Atheism Basics: Are There Any Famous Atheists?
Friday October 10, 2008
Some people might tend to think that atheists are such a minority that they have never heard of any famous atheists who have contributed to society. As a matter of fact, many famous philosophers, sociologists, psychologists, and more have been atheists.
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Although I cannot vouch for their claims, there is a site which lists the names of celebrities it claims are atheists:
http://www.celebatheists.com
/index.php?title=Main_Page
http://www.celebatheists.com/index.php?title=Main_Page
It’s important to also remember that in addition to being a social minority, historically, it’s only been very recently that you could out yourself as an atheist without being imprisoned or dead from blasphemy (either due to legal recourse or mob recourse).
Even today, if I were, let’s say, planning to run for public office, would I want people to know I’m an atheist? Probably not. I’m aware of one open atheist on The Hill–”god bless him!”
So, in many areas of the nation and in some positions–often public positions–you just can’t _afford_ to be an atheist.
So, even a list of historic atheist contributors or modern-day famous atheists is probably just scratching the surface of reality. This is one of those self-fulfilling prophecies. The theist community puts the fear of threat or out-casting into society, then when nobody steps forward to put forward heresy or blasphemy, they talk about how everyone knows god exists. Or how all the social contributors who have anything to offer are NOT atheists. But how would they know unless they allowed people to openly BE atheists without fear of threat?
Today, this seems even more appropriate than ever with our present political situation:
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
One might also insert “or their religious belief…”. Perhaps we need the atheist equivalent of a Martin Luther King Jr. One can always hope.
In the meantime, the fact that an African-American most likely will be our next president, gives me that hope for equal treatment and respect for atheists.
Sojourner, I share your dream, but I doubt that it will be realized even in our lifetimes. Based on well-known public opinion polls, Americans would elect a homosexual, a Jew, a Muslim, and others before an atheist.
At least in those same polls we place ahead of Scientologists. Of course, that says absolutely nothing of us coming up, but rather how bat-guano insane thems folk are.
Who wants to be a politician these days? You have to suck up to PACs and special interest groups, and lead a country of morons who expect you to keep doing stupid things to get reelected. Have you noticed the ridiculous mess they have this country (world) in? I wouldn’t want that job for $700 billion, even if I could get a party from AIG. I think I want to move to rural China and sell solar collectors to Chinese farmers.
If more people listened to the audio lectures of Robert Ingersoll (available on the Internet), there would soon be more atheists.