Perhaps the most surprising dose of faith served up on television emerges, not from the Trinity Broadcasting Network, but from Comedy Network's "The Colbert Report." The faux news show, which is one of the most highly viewed on the network, features comedian Stephen Colbert's commentary on politics and current events, but includes a stronger dose of religion in a serious tone than other programs. In an interview with Time Out New York magazine, Mr. Colbert described himself as a Catholic who was raised to believe that it was OK to question the church. To put that in perspective, much of the religious content in Mr. Colbert's show is often portrayed through a lens of irony. "What is worthy of satire is the misuse of religion for destructive or political gains," he said. "That's totally different from the Word, the blood, the body and the Christ. His kingdom is not of this earth." Understanding the Christian faith from the inside is what differentiates Mr. Colbert's show from the rest of the network's offerings and makes the humor much more effective. The comedian's infamous speech at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner jabbed at President Bush's evangelical beliefs: "And though I am a committed Christian, I believe that everyone has the right to their own religion, be you Hindu, Jewish or Muslim. I believe there are infinite paths to accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior." Mr. Colbert's fans, who have taken notice of their favorite host's views, appear split over their acceptance of his faith, which often comes off as something to laugh at. Comments on a blog post at http://www.urbanhonking.com express shock and encouragement. "I find it encouraging to see that Colbert is truly sincere about Christianity," wrote a fan named Mike. "I'm glad he doesn't shy from stating he's a Christian as he's done many times on his show." Another comment, from Chachi: "I cannot comprehend that someone as sharp as Colbert is a devout Christian. I am shocked." In fact, during the creation of the show, Mr. Colbert asked his set designer to gain inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci's painting "The Last Supper." In one episode Mr. Colbert quoted scripture to former Clinton adviser Paul Begala. "I felt that, reciting the verse, Colbert was not being 'The Colbert Report' character but that his own religion was dictating that he had to say the verse as a demonstration of his own faith, and it wasn't right to fool around with that," wrote New York law professor Ann Althouse on her blog. "I experienced this moment as a startling statement of faith, the kind of thing you don't normally see on TV." After failing at his own attempt to run for the White House last fall, Mr. Colbert has fought with other late-night television hosts for the right to boast the success of Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee as a product of his show. What makes the pseudo-endorsements of Mr. Huckabee all the more interesting for Colbert is that the candidate is a former minister. Mr. Huckabee repeatedly has joked that he would consider Mr. Colbert his running mate if he became the Republican Party's presidential nominee. Mr. Colbert also hosts a weekly segment on his show titled "This Week in God," which he discussed with Terry Goss, host of the NPR show "Fresh Air." "I have to walk [a] thin line because I don't want to criticize anyone's religions for the fact that it is a religion, and what's funny to me is what people do in the name of religion," Mr. Colbert said in the interview. He continued, saying that the fact that he attends church makes him rare among modern comedians. In an interview with http://www.campusprogress.org, Mr. Colbert emphasized the amount of religion that often goes unnoticed in public life. "I know we0x2019re not a secular state, like France, which has it in their constitution, but boy, I wish our founding fathers had been at little clearer in that First Amendment," he said. Mr. Colbert has even hosted religious leaders like the Rev. Rick Warren, author of "The Purpose-Driven Life" on his shows. "He created me in His image and I sure love me," Mr. Colbert, exploiting his character's egotism, told Mr. Warren. Last summer William Donohue, president of the Catholic League, was a guest on the show according to a blog post at http://www.beliefnet.com. Writer Donna Freitas observed that during that specific show Mr. Colbert was not as "hard-hitting ... as one might expect." "Either Colbert was flabbergasted at interviewing someone more right-wing than his own persona, or just wanted to let him hang himself," responded reader "dovid" in the post's comments. On Feb. 12 Stanford psychology professor Philip Zimbardo, author of "The Lucifer Effect," appeared as a guest on Mr. Colbert's show to promote his new book. Mr. Zimbardo argued to Mr. Colbert that the reason Lucifer seduced Adam was to rebuke authority. "Lucifer was right and God was wrong," he said. "If God was into reconciliation, he would have said, 'I made a mistake.' " Mr. Colbert, apparently incited by a statement contradictory to his faith, delivered a smack-down of a rebuttal: "Evil exists because of the disobedience of Satan. God gave Satan, the angels and man free will. Satan used his free will and abused it by not obeying authority. Hell was created by Satan's ... purposeful disobedience to God and and his purposeful removal from God's love. You send yourself to Hell. God does not send you there." Mr. Zimbardo remarked to Mr. Colbert that the host studied well in Sunday school, to which Mr. Colbert explicitly replied that he taught Sunday school. During the writer's strike Mr. Colbert ended one show with a choir singing the spiritual "Let My People Go," stating that he was hoping for a quick resolution. As much as the Christian faith is promoted or discussed on the show, Mr. Colbert seems to have created a fan kingdom that views him as a deity. Social networking Web site Facebook features groups like "Colbert is my god," "The Faith Based Faith of Stephen," and "Faithiness," a group emulating Mr. Colbert's invented word "truthiness." The group "I am a Colbertian" actively enlists disciples to listen to his preaching. Catholics have become actively involved online as well. More than 1,000 have joined "Colbert for Pope," a group filled with Photoshopped pictures of Mr. Colbert in papal dress. Another group, "Catholics United," aiming to rule the world, displays an image of Mr. Colbert as its logo. A relatively new Web site, http://www.catholiccolbert.com, explores the comedian's religious beliefs exclusively through blog posts featuring clips of the show with divine elements. But how Catholic is Mr. Colbert, at least by name? According to www.newadvent.org, Colbert was the sir name of four famous Catholics in 17th-century France, the most notable of whom organized nearly every public service in the nation during his time of serving. In his book, "I Am America (And So Can You)," Mr. Colbert devotes an entire chapter to religion under the section about his childhood. "Entertainment Weekly" wrote in its review of the book that "Stephen exhorts all of us &#8212 Jews, gentiles, atheists, and Scientologists &#8212 to jump on the 'Jesus Train.' " Perhaps that is his goal after all. &#8212 Harrison Keely, intern, The Washington Times

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