Religulous comes very close to being the movie it needs to be. Bill Maher, who often questions religion, travels the country to interview people to get their take on religious belief.  Along the way, Maher raises many issues that plague non-believers, such as why an all-powerful god doesn’t eradicate evil, why religions assert truths not in their scriptures, and what to make of, at least in Christianity, pre-existing myths that are eerily similar to those in the gospels. Based on these topics, Religulous would seem to be a great introduction as to why people who don’t believe don’t believe.

Unfortunately, these positives are often undermined by a couple of factors. One is that Maher goes after mostly easy-pickings. The people he chooses to interview tend to have fairly outrageous ideas which are easy to dismiss. He does speak to a couple of more moderate believers but he mainly focuses his attention on points that he agrees with and does not pursue any murkier gray areas. The other factor working against Maher is that he often interrupts the interviewees to make a joke. Although Maher is often funny throughout, his humor often cuts off the possibility of any real insights. His attitude toward most of the people is generally mocking.