title:  Bill Maher: Tax The Churches, Why Are We Paying For A ‘Homophobic Magic Act’? (VIDEO)
text: It s no secret that the comedic host of HBO s Real Time, Bill Maher, is no fan of religion. In fact, it s safe to say that he really pretty much hates the practice. He is one of America s most outspoken celebrity atheists, and Friday night s edition of his show saw him once again ripping religion for the amusement of his largely secular audience. What Maher had to say this time, though, wasn t just making fun of people who believe in god(s). He actually called for the Internal Revenue Service to make these institutions pay taxes.During his  New Rules  segment, Maher began: Why, in heaven s name, don t we tax religion? A sexist, homophobic magic act that s been used to justify everything from genital mutilation to genocide. You want to raise the tax on tobacco so kids don t get cancer, OK. But let s put one on Sunday school so they don t get stupid. Maher went on to say that the fact these churches owned billions in property got him, quote,  hopping mad.  He also pointed out something that likely has most religious people either panicking or in complete denial: religious belief is largely on the decline in the United States, which is traditionally seen as the most religious country in the developed western world. In fact, the youngest generation of Americans   Millennials   largely not only aren t actively religious, but they are uncomfortable with most mainstream religion, mostly due to the homophobia, misogyny, and other harmful ideas and practices therein.Maher continued on his rant: Almost a quarter of us are being forced to subsidize a myth that we re not buying into. Why am I subsidizing their Sunday morning hobby? They don t subsidize mine. After that brilliant closer, Maher flashed a photo of himself getting high with a friend on what is presumably one Sunday morning.The thing is, Bill Maher is right. We shouldn t be subsidizing churches. These people push all kinds of horrible things, including lobbying, at least indirectly, to enshrine bigotry into law against people they believe to be  sinners.  Our tax dollars should not be spent to uphold religion. People can believe what they like, but the rest of us shouldn t be paying for it.Thank you, Mr. Maher, for another hilariously brilliant   and oh so true   monologue on the truth about the tax-free status of America s religious institutions.Watch the video below, via Raw Story:https://youtu.be/Mw8MLub4siUFeatured image via video screen capture