Bill Maher Blames Capitol Insurrection on Christianity: ‘Events of Jan. 6th Were a Faith-Based Initiative’

Comic and political pundit Bill Maher blamed the Capitol insurrection, in which Confederate flag-waving Trump supporters launched a deadly attack in which they threatened to hang then-Vice President Mike Pence, on Christianity.

On Friday night’s edition of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, host Bill Maher devoted his “New Rules” segment to laying the Capitol insurrection at the feet of religion in general, and Christianity in particular.

“As long as we’re going to go to the trouble of another impeachment trial, we might as well be honest about what it’s really about,” Maher said. “The events of January 6th were a faith-based initiative.”

“And Trumpism is a Christian nationalist movement that believes Trump was literally sent from heaven to save them,” Maher added, then laid out the premise of his commentary.

“There’s a lot of talk now in liberal corners about how Republicans should tell their base who still believe the election was rigged that they need to grow up and move on, and stop asking the rest of us to respect their mass delusion,” Maher said, adding “And of course it is a mass delusion, but the inconvenient truth here is that if you accord religious faith the kind of exalted respect we do here in America, you’ve already lost the argument that mass delusion is bad.”

What followed was a several-minute screed mocking passages from the Bible and equating them to QAnon beliefs.

Maher is notoriously hostile toward religion, as evidenced by his film Religulous. But the Capitol insurrectionists had other things in common, and most of the people they were attacking on Jan. 6th are also adherents of a variety of organized religions who literally prayed to God while they were under attack.

Watch above via HBO.