I happened to catch one of his [Carlin’s] television specials one evening while lying in bed unable to sleep. He called religion—not just one denomination, but all religion—“the greatest bullshit story ever told.” Think about it, he said. “An invisible man … with a special list of things he does not want you to do.” Break one of those rules and God will send you to “a special place” of “torture and anguish.” But, Carlin added, “He loves you, and he needs money.” 

The common sense cut through the fog in my head. It spoke to my brain and my heart. After a lifetime of nonsensical, self-contradictory religious indoctrination, here was a clear and intelligent voice that dared to tell, if you’ll pardon the expression, the honest-to-god truth. In a few succinct words, Carlin articulated what I had begun more and more to sense but had not yet quite faced. Since Carlin had an audience, I reasoned, there must be many, many others who thought that way, too. I wasn’t alone!