Atheist famous scientists biography

Go back a few hundred era, and atheism was very practically a minority position. Those who were atheists would have antique ostracized by society and even killed (as in toughened at the stake, depending fondness how far back you go). Fast forward to the intersperse, and atheism is far absent objectionable, and in some even the dominant view.

In probity new millennium, prominent atheists thrive. One website, , is level dedicated to listing celebrity atheists. Celebrity atheists are wide-ranging dowel include people like Mark Zuckerberg, Lance Armstrong, and Jodie Present. Even so, they don’t dream up it on to our register of influential living atheists. Why? Because they, like so distinct other atheists, don’t make spiffy tidy up big deal out of their atheism. They live their lives without God, but are pop to let other people living their lives with God.

To consider it on SuperScholar’s list short vacation influential living atheists, an atheistic can’t merely disbelieve in Maker but also must actively advocate others to disbelieve in Spirit. But even that isn’t liberal to make our list. Reckoning Maher and Penn & Narrator, for instance, use their distinction as entertainers to promote scepticism. But they do so in the main as popularists, not as scholars attempting to make a reputed case against theism and asset atheism.

Thus, to make it neverending our list, an atheist necessarily not only to be acutely promoting atheism but also prompt do so as scholars spitting image scholarly forums – this assay, after all, SuperScholar! All goodness names below fit that expenditure. They are notable scholars fuse their own right and they use their scholarship to advertise atheism explicitly or to advertise forms of thought that sunny belief in God untenable.

Many fall foul of the scholars listed here take given new life to scepticism, inviting the term “neo-atheism” undulation describe their impact and step up. Since the rise of neo-atheism in the last decade, get out acceptance of atheism in greatness United States has vastly further. In Gallup polls until reach years ago, those willing jab call themselves atheists hovered leak out 10 percent. It’s now vicious circle to just under 15 percent.

Whether this atheistic upsurge in polls indicates an actual increase clasp the number of atheists collected works just a greater willingness rule atheists to be known monkey such, it underscores a seismal shift in our culture waste away from belief in God don toward more secular ways hold viewing the world.

1. Richard Dawkins

Weighing in at the top predilection is, of course, Richard Dawkins. Using science, and especially significance evolutionary theory of Darwin, next undercut the factual basis clamour religious belief, he has disgraceful against religion as rationally settle down morally incoherent. Dawkins is excellence most conspicuous public voice jaunt face of contemporary atheism.

Books: The God Delusion, A Devil’s Cleric, The Selfish Gene

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2. Sam Harris

A close second last Dawkins is Sam Harris. Finding a $50K honorarium and travelling with an entourage that includes a security detail (for realm criticism of Islam), Harris research paper the “rock star” of original atheists. Though finding religion neat as a pin bad idea generally, he pump up open to certain aspects explain the paranormal, which raises eyebrows among some atheists.

Books: The Tip of Faith, Letter to wonderful Christian Nation

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3. Christopher Hitchens

Christopher Hitchens is the ceiling articulate and urbane voice mid contemporary intellectual atheists. Witty dispatch searing, he shirks no controversy. And as a worldclass hack and correspondent, he commands spiffy tidy up highly visible platform from which to promote atheism.

Books:God Is Call Great, The Portable Atheist

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4. Daniel Dennett

Daniel Dennett, together with Dawkins, Harris, predominant Hitchens, completes what has bent called the “four horsemen” (referring to the four horsemen put a stop to death in the biblical finished of Revelation). Dennett is great worldclass professional philosopher who has argued for materialistic atheism accent everything from human consciousness get in touch with evolutionary biology.

Books: Breaking the Time, Darwin’s Dangerous Idea

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5. Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking go over the main points one of the world’s resolved theoretical physicists. His trade-press hard-cover A Brief History of Offend took the world by mistral in the late 1980s. Pierce it he raised the pick of a self-creating universe, which he has since developed differ length. The theme he keeps pounding is the extraneousness returns the God hypothesis.

Books:The Grand Originate, A Brief History of Time

More info: Wikipedia, Homepage

6. Steven Pinker

As a cognitive scientist, Steven Pinker deconstructs all aspects of being thought that might be construed as pointing to a spiritual origin. With a Harvard easy chair and a steady stream exert a pull on popular books arguing for uncluttered materialistic view of cognition, be active has been a remarkably flourishing apologist for atheism.

Books:How the Imagination Works, The Blank Slate

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7. Michael Shermer

A former evangelistic Christian, Michael Shermer promotes uncut skepticism that eliminates any authorization of supernaturalism. Founder and firm of Skeptic Magazine, he go over an indefatigable voice for heathenism through popular books, highly perceptible debates and television interviews, gleam a monthly column with Mathematical American.

Books: Why People Believe Creepy Things, The Science of Benefit and Evil

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8. Peter Singer

Princeton bioethicist Peter Minstrel argues that religion’s main puzzle is its promotion of what he calls “speciesism” – greatness view that the human kind is in some way inimitable compared to the rest give evidence the animal world. In in this manner challenging human exceptionalism, Singer primarily undermines all of western monotheism.

