Comedian Bill Maher has suggested that the Bible and the U.S. Constitution share a key similarity - neither is being read by many people.
“The Constitution, is it still a real thing, or is it just a vibe?” The HBO host asked his “Real Time” viewers.
He continued: “Now, the Supreme Court has to decide: Are you going to be democracy’s last line of defense? Or is the Constitution now really, let’s be honest, just like the Bible, just a sacred old text that everyone name-drops with reverence, but no one actually reads or even feels bad about ignoring?”
According to Fox News, Maher was criticizing President Donald Trump’s use of tariffs since taking office for a second term. He said that while the tariffs have been effective in some regard, he notes that “utterly ignoring the Constitution is a price too high.”
“If you say you love this thing, but you don’t obey it, you’ve never read it, and you don’t even care what’s in it, it’s not the law anymore. It’s just another Bible,” Maher, an atheist, added.
Maher’s comments come at a time when Americans report reading the Bible less and less. A Lifeway Research study of 1,200 U.S. adults shows that while many have grown more positive toward the Bible and even say it’s a book worth reading multiple times, few have actually done so.
More than 2 in 5 Americans (44 percent) say the Bible is a book to read over and over again, but only 9 percent reported actually reading it more than once. Still, Americans report engaging with the Bible beyond the stories and parables.
“With other parts of the globe, the American consumer market has been experiencing a significant increase in Bible sales,” Andy McLean, publisher of Bibles and reference at Lifeway Christian Resources, told Religion Unplugged.
He added: “With that increase in sales, one would also hope that Bible engagement is on the rise. In other words, we want people reading their newly purchased Bibles, which I think shows up in the data and my experience as a Bible publisher.”