Religion Is the Enemy of Science': Bill Nye Joins Bill Maher in Lambasting Creationism

Scientist Bill Nye and comedian Bill Maher targeted Republicans and religious individuals as enemies of science, especially in regard to the growth of the U.S. economy and overall human progress, while lambasting creationism and spiritual fervor.

At the start of the interview on "Real Time" Friday, Maher proclaimed that science has become politicized and asked Nye — who has been speaking out against creationism of late — what it has felt like to "come out of the closet" on these important issues.

Calling for increased scientific advances and innovation, the so-called "Science guy" said that it's important for the U.S. to embrace these ideals so the nation can continue to grow and prosper.

"If you want an iPhone, you still have to have the United States. ... innovation is what's going to make the United States economy grow," he told Maher, going on to discuss far more controversial subjects.

Comedian Bill Maher and scientist Bill Nye (Photo Credit: YouTube)

"You have this situation in Texas where people want to have creationism in textbooks. Unlike some other acquaintances of mine, I don't have any big deal about somebody else's religion, but if you claim that the earth is 10,000 years old, that's just wrong," added Nye.

Quickly turning the discussion into a political one, Maher dismissed the GOP and religion.

"You are used to explaining things to children. Explain to Republicans right now," Maher quipped, with Nye pointing out that some Democrats, too, embrace creationism and reject evolutionary teaching.

In the end, while Nye was cautious not to target these groups, Maher was much less restrained, noting that "religion is the enemy of science" and that faith can't be reconciled with it.

Watch the segment, below:

Last year, Nye became a vocal opponent of evolution-deniers, claiming they're holding back progress.

“When you have a portion of the population that doesn’t believe in that, it holds everybody back, really,” he said in a Big Think video, going on to say that it’s difficult to make sense of life and to attain the proper answers if one denies the scientific theory. ”Evolution is the fundamental idea in all of life science — in all of biology.”

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