Bill Maher is a true believer. He believes in the damage caused by religion and in the brainwashed devout people who take fairytales for granted. He believes that religion is fictional and that it will eventually lead to self-destruction. He did not avoid saying this and much more on HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher.” And he is not ashamed to take his disapproval of blind faith to the next level. Thus, his new docu-comedy is more like a challenge or a who-stirs-controversy-first contest. “Religulous” may not be recommended to the faithful or to those whose prayers sleep beside them, but it will surely be appreciated by moviegoers who enjoy flippant humor and down-to-earth, objective analysis. Although they may find the Larry Charles-directed documentary a bit distressing at first, they will surely find its hilarious and instructive side irresistible.

Bill Maher hits the road and visits several spots on the globe so as to interview Catholics, Protestants, Pentecostals, Muslims, Jews, Scientologists and so forth.

For Maher, structured religion is the oldest and most popular comedy act out there. He finds it uproarious to accept without a single doubt that someone actually lived inside of a whale, had no trouble in walking on water or became a father at the impressive age of 500.

“I would like people who think more like me to understand that it is OK to stand up and say, ‘We’re not the crazy ones. The crazy ones are the people with the talking snake,’” Bill Maher said with regard to those who believe in the Adam and Eve tale.

Religion’s power and undeniable influence on political issues, as well as on cultural and social matters, represent the focal points of “Religulous.”

During his journey, he visits unusual locations such as the chapel of Truck Stop Ministries, the Holy Land Experience theme park in Orlando, Fla. and the Kentucky Creation Museum. He also tours around Israel, England, the Netherlands and Italy in his attempt to scoff at what he sees as plain beliefs of gullible adults who should act more sensibly.

In spite of the fact that theologians and scientists also appear in the documentary, their presences in “Religulous” are brief, as the film does not act as if it were a scientific study on the development of religion throughout time.

Maher calls attention to the resemblance between the fabled, the fantastical and the holy. He is often very funny when pointing out the most preposterous moments from the interviews with some of the most religious people out there.

While the largest part of the movie is engaging and enlightening, it tails off toward the end, as its blithe tone becomes gloomy and moralizing. Maher strives to establish a connection between religion and all the conflicts and battles in the world, and he does it with the same kind of assurance he blames others for having. Bill Maher makes the most of his unbounded verbal aptitudes and thus gives life to a ham-fisted harangue, which does not actually match the rest of the film.