| George Carlin ON RELIGION Beyond Belief - |
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Carlin has said many times that he is an atheist and is very critical of religious through his humor -- often directed at Catholics. Onstage; he has stated that "religion is just mind control." During an August 1995 appearance on Tom Snyder's late-night CBS talk program, Carlin was responding to a caller during the show and elaborately described and defended his non-belief in a "man in the sky" who tells you "where you shouldn't put your hands." Carlin was profiled in the New York Times: George Carlin, comedian. Attended Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, but left during his sophomore year in 1952 and never went back to school. Before that he attended a Catholic grammar school, Corpus Christi, which he called "an experimental sc hool." "I credit that eight years of grammar school with nourishing me in a direction where I could trust myself and trust my instincts. They gave me the tools to reject my
faith. They taught me to question and think for myself and to believe in my instincts to such an extent that I just said, 'This is a wonderful fairy tale they have going here, but it's not for me." Carlin was interviewed in the March / April 1997 issue of Mother Jones. He said, "The two big mistakes were the belief in a sky god -- that there's a man in the sky with 10 things he doesn't want you to do and you'll burn for a long time if you do them -- and private property, which I think is at the core of our failure as a species." "That's the source of my indignations, my dissatisfactions. It comes out on stage. I feel betrayed by the people I'm part of, these creatures, these magnificent creatures."
At an all-star tribute and 80th birthday
celebration for Mort Sahl at the Wadsworth Front row:
Shelley Berman, Jonathan Winters, George Carlin, Mort and Harry Shearer. |
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GEORGE CARLIN DEAD AT 71 -- Comedian,
Critic, Atheist
GEORGE CARLIN, acerbic and insightful
social critic and comedian died
Sunday at age 71. Carlin was
especially famous for his "Seven
Words You
Can Never Say on Television" routine,
and his edgy style of witty
commentary that made him one of the
nation's funniest and most
controversial performers.
But for a growing segment of the
American population -- the 13% of
"godless" Americans who profess no
religious beliefs -- Carlin was
especially heroic. George Carlin was
an Atheist who often eviscerated
religious dogmatism in his special,
humorous style. Of religion he
said:
"When it comes to bullshit, big time,
major league bullshit, you have to
stand in awe of the all-time champion
of false promises and exaggerated
claims, religion. No contest. No
contest. Religion. Religion easily
has the greatest bullshit story ever
told. Think about it. Religion
has actually convinced people that
there's an invisible man living in
the sky who watches everything you do
every minute of the day. And the
invisible man has a special list of
ten things he does not want you to
do. And if you do any of these ten
things, he has a special place, full
of fire and smoke and burning and
torture and anguish, where he will
send you to live and suffer and burn
and choke and scream and cry for
ever and ever 'til the end of time!"
Frank Zindler, Acting President of
American Atheists said that Carlin
will be especially missed by
Atheists, freethinkers and even
open-minded
religious believers. "Carlin took on
all of the religious shibboleths
of our age in a way that made people
laugh and think at the same time.
We've lost a great comedian and a
wonderful human being."
For more commentary on Mr. Carlin's
work and its significance to
America's non-religious community,
contact:
FRANK ZINDLER
DAVE SILVERMAN
For more information, please
contact:
Frank Zindler, Acting President
Dave Silverman, Communications
Director AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide
movement that defends civil rights
for
Atheists; works for the total
separation of church and state; and
addresses issues of First Amendment
public policy.
American Atheists, Inc.
P. O. Box 5733
Parsippany, NJ 07054-6733
Tel.: (908) 276-7300
Fax: (908) 276-7402
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