After watching some funny video segments, remembering his cameo in the film, “Dogma,” and googling to see what other people were saying, I realized that the late George Carlin was an atheist.
I never thought about this before.
The guy knew how to tell funny jokes. People laughed.
But how much of his anti-religious establishment routine was an act?
He defined the 10 Commandments as a political document artificially inflated to sell better, described religion as the all-time champion of false promises and exaggerated claims, and called his god the man who lives in the clouds.
I found Carlin remembrances by the Friendly Atheist, the Liberal Atheist Vegetarian, NoGodBlog.com, and the Skeptical Sinner.
Four months before my birth in 1975, Carlin showcased on The Mike Douglas Show and defined religion as an abdication of responsibility.
Given his numerous routines about religion and God, his atheism makes sense. But was Carlin just pulling jokes out of his sleeves, or was his comedy more profound?
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Ari Herzog is an online media strategist and Newburyport City Councilor-Elect.
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I don’t think George Carlin was an atheist. He saw everything around him as just another part of life he could crack a joke at. He was very observational and he understood that cracking jokes about taboo subjects sold books and show tickets. But when he got a little more serious he would talk about how we all needed to slow down and just love one another and get along better.
I don’t think someone that wanted that much good for humanity could genuinely question the existence of a higher power. Maybe he observed organized religion and thought it was silly, but I just really don’t think he was a flat out Atheist.
Ari, thanks for the link to LAV!
Andy, you seem to be under the impression that atheists don’t want what’s best for humanity. Remember that there’s a whole philosophical practice called “humanism”, advocating (and working to produce) just that. Guess what? It’s just about all atheists.
Theists certainly don’t have a monopoly on doing good things, or wanting what’s best for themselves and their fellow humans. I don’t know either way if Carlin was an atheist, but he never gave any indication otherwise.
Not all religions are an abdication of responsibility. Certainly the triad of those derived in the Middle East (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) do hint at that, but Buddhism and Hinduism don’t abdicate responsibility as far as I can see and certainly the religion of the Vikings didn’t. Now the archetypal abdicators have to be the ancient Greeks who thought they were merely pawns of the gods. the Flying Spaghetti Monster, of course, takes no responsibility for your actions…
Andy, Michael: Interesting ideas between both of you. Perhaps this brings up a larger question whether anyone’s religion or religious beliefs actually matter in their profession?
David: No dissing on the Flying Spaghetti Monster!
Hi Ari, thanks for the link to the skepticalsinner
I definitely agree with the abdication of responsibility. While Buddhism and Hinduism are less of a control mechanism, they are still doctrine created by man. I have no problem with any religion, provided they a) do no harm to others b) spread no hate or discrimination and c) are less important than the affairs of right now.
Regrettably, most of them don’t meet the mark on all 3.
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