John Cleese offers insights, 'expertise' on religion in Oct. 22 lecture

Cornell President Jeffrey Lehman welcomes John Cleese to campus in front of a thunderous and appreciative crowd in Barton Hall Oct. 22. Nicola Kountoupes /University Photography

By Simeon Moss

For John Cleese, the practice of religion -- from the humorous to the torturous -- offers a pretty accurate guide to mental health. And the more people fall under the sway of punitive, organized religion, he suggested, the more their health -- and the health of others -- is in danger.

The noted British (now a resident of Santa Barbara, Calif.) comedian, actor, author and Cornell Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large offered an overflow Barton Hall audience Oct. 22 more stand-up theology than stand-up comedy during a lecture titled "What Is Religion? Musings on the 'Life of Brian.'" He was informed and articulate, sometimes biting and typically droll.

Cornell President Jeffrey Lehman introduced Cleese -- who stood behind him, mugging -- as "mature ... serious and reflective ... and a man of great energy, especially when it comes to students." And legal expert Lehman, after denigrating his own sense of humor, quipped that Cleese had prepared for his career in comedy in "the traditional way," with a law degree (from Cambridge University). Lehman closed his introduction by announcing that Cleese would soon be 65, and with an unexpected flourish, he led the Barton Hall crowd in a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday To You." Obviously delighted by the outpouring of affection, Cleese stepped to the microphone, then deadpanned, "65 -- nearly dead" -- to great audience laughter and applause.

After modestly downplaying his own "expertise" on religion (he was, in fact, a rector of St. Andrews University, Scotland), Cleese gleefully, and humorously, pointed to his strongest qualification -- "I'm a celebrity!" he said. "And that's all that matters these days."

Cleese is, in fact, a celebrity, the most recognizable member of the popular, now defunct, comedy troupe Monty Python, a star in numerous movies, and the author of several books, including two -- Families and How to Survive Them (1983) and Life and How to Survive It (1993) -- with psychologist Robyn Skinner.

It is the collaboration with Skinner that seemed to inform much of Cleese's Barton Hall lecture. That, and the 1979 Monty Python movie "Life of Brian," clips of which Cleese used to illustrate his points. The movie, which Cleese termed Python's "best," drew the ire of Christian groups for its perceived attacks on Christianity. But, Cleese said, the movie wasn't making fun of any religion but was making jokes about "the way some people pursue religion."

Cleese argued a distinction between the pursuit of faith mediated through words and symbols by an authoritarian and power-seeking church (essentially "crowd control," he quipped) and another approach -- a personal, unmediated relationship with the faith object.

And central to his talk were the teachings of Skinner, who has been Cleese's mentor and friend and who, he said, has a theory on the levels of mental health -- tied to a person's pursuit of religion. On the lowest level of mental health, he suggested, are people who believe in dogma, the "letter" of the law, and who, prompted by manipulative doctrine, fear an angry God, "an ethereal Saddam Hussein," Cleese said. On the top levels are those who believe in a more ethereal being.

During a question-and-answer session, Cleese fielded queries on his own religious beliefs and the beliefs of others. "The gap between God and me is greater than the gap between me and Reggie [his former cat]," he said, but he likened the strokes he'd reward Reggie with to the divine strokes he sometimes feels from the ethereal being. And he counseled that, "You need some kind of belief system that there is something that is bigger than you -- beyond your ego."

Coming down to earth, he pushed his new Web site, theJohnCleese.com (an imposter already had taken JohnCleese.com, he said), and he left the stage with the singing crucifixion scene from "Life of Brian" projected on overhead screens. The song? "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life."

Cleese's talk was sponsored by the Cornell Program Board and the Cornell Program for Professors-at-Large.