Religion

A large chunk of the gags are directed at the blind following of religion, and they do not hold back. Blind fundamentalism often stems from fear of the dangers in the world. People are so overwhelmed by everything going on that they are not able to think for themselves. They rely heavily on outsiders to tell them exactly what to do, and this often leads them to church. This reliance is exemplified when Brian is fed up with the obsessive crowd of followers and abruptly tells them to, “Fuck off.” The man in front then replies, “How should we fuck off my lord?” This is an extreme example of how people genuinely can not take the simplest of actions without their idol telling them what to do and how to do it. Any other way would just be wrong in their view.

Terry Jones, a member of the Pythons, is quoted saying that the jokes were a satire on people who, "couldn't agree on what Jesus was saying about peace and love". The people are desperately clinging on to every word that comes out of Brian’s mouth as they attempt to find some sort of deeper meaning within every action. He leaves behind a gourd and loses a shoe while running away, and the civilians argue over which item represents the message of the “Messiah”. In reality, they are completely missing the entire message, “You are all individuals!” While the people are chasing down Brian, they run into a shepherd and his flock of sheep. They run alongside it for a few moments, a metaphor cementing the idea that the people just follow and do exactly what they are told.

The Catholic archdiocese ended up taking offense to the film, and declared it a “blasphemy”, saying that it was a, "crime against religion which holds the person of Christ up to comic ridicule." A multitude of other groups were upset about the film as well, notably Jewish organizations. These claims are not very well supported, and the “person of Christ” is not necessarily the one in the crosshairs. The focus is clearly put on blind fundamentalism. Christ is only in the film twice: at birth and at the speech on the mount. It appears the Church does not have a very good sense of humor.