Kate Sidley, a writer on “The Late Show with Steven Colbert,” will be part of a panel discussion on “Faith is Funny: Comedy Writers on God and Religion” on Monday at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago. (Provided photo) 

Kate Sidley was supposed to be in theater. 

However, while pursuing her “dream” in New York, her husband noticed something about his mate. 

“One day he said, ‘For doing something you love, you’re not having any fun.’” 

He advised the Cleveland native to try what she had continually been talking about: comedy writing. 

Sidley took his advice and pursued a comedy-writing job, landing a position on “The Late Show with Steven Colbert.” 

She has used her comedy-writing skills and Catholic upbringing to create a book, “How to Be a Saint: An Extremely Weird and Mildly Sacrilegious History of The Catholic Church’s Biggest Names,” which is due out in August. 

Sidley will be part of a panel of comedians in “Faith is Funny: Comedy Writers on God and Religion,” which will be at 6 p.m. Monday at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago. 

She will be joined in the discussion by Hari Kondabolu, who created the documentary “The Problem with Apu” about Indian and South Asian stereotyping and Negrin Farsad, who created the docu-comedy “Here Come the Muslims,” which followed a band of Muslim-American comedians. 

The program is part of the American Writers Museum’s American Prophets program series “Writers, Religion and Culture,” featuring authors and comedians spanning genres and faiths. 

Another program in the series, “Divine Love,” will be held at 6 p.m. July 10 at the American Writers Museum. That program will feature romance authors Sajni Patel (“A Drop of Venom”), Scarlett St. Clair (“Hades X Persephone Saga”) and Helene Wecker (“The Golem and the Jinni”). 

Sidley, whose work has appeared in the New Yorker, McSweeney’s and Reductress, is thrilled to be part of the panel for “Faith is Funny.” 

“I am excited to be on stage with Hari and Negrin,” Sidley said. “It should be a great discussion.” 

The panel will be moderated by Peter Sagal of NPR’s weekly hour-long quiz program, “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me.” 

Panelists will talk about why religion is so hilarious and how their faiths — Jewish, Hindu, Catholic and Muslim — inform their jokes. From “Sister Act” to “The Book of Mormon” and “The Righteous Gemstones” to “Groundhog Day,” religion has been a fertile ground for comedy writers, getting ideas about American culture across with a laugh. 

American Writers Museum President Carey Kranston said much work has gone into the American Prophets programming and exhibition, which will open in the fall. 

“Like a lot of special exhibitions, almost two years of planning has gone into this,” Kranston said. “We had an advisory group of writers and academics talking through the ideas. The exhibit had to be created by designers. The programs had to be put together. 

“It takes a lot of initiation … All this year we are rolling out different programs, exploring the intersection of writers and religion, looking at different genres and ideas.” 

Sidley has multiple Emmy nominations, a Peabody Award, a Writers Guild Award and thanks to her years of Catholic schooling, a visceral aversion to plaid wool skirts. 

She said she started researching her book during COVID-19 and found a “bizarrely bureaucratic process of canonization.” 

Sidley said the book is for Catholics and non-Catholics alike. 

“The book is for anyone who enjoys their history with a side of comedy,” Sidley said.  

From flying friars to severed heads, the book explores the wild lives and deaths of saints and pulls the curtain back on quirks of religious doctrine. 

Sidley said she has not gotten any pushback from Catholic leadership about the soon-to-be-published book, but has heard from one Catholic. 

“My mother wasn’t happy with some of the language,” Sidley laughed. 

Tickets for Monday’s program are $26, with discounts available for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased at fineartsbuilding.com/events/american-prophets-faith-is-funny