Lists of atheists
Listed here are persons who are (were) atheists—who do (did) not believe in God or other deities, and whose disbelief can be asserted because they themselves have expressed it openly on the record, or in their works, personal correspondence, diaries, etc. Not included are presumed atheists.
Given the varied uses of the word "atheist" through time, some persons listed here could also be called "agnostics" or "non-theists" rather than "atheists." However, out of respect for a person's choice of self-identity, those who have never self-identified as "atheists," but have specifically chosen another term to describe their position regarding God's existence (such as "agnostic"), are not included. Persons who have merely expressed criticism or skepticism of religion, but have not expressed disbelief in God, are likewise excluded.
Included in this list are atheists who have been notable advocates of atheism. These persons have been particularly important to other atheists, since they have contributed through their writings or activism to the popularization, understanding and acceptance of atheism in society.
Also listed are famous persons who happen(ed) to be atheists, and whose unbelief has been relevant in their lives, but who have not actively championed that cause. There is no way to list all famous persons who happen(ed) to be atheists. Many of them have either professed their atheism as a peripheral aspect of their lives, or kept quiet about it, and will not be listed.
Activists and educators
- Emma Goldman (1869–1940): Lithuanian-born radical, known for her writings and speeches defending anarcho-communism, feminism, and atheism. [1]
- Ellen Johnson: current president of American Atheists. [2]
- Michael Newdow: American physician and attorney, who successfully sued a school district on the grounds that its requirement that children recite the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance, containing the words "under God," breached the separation-of-church-and-state provision in the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution. [3]
- Madalyn Murray O'Hair (1919–1995): founder of American Atheists, campaigner for the separation of church and state; filed the lawsuit that led the US Supreme Court to ban teacher-led prayer and Bible reading in public schools. [4]
- Margaret Sanger (1883–1966): American birth-control activist, founder of the American Birth Control League, a forerunner to Planned Parenthood. The masthead motto of her newsletter, The Woman Rebel, read: "No Gods, No Masters."[5]
- Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (1883–1966): Indian revolutionary freedom fighter, and Hindu nationalist leader. [6]
- Ali Sina: Founder of FaithFreedom International(FFI), a movement that denounces Islam. [7]
- Barbara Smoker (1923–): British humanist activist and freethought advocate. Wrote the book Freethoughts: Atheism, Secularism, Humanism – Selected Egotistically from "The Freethinker". [8]
- Polly Toynbee, a columnist for The Guardian.[9]
Business
- Sir Richard Branson (1950-): British entrepreneur, founder of the Virgin Group.[10]
- Warren Buffet (1930-): American investor, considered to be the world's second richest man, although he is currently in the process of giving away much of his fortune.[11]
- Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919): Industrialist and philanthropist, sometimes described as the wealthiest man who ever lived. [12]
- Larry Flynt (1942-): Founder of Hustler Magazine.[13]
- George Soros (1930-): Hungarian-born investor, philanthropist and writer.[14]
Arts, Entertainment and Literature
- Douglas Adams (1952–2001): British radio and television writer, author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Adams called himself a "radical Atheist." [15]
- Phillip Adams (1939–): Australian broadcaster, writer, film-maker, left-wing radical thinker, iconoclast, Australian Humanist of the Year 1987. [16]
- Woody Allen (1935–): American film director, actor and comedian. In a column in The New Yorker entitled "My Philosophy," Allen wrote: "Not only is there no God, but try getting a plumber on weekends."[5]
- Mikhail Bakunin (1814–1876): Russian philosopher, writer and anarchist leader. [17]
- Ingmar Bergman (1918–): Swedish film director and playwright. [18]
- Hector Berlioz (1803-1869): French composer [19]
- Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914?): American writer, author of The Devil's Dictionary. [20]
- Johannes Brahms (1833-1897): German/Austrian composer. [21]
- Luis Buñuel (1900–1983): Spanish-born Mexican filmmaker and important activist of the surrealist movement. Famous for his one-liner "Thank God I'm still an atheist".[22]
- George Carlin (1937–): American comedian, actor and author. Outspoken atheist, wrote a number of monologues about the non-existence of God. [23]
