Maher: Wokeness Turned into ‘Ugly Authoritarianism that Very Much Reminds Me of Religion’

On Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” host Bill Maher stated that he does have his issues with the left in a way he didn’t five years ago and “what started out as woke-ism has turned into a kind of ugly authoritarianism that very much reminds me of religion.”

While interviewing former Attorney General Bill Barr, Maher said, “I’ve heard you speak a lot about the idea that religion is under attack in this country. It — I think it’s your overarching theme. And what am I missing that Christianity [is] under attack? I mean, you’re still — the majority of the people who are still religious are Christian. I just don’t see where the attack is coming from. It strikes me as paranoia, quite frankly.”

Barr responded, “[W]hat we need today is a live and let live attitude, and it has to be a two-way street. And so, what I think is happening today is, the problem is not that religions are trying to still impose their views of morality on the nonfaithful — people who don’t have religion. I think it’s the opposite. I think, if you’re a Catholic doctor, you have to perform abortions, if you’re a Catholic hospital, you have to perform sex selection surgery. We want — you can’t teach this in your school because it’s hate speech if you’re teaching traditional doctrine.”

Maher then said, “Yes. Look, I certainly have my quarrels with the left in a way I never did five years ago. I understand what you’re saying and a lot of what started out as woke-ism has turned into a kind of ugly authoritarianism that very much reminds me of religion. So, I’m not going to argue with you about that. But I’ve heard you say that you think that the attack on religion is the civil rights issue of our lifetime, for you that’s what it is. … Gen Z thinks the civil rights issue of our lifetime is trans. … And Biden supports that, yeah. How do those two sides live in the same country?”

Barr responded, “Again, I think it has to be live and let live.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett