Comedy Central Special: Catholicism 'Crazy Junk,' 'Ridiculous'

If you thought Comedy Central's refusal to allow “South Park” to even mention the Muslim prophet Muhammad meant the network had a newfound respect for religion, think again.

The network's anti-Christian history has been well-documented [1]. The trend continued on June 11 when the network aired a new program that once again took shots at Catholicism.

The final segment of “Paul F. Tompkins: You Should Have Told Me” featured the comic riffing on his Catholic-turned-atheist mother and calling Christian beliefs “just s—t,” “crazy junk,” and “ridiculous.”

“Things started to just kind of unravel for her and it made less and less sense,” Tompkins said of his mother turning to atheism. “She said, 'One day I woke up and I realized it was all just s—t.' Very eloquently put, mother dear.”

Tompkins, who said he went through 12 years of Catholic school, described the erosion of faith saying, “And so years and years go by and then one day you wake up and say, 'Hey, what happened to all that crazy junk I used to believe in? Boy, I sure like having my Sundays back.'”

According to Tompkins' brand of humor, even God must think Christianity is crazy.

“When I die, if there is a Heaven, and I get to go it, and I meet God, I think I would say two things,” Tompkins said. “First I would say, 'Well, this is awkward.' And then I would say, um, 'Sorry I didn't believe in you?' And then if God is a God of love, as I imagine a God would be, I would expect him to say, 'I don't blame you! It's ridiculous! Are you kidding me? I'm surprised anyone believed it. Look, I'm an old man with a long white beard sitting on a cloud. Now get in here and try to catch me!'”

Before giving in to radical Islamists' threats of violence over an episode of South Park making fun of Muhammad's ability to avoid ridicule, Comedy Central aired numerous programs and specials featuring attacks on Christianity.

The network's willingness to attack Christianity and its followers, while refusing to mock Islam and its followers, prompted several conservative leaders to form the Coalition Against Religious Bigotry [2]. The organization's goal is to encourage advertisers not to support Comedy Central's double standard.

Comedy Central is currently supporting script development for a show tentatively titled “JC.” The animated program, according to the network, follows Jesus Christ as he moves to New York City in an attempt to escape his father's shadow.

Like this article? Sign up for "Culture Links," CMI's weekly e-mail newsletter, by clicking  [3]here. [3]