- Adam Carolla (1964–): former American TV personality, now radio talk show host. [24]
- Sir Arthur C. Clarke (1917–): British scientist and Science Fiction author.[25]
- David Cross (1964-): American actor and comedian.[26]
- Fritz Theodor Albert "Frederick" Delius (1862-1934): English composer [27]
- Vardis Fisher (1895–1968): American writer, scholar. Author of atheistic Testament of Man series.[28]
- Ricky Gervais (1961–): British actor and co-writer of the original version of The Office.[29]
- Kathy Griffin (1963-): American comedian, stated on her reality show that she was an atheist and former catholic.[30]
- Kathleen Hanna (1969–): front woman of the 1990s band Bikini Kill and currently Le Tigre. [31]
- Sam Harris (1967–): American author, researcher in neuroscience, author of the international bestseller, The End of Faith. [32]
- Harry Harrison (1925–): American Science Fiction author, anthologist and artist whose short story "The Streets of Ashkelon" took as its hero an atheist who tries to prevent a Christian missionary from indoctrinating a tribe of irreligious but ingenuous alien beings.[33]
- Lou Harrison (1917-2003): American composer [34]
- Katharine Hepburn (1907–2003): Well-known American actress appearing in 53 films between 1932 and 1994. [35]
- Christopher Hitchens (1949–): Essayist who proclaims himself an antitheist. [36]
- Stephan Jenkins (1964-): Musician, lead singer for the American rock band, Third Eye Blind. Jenkins has expressed that he does not believe in God and that he thinks "religion is a bunch of hooey." [37]
- S. T. Joshi (1958–): American editor and literary critic. [38]
- Ludovic Kennedy (1919–): British journalist, author, and campaigner for voluntary euthanasia. [39]
- Skandar Keynes (1991–): English actor (Chronicles of Narnia films)[40]
- Primo Levi (1919–1987): Italian novelist and chemist, survivor of Auschwitz concentration camp. [41]
- Tom Leykis (1956–): radio talk show host. [42]
- György Ligeti (1923-2006): German/Austrian composer [43]
- Pierre Loti (1850-1923): French novelist and travel writer. [44]
- Joseph McCabe (1867–1955): English writer, anti-religion campaigner. [45]
- Gary Numan (1958–): British New Wave and industrial musician whose albums Sacrifice (1994), Exile (1997), Pure (2000), and Jagged (2006) mock and condemn religious beliefs.[46]
- Penn and Teller: American magicians and hosts of Bullshit!, Teller (born 1948 as Raymond Joseph Teller) and Penn Fraser Jillette (1955–). [47]
- Nicolo Paganini (1782-1840): Extremely influential Italian violinist and composer[48][49]
- Camille Paglia (1947–): American post-feminist literary and cultural critic. [50]
- Philip Pullman (1946–): CBE, British author of "His Dark Materials" fantasy trilogy for young adults. [51]
- Ayn Rand (1905-1982): Russian-born American author and founder of Objectivism.[52]
- Ron Reagan (1958–): American magazine journalist, board member of the politically activistic Creative Coalition, son of former U. S. President Ronald Reagan. When asked by Larry King if he would ever run for office, Reagan Jr. responded by saying, "I'm an atheist so... I can't be elected to anything, because polls all say that people won't elect an atheist."[53]
- Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908): Russian Nationalist composer, member of "The Five", best-known for the tone poem Scheherazade.[54]
- Gene Roddenberry (1921–1991): American television producer and creator of Star Trek. [55]
- Salman Rushdie (1947-): Indian-born British essayist and author of fiction. [56]
- Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822): British Romantic poet, contemporary and associate of John Keats and Lord Byron, author of The Necessity of Atheism. [57]
- Robert Smith (1972–) Former Minnesota Vikings running back and NFL Network football analyst.[58]
- Warren Allen Smith: Author of Who's Who in Hell. [59]
- Julia Sweeney (1961–): American actor and comedian. Alumna of Saturday Night Live, author/performer of a one-woman autobiographical stage show about finding atheism: Letting Go of God. [60]
- Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958): British composer [61]
- Kurt Vonnegut (1922-) American author, writer of Cat's Cradle, among other books. Vonnegut said "I am an atheist (or at best a Unitarian who winds up in churches quite a lot)."[5]
- Ibn Warraq (1946–): Best-selling author and secularist scholar of Islam currently living in the United States. He is a Muslim apostate and an outspoken critic of Islam who has written extensively on what he views as the oppressive nature of Islam.[62]
- Joss Whedon (1964-): American screenwriter and director most famous for creating Buffy the Vampire Slayer. When asked if there was a God, he answered "No." [63]
