):
Cross asks how a newspaper got the information for a particular story…
One more. It’s a bit longer. Personally, it doesn’t get funny until the 2:18 mark, but after that, there’s some great stuff. Listen especially for his version of “Footprints“:
My favorite David Cross/Religion bit is still the following (which I can’t find on YouTube, but I can imagine him saying it…):
David Cross: “[What's] the show where the… uh… there’s the guy on stage and then everybody in the audience believes that he… uh… has contact with the dead and spirits talk to him?”
[Audience members shout out: "Crossing Over with John Edward!"]
David Cross: “Crossing Ov-? No no no no no. It was… um… it was Church.”
On not needing all ten Commandments:
Carlin has had some classic bits ripping on religion throughout his career. They’re timeless and hilarious. This next piece is about religion in a more broad sense:
Did I leave anyone worthy off the list? If you have a link to audio or video, I’m sure we’d all appreciate it!
[tags]atheist, atheism, humor, comedy, comedian, stand-up, religion, Even Stephven, Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, The Daily Show, Comedy Central, YouTube, Islam, Christianity, Ricky Gervais, The Office, Genesis, Julia Sweeney, David Cross, Footprints, Crossing Over with John Edward, church, George Carlin, Ten Commandments[/tags]
I’ve always liked Jim Gaffigan’s bit on religion.
I’m surprised you didn’t have anything by Bill Hicks.
And how could I have forgotten Rowan Atkinson?!?
You can go see what I posted on CatE as my favorites;
My favorite funny videos
Robin Ince on Creationism!!
Eddie Izzard on Easter & Christmas
Welcome to Hell by Rowan Atkinson
Finally, something I can weigh in on.
Well, I think it’s better to watch the show all the way through, but Eddie Izzard took a few jabs at religion (specifically Christianity) in Dress to Kill. There’s a video about the Church of England and hymns, and another about the traditions of Easter and Christmas and their ridiculousness (with a little bit about the Last Supper painting, too).
Although not disputing its validity, Dane Cook’s comments on the Catholic faith are entertaining.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVP73gT30fw
George Carlin’s album “Class Clown,” from I think around 1972, has some very funny material about growing up Catholic. It’s worth looking up. Perhaps available on iTunes?
When it comes to debunking religion, one monologue by George Carlin is 100 times more effective than any book by Sam Harris or Richard Dawkins.
Here’s a funny Colbert clip I found today on Crooks And Liars.
Stephen Colbert takes James Dobson’s side in the debate over whether or not Congress should pass legislation that includes protections for gays against hate-crimes.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/Media/Play/17055/1/Colbert-WORD-Intolerant.wmv/
This one is not as funny as those… but it’s pretty good…
A guy by the name of Hemant Mehta at the last Minnesota Atheists meeting….
Part 1 - Part 2
There is some coverage of our Day of Reason at the Minnesota State Capitol online too…
[...] After I posted my list of my Top 5 comedy bits for atheists, there were several comments listing other great comedians that discuss religion in their act. Here are some of my favorites: [...]