No one is perfect – least of all those who hold to a traditional belief system. Not every evil person was and is religious any more than every good person was and is an atheist. To Lenin and his fellow Soviets, Communism was their religion - he is, after all, immortalized in a shrine and in numerous statues. Even science itself can become a religion - scientists used to think that the earth was flat, that four 'humors' controlled the body, and that a woman could be cured of 'hysteria' by being stimulated to orgasm by her doctor (blame the Victorians for that one). People do use religion to manipulate, but they also use science, money, fame, power, and even movies.
I think the true irony of this film is that, despite the accusation that the religious are narrow-minded, the constant repetitions and reiterations of this theme puts the film in the same category that it is trying to make fun of. (Si and Telly, for example, use violence and intimidation to get their point across – much as is being accused of the character of God.) I am reminded of a quote that could easily apply to both sides of this debate:
"Intolerance betrays want of faith in one's cause." - Mahatma Gandhi
On some levels, God Complex seems to be the filmmaker’s exploration of his faith – or lack thereof – much how Dogma was for director Kevin Smith. Everyone raised with even a moderate level of religion must at some point take the time to question it and, regardless of the outcome, it is better to be certain about ones’ beliefs than to stick with one to please others. One of the subconscious themes here is a large amount of cynicism, and on one level it seems justifiable. Religion can and has been used countless times throughout history to justify heinous and wholly evil acts. Certainly hypocrisy is any belief system's worst enemy, and, behind the satire, God Complex is certainly making that point clear.