Philosophy
- Albert Camus (1913–1960): French philosopher and novelist, a luminary of existentialism. [5]
- Benedetto Croce (1886-1952): Italian philosopher and public figure. [64]
- Baron d'Holbach (1723-89): French philosopher and encyclopedist, most famous as being one of the first outspoken atheists in Europe. [65]
- Karl Marx (1818-83): German-Jewish author of Das Kapital, known for his assertion that "Religion is... the opium of the people." [66]
- Jean Meslier (1678-1733): French village Catholic priest who was found, on his death, to have written a book-length philosophical essay, entitled Common Sense but commonly referred to as Meslier's Testament, promoting atheism. [67] [68]
- Julien Offray de La Mettrie (1709-51): French physician and philosopher, earliest materialist writer of the Enlightenment, claimed as a founder of cognitive science. [69]
- Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900): German Existentialist philosopher who wrote Beyond Good and Evil, which attempted to refute traditional notions of morality. Nietzsche is forever associated with the phrase, "God is dead" (first seen in his book, Die fröhliche Wissenschaft). [70]
- Piergiorgio Odifreddi (1950-): Italian mathematician, philosopher and science writer. [71]
- Bertrand Russell, (1872-1970), English philosopher and mathematician. Though he considered himself an agnostic in a purely philosophical context, he said that the label atheist conveyed a more accurate understanding of his views in a popular context. [72]
Politics and law
- Robin Cook (1946–2005): Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs of the UK 1997–2001, whose funeral service was held in the High Kirk of Scotland, where he was described as a "Presbyterian atheist." [73]
- Aleksander Kwaśniewski (1954-), former President of Poland (1995-2005), has said, "I am an atheist and everybody knows it..."[74]
- Alexander Lukashenko (1954-): President of Belarus, self-described "Russian Orthodox atheist." [75]
- Joseph Stalin (1879-1953) - Soviet dictator [76]
Science and medicine
- Richard Dawkins (1941– ), British zoologist, biologist, creator of the concepts of the selfish gene and the meme; outspoken atheist and popularizer of science, author of The God Delusion and founder of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science.[77]
- Jonathan Miller (1934– ), British physician, actor, theatre & opera director, and (latterly) television presenter. Wrote and presented the 2004 television series on atheism, Atheism: A Rough History of Disbelief, exploring the roots of his own atheism and investigating the history of atheism in the world.[78]
- Peter D. Mitchell (1920-1992): British biochemist. Atheist mother and atheist after 15.[79]
- Amartya Kumar Sen (1933-): Nobel Laureate in Economics in 1998.[80] [81] [82] [83]
References
- ^ Online reprint of essay by Emma Goldman, The Philosophy of Atheism, advocating atheism.
- ^ Listing of Ellen Johnson as president of American Atheists; from official website.
- ^ Adherents.com article: The Religious Affiliation of Michael Newdow [1].
- ^ American Atheist's profile of O'Hair and her family as atheism advocates [2].
- ^ a b c d 2,000 Years of Disbelief: Famous People with the Courage to Doubt, James A. Haught, 1996, Prometheus Books, ISBN 1-57392-067-3
- ^ "Savarkar was an atheist. When he was the Hindu Mahasabha president he used to give lectures on why there is no god."; quote from an interview with historian, Bipan Chandra [3].
- ^ Atheist essay by Sina, Rational Spirituality.
- ^ Listing of Barbara Smoker's Freethoughts: Atheism, Humanism, Secularism. Selected Egotistically from the 'Freethinker' at Amazon.com[4].
- ^ This is a clash of civilisations - between reason and superstition
- ^ Richard BRANSON: Losing My Virginity, p.239: "I do not believe in God, but as I sat there in the damaged [balloon] capsule, hopelessly vulnerable to the slightest shift in weather or mechanical fault, I could not believe my eyes."
- ^ Roger LOWERSTEIN: Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist, Doubleday, 1995, p.13: "He did not subscribe to his family's religion. Even at a young age he was too mathematical, too logical, to make the leap of faith. He adopted his father's ethical underpinnings, but not his belief in an unseen divinity."
- ^ Ira D. Cardiff: What Great Men Think of Religion, 1945: "I don't believe in God. My god is patriotism. Teach a man to be a good citizen and you have solved the problem of life."
- ^ "I am not saying Jerry Falwell don't believe in God. I am just saying I don't believe in God. That puts me at odds with him." Larry King Live, January 10, 1996
- ^ Steve Kroft: Are you a religious man? Soros: No. Kroft: Do you believe in God? Soros: No. 60 Minutes, broadcast December 20, 1998.
