Is there a God? And if there is, why hasn’t he or she struck Bill Maher dead?

With the most agnostic of the agnostic still walking the Earth mocking our beliefs in talking snakes, magical ribs and burning bushes (a shrub, not the inept presidents), I’m starting to lose my faith in a vengeful, vindictive God. You know, the one Sister Mary Catherine vowed would strike me dead if I kept chatting during catechism.

If that was a sin punishable by eternal damnation, then Maher should be working comedy clubs in hell by now for having made “Religulous,” a hilarious, albeit one-sided, examination of what it is that causes rational people – and George W. Bush – to rely on God to influence their every decision.

And it’s not just Christians he’s picking on. Jews, Muslims and Scientologists (sorry, Tom Cruise) absorb their share of barbs, too. But strangely, no Eastern religions, suggesting, I guess, that Shintos and Buddhists have their stuff together.

Westerners, however, do not, in the not-so-humble opinion of Maher, who lays out a compelling case that religion is indeed killing us, whether it’s through war, global warming or a complacency brought on by the belief that God will take care of all the world’s problems.

What gives Maher credibility is that he’s a former believer who had the dichotomous pleasure of being raised by a Catholic father and a Jewish mother. He even cops to having prayed to a higher being until his 40s, which not-so-coincidentally is when Dubya and his faith-based doctrine took control of the White House.

His fear of mixing church and state puts him, oddly enough, in an ideology class among no less than Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, all of whom believed mixing God and politics was the work of fools.

Founding Fathers, meet George Bush. While you’re at it, shake hands with Mark Pryor, the Arkansas senator who believes more in the “literacy” of the Bible than he does evolution. And if you have your wallets secured, say hello to Jeremiah Cummings, the former member of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes (“If You Don’t Know Me By Now”) who now lords over a large evangelical ministry forged on the fleecing of its flock.

All three “believers” make appearances in “Religulous” along with the blue-collar hard-hats, who’d just as soon bash your head if you question their gentle, loving God.

Ah, ain’t hypocrisy grand? It is for Maher, who pretty much turns the camera on, asks a couple of volatile questions and lets his subjects hilariously hang themselves, a la “Borat.”

And if “Religulous” reminds you of that instant 2006 classic, it’s probably because both are directed by Larry Charles, who’s fast becoming a master of chronicling the tales of traveling comedians seeking truth among the masses.

While not quite as funny as “Borat,” “Religulous” is equally unnerving, in that you keep half expecting Maher’s interviewees to up and sock him, like the reformed gay minister who married a lesbian and now works to convert other homosexuals in Florida.

Not that Maher doesn’t tempt fate. After all, he never has been warm and fuzzy – or timid. He’ll freely pose even the most embarrassing questions. But he’s also devastatingly funny, even to point of tears at certain times.

In that sense, “Religulous” creates its own version of divinity, by drawing rooms full of people together to laugh. Now, that’s a church I want to join.

RELIGULOUS (R for some language and sexual material.) A documentary by Bill Maher featuring Bill Maher. Directed by Larry Charles.

Reach Al Alexander at aalexander@ledger.com.