Religious satire

Religious satire is a form of satire that refers to religious beliefs and can take the form of texts, plays, films, and parody. From the earliest times, at least since the plays of Aristophanes, religion has been one of the three primary topics of literary satire, along with politics and sex. Satire which targets the clergy is a type of political satire, while religious satire is that which targets religious beliefs. Religious satire is also sometimes called philosophical satire, and is thought to be the result of agnosticism or atheism. Notable works of religious satire surfaced during the Renaissance, with works by Geoffrey Chaucer, Erasmus and Albrecht Dürer. Religious satire has been criticised and at times censored to avoid offence, for example the film Life of Brian was initially banned in Ireland, Norway, some states of the US, and some towns and councils of the United Kingdom. This potential for censorship often leads to debates on the issue of freedom of speech such as in the case of the Religious Hatred Bill in January 2006. Critics of the original version of the Bill (such as comedian Rowan Atkinson) feared that satirists could be prosecuted. Brian Merriman Bill Maher George Carlin Bill Hicks Ricky Gervais Doug Stanhope Pat Condell Lenny Bruce Lucian of Samosata Dave Allen Hannibal Buress Jim Jeffries Richard Pryor Theo van Gogh Tim Minchin Douglas Adams Monty Python The Kids in the Hall Porta dos Fundos St. Jorgen's Day, by Yakov Protazanov (1930) Elmer Gantry, by Richard Brooks (1961) Heavens Above!, by John and Roy Boulting (1963) The Holy Mountain (1973) Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) Pray TV (1980) Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983) Orgazmo by Trey Parker and Matt Stone (1997) Dogma by Kevin Smith (1999) Saved! by Brian Dannelly (2004) Religulous by Larry Charles and Bill Maher (2008) Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs (2008) The Invention of Lying by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson (2009) OMG – Oh My God by Umesh Shukla (2012) How to Lose Your Virginity (2013) PK by Rajkumar Hirani (2014) The Last Hangover (2018) The First Temptation of Christ (2019) Zarquon is a legendary prophet from Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy who was worshipped by a number of people.