His teaming with director Larry Charles is also an interesting choice. Charles was satirizing society and human interactions as a comedy writer for shows like Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm for years, before really coming into his own as the progressive and anarchistic director of Borat. On that project, he began to experiment (thanks in no small part to comedy pioneer Sacha Baron Cohen) with incorporating documentary techniques in his comedy, rather than merely trying to approximate life though writing. Shortly after the unexpected success of Borat, he teamed with Bill Maher to create a film that would allow Maher to openly debate major religious and political figures of all faiths, as well as visit sacred sites and speak to normal people with strong beliefs with the intention of showing that religion is…well…ridiculous (get the title now?).

Maher has always been an open atheist and has attacked religious institutions in both his standup and television shows. The format of Religulous should be an ideal venue for Maher as it will allow him to use the comedy debating skills that he has finely honed through his standup and television careers. While the documentary aspect of the production will allow him to expand as an artist as well as enter into the new world of reality comedy where painful truths and disreputable people are exposed on camera. For a comedian who has made a career out of uncovering hypocrisy and encouraging dissenting ideas, this movie should be the perfect opportunity to use humor to present ideas to a broad audience and speak with religious figures who would never have dared to be a guest on his show.