- ^ Interview with Adams by American Atheists[5].
- ^ In a letter by Adams dated 10 August 1993: "I've spent a life-time attacking religious beliefs and have not wavered from a view of the universe that many would regard as bleak. Namely, that it is a meaningless place devoid of deity [sic]"[6].
- ^ Multiple quotes from Bakunin substantiating his atheist views[7].
- ^ Adherents.com article: The Religious Affiliation of Ingmar Bergman [8].
- ^ http://www.atheists.org/Atheism/roots/musicians/
- ^ Multiple quotes from Bierce substantiating his atheist views[9].
- ^ http://www.atheists.org/Atheism/roots/musicians/
- ^ "Father Julian... and I often talk about faith and the existence of God, but... he's forever coming up against the stone wall of my atheism..." Luis Bunuel (1982, 1985). My Last Breath: p.254
- ^ Multiple quotes from Carlin substantiating his atheist views[10].
- ^ Interview with Penn Jillete in which Carolla declared "...I'm an atheist"[11].
- ^ "…Stanley [Kubrick] is a Jew and I'm an atheist". Jeromy Agel (Ed.) (1970). The Making of Kubrick's 2001: p.306
- ^ Appearance on ABC's "Politically Incorrect" (March 9, 1998) "I was born Jewish, but I am an atheist. I don't believe in God."[12]
- ^ http://www.atheistalliance.org/aaw/atheistmusicians_atoe.html
- ^ American Atheists article on Fisher [13].
- ^ States he is an atheist in his Animals live DVD.
- ^ Speaking to Sacramento’s Outword Magazine, Griffin said: "...I think I’m getting more atheist because of the way the country is getting more into bible-thumping." See Quotelines, by Rex Wockner at Windy City Times (Accessed 29 August 2006).
- ^ Hanna quoted as saying: "I don't believe in God, but I believe God invented four-tracks"[14].
- ^ Author of An Atheist Manifesto
- ^ "Harry Harrison is a self-confessed atheist" per official website HarryHarrison.com
- ^ http://www.atheistalliance.org/aaw/atheistmusicians_ftom.html
- ^ Hepburn stated "I'm an atheist, and that's it. I believe there's nothing we can know except that we should be kind to each other and do what we can for people" in the October 1991 issue of Ladies' Home Journal[15]
- ^ Slate.com article by Hitchens, Bush's Secularist Triumph, with atheist declaration.
- ^ Dec 16, 2000 AP report on the 'Jingle Ball' at New York City's Madison Square Garden by Jennifer Vineyard, as cited by celebatheists.com.
- ^ Joshi's book: God's Defenders: What They Believe and Why They Are Wrong at amazon.com.
- ^ Kennedy's book: All in the Mind: A Farewell to God at amazon.com.
- ^ "28.Do you have a religion and if so what is it? I am an Atheist. I know the film's really Christian and everything but it doesn’t really affect me. Oh and you know I’m related to Charles Darwin." [16]
- ^ Levi quoted as saying "There is Auschwitz, and so there cannot be God." Interview with Marlboro Press (1989)[17].
- ^ Seattle times article confirming that Leykis hosts a radio segment called Ask the Atheist [18].
- ^ http://web2.unt.edu/the/faculty.php?member=Jackson&f_link=lecture
- ^ Repeatedly mentioned in Lesley Blanch's biography of him: Pierre Loti - Travels with the Legendary Romantic.
- ^ Multiple quotes from McCabe substantiating his atheist view [19].
- ^ "Personally, I don't believe in God at all…" Sonic Boom Magazine
- ^ Interview with Penn in which he mentions his and Teller's atheism [20].
- ^ http://www.atheists.org/Atheism/roots/musicians/
- ^ http://www.atheistalliance.org/aaw/atheistmusicians_mtor.html
- ^ Salon magazine 28 April 1999 [21]
- ^ In conversation with Archbishop Rowan Williams [22].
- ^ "I am an intransigent atheist, but not a militant one." Michael S. Berliner (1995). Letters of Ayn Rand: March 20, 1965 [23]
- ^ Interview on Larry King Live, 26 June 2004. See clip.
- ^ The Guardian describes as "a devout atheist - Stravinsky later described him rather disapprovingly as having a mind 'closed to any religious or metaphysical idea'" [24]
- ^ "Although Roddenberry's family were churchgoers, he became an atheist when a teenager." Gene Roddenberry (1921-1991) at the website of the British Humanist Association (Accessed 29 August 2006).
- ^ Interview with Rushdie by Gigi Marzullo; Sottovoce, RAIUNO, March 31 2006.
- ^ Listing of Shelley's The Necessity of Atheism at Amazon.com [25].
- ^ "Former Minnesota Vikings running back Robert Smith, an atheist, says he has no objection to making religious counseling and services available to interested players." Going long for Jesus, by Tom Krattenmaker at Salon.com (Accessed 29 August 2006).
- ^ Listing of Smith as a founder of Freethinkers New York.
- ^ Interview with Sweeney discussing her atheism[26].
- ^ http://www.atheistalliance.org/aaw/atheistmusicians_stoz.html
- ^ "Warraq's book Why I Am Not a Muslim presents a strident historical, moral, and philosophical indictment of Islam and advocates not just a firm separation of mosque and state but outright atheism." Holy War, by Chris Mooney at The American Prospect online (Accessed 29 August 2006).
- ^ Is There a God?, by Stephen Thompson, 9 October 2002, A.V. Club (Accessed 22 October 2006.)
- ^ Stated in Will Durant's Outlines of Philosophy
- ^ Will and Ariel Durant, The Age of Voltaire: a History of Civilization in Western Europe from 1715 to 1756, with Special Emphasis on the Conflict between Religion and Philosophy, New York, Simon and Schuster, 1965, pp. 695-714
- ^ Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right, 1843
- ^ Extracts from Moi Testament published as Superstition in All Ages
- ^ Will and Ariel Durant, The Age of Voltaire, 1965, pp. 611-17
- ^ Will and Ariel Durant, The Age of Voltaire, 1965, pp. 617-22
- ^ Die fröhliche Wissenschaft, aphorisms 108 and 125 [27])
- ^ Piergiorgio Odifreddi. "Che fine ha fatto Dio?". Retrieved 2006-10-09.
- ^ Russell said: "As a philosopher, if I were speaking to a purely philosophic audience I should say that I ought to describe myself as an Agnostic, because I do not think that there is a conclusive argument by which one prove that there is not a God. On the other hand, if I am to convey the right impression to the ordinary man in the street I think I ought to say that I am an Atheist... None of us would seriously consider the possibility that all the gods of Homer really exist, and yet if you were to set to work to give a logical demonstration that Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, and the rest of them did not exist you would find it an awful job. You could not get such proof. Therefore, in regard to the Olympic gods, speaking to a purely philosophical audience, I would say that I am an Agnostic. But speaking popularly, I think that all of us would say in regard to those gods that we were Atheists. In regard to the Christian God, I should, I think, take exactly the same line." Am I an Agnostic or an Atheist?, from Last Philosophical Testament 1943-1968, (1997) Routledge ISBN 0-415-09409-7.
- ^ Labour Party at prayer salutes Cook the atheist, by Magnus Linklater, The Times, 13 August 2005.
- ^ Atheist premier attacks lack of Christianity in EU constitution, by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, The Telegraph, 4 June 2003.
- ^ "PERSECUTION WATCH: Belarus". vineyardfederalway.org. Retrieved 2006-09-01.
- ^ Stalin is quoted as saying "You know, they are fooling us, there is no God...all this talk about God is sheer nonsense" in E. Yaroslavsky, Landmarks in the Life of Stalin, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow 1940
- ^ Dawkins identifies himself as an atheist in his article "A Challenge To Atheists: Come Out of the Closet," Free Inquiry, Summer, 2002. Excerpt reprinted at Positiveatheism.org.
- ^ A Rough History of Disbelief Official BBC site describing the series
- ^ Nobel Biography[28].
- ^ Reported lecture [29]
- ^ Self-proclaimed [30]
- ^ World Bank [31]
- ^ Press meeting [32]
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See also
- Atheism
- Agnosticism
- Nontheism
- List of people by belief
- List of people
- List of agnostics
- List of humanists
External links
- Great Minds Quotes quotes from great minds such as Einstein, Jefferson, Lincoln, Hawking, Freud, among others, on the topics of religion, spirituality, and general belief.
- The Celebrity Atheist List (includes atheists and agnostics)
- Famous black freethinkers
- NNDB-list
- Atheist Pin-Ups quotes from various celebrities and national icons