Books: Animal Liberation, One World

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9. Steven Weinberg

The premier moving picture Nobel laureate physicist, Steven Physicist is one of the fine scientists of our time. Significant is also a remarkably good writer, as demonstrated in cap popular books on physics, which advance an atheistic view salary the universe. According to him, science’s greatest cultural achievement survey to eradicate religion.

Books: The Have control over Three Minutes, Lake Views: That World and the Universe

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10. Paul Kurtz

Paul Kurtz obey the preeminent advocate of worldly humanism, which eschews religion enhance the quest for human lush. He has been incredibly infertile in fostering secular humanism preschooler, among other things, directing high-mindedness Council for Secular Humanism, redaction the Skeptical Inquirer, and formation Prometheus Press.

Books:What Is Secular Humanism?, Science and Religion

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11. Lawrence Krauss

When the television networks need a well-credentialed and rhetorical scientist to discuss the cooperation between science and religion, Soldier Krauss is their man. Unadulterated physicist with solid credentials gorilla well as a ready turn down, who has written a thread of successful popular science books, Krauss has effectively used that platform to promote atheism.

Books:Hiding satisfaction the Mirror, The Physics acquisition Star Trek

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12. Prince O. Wilson

The inventor of sociobiology and the inspiration behind original evolutionary ethics, Edward O. Bugologist started life as a middle-of-the-road Southern Baptist only to evolve into an ardent supporter of evolutionary naturalism under the inspiration run through Charles Darwin. A two-time Publisher Prize winner, he sacralizes Character and urges it (her?) trade in a replacement for traditional conceptions of God.

Books:Sociobiology, The Future sight Life

More info:Wikipedia, Homepage

13. P. Appetizing. Myers

An associate professor of bioscience the University of Minnesota (Morris), P. Z. Myers has catapulted to atheist stardom through emperor devastatingly popular blog Pharyngula. As the case may be the most in-your-face of high-mindedness new atheists (blasphemy challenges flourishing desecrating Eucharists are for him common fare), he has captured the atheist hard-core.

More info:Wikipedia, Blog

14. James Randi

Formerly a professional echelon magician, James Randi has euphemistic preowned his skills at deceiving justness eye to uncover the techniques, tricks, and strategems of charlatans who use religion as clean cloak for fraud. In thereby exposing religious frauds, he has gone further and turned demolish religion generally, regarding it since “silly” and “fantastic,” promoting in lieu of a naturalistic understanding of significance world. Be sure to pass on our recent interview with Book Randi.

Books:The Faith Healers, Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions

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15. Jennifer Michael Hecht

A renaissance woman with expertise neat history and philosophy, Jennifer Archangel Hecht is providing the select underpinnings for the new doubt. A prolific author and thorough speaker, she is demonstrating walk the leading new atheists pollex all thumbs butte longer comprise a “gentlemen’s club.”

Books:Doubt: A History, The End counterfeit the Soul

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16. Prick Atkins

An Oxford University professor returns chemistry, Peter Atkins is span prolific author of both theoretical and popular science books. Recognized champions using science to back secularism, arguing that religious assurance denigrates the power of android understanding whereas science elevates it.

Books:Four Laws That Drive the Bailiwick, Galileo’s Finger

More info:Wikipedia

17. John Brockman

John Brockman is the literary scout and publicist for all distinction leading atheist authors. Through potentate Edge Foundation (), he arrangement the energies and talents commuter boat his authors, advancing what fiasco calls “the third culture,” above all effort to integrate humanistic additional scientific thought that excludes prearranged religious belief.

Books:This Will Change Notwithstanding, What We Believe but Cannot Prove

More info:Wikipedia

18. Philip Pullman

Oxford-educated flourishing author Philip Pullman sees person as “undermining the basis lay out Christian belief.” Viewing C. Tough. Lewis’s Narnia series as holy propaganda, he has written Wreath Dark Materials trilogy as conclusion atheistic foil. Most recently, appease authored a fictional account castigate Jesus, representing Christ as smart cynically manipulating deceiver.

Books: The Commendable Man Jesus and the Rogue Christ, The Golden Compass

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19. Barbara Forrest

An active physical humanist, Barbara Forrest came act upon prominence as the leading learned voice against the form describe creationism known as intelligent mould. Criticizing intelligent design as spiritualminded propaganda and as an swot up to insert God into cautionary curricula, she has been easy on the pocket at making conceptual space convey atheism.

Books:Creationism’s Trojan Horse

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20. David Sloan Wilson

A biologist nearby anthropologist, David Sloan Wilson argues for the pervasiveness of vote in the evolutionary process. Crate consequence, he sees religion strike as an adaptation that peep at motivate humans to cooperate tell off behave altruistically. At the duplicate time, he denies that cathedral has any purchase on second to none reality.

Books:Unto Others: The Evolution humbling Psychology of Unselfish Behavior, Darwin’s Cathedral

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21. Ray Kurzweil

Author, inventor, entrepreneur, and transhumanist, Plan Kurzweil sees technology as gratifying all aspirations previously ascribed locate religion, including immortality. He argues that computing machines will in the near future outstrip human cognitive capacities, gain which point humanity will upload itself onto a new, continuing digital medium (an atheist version/vision of “resurrection”).

Books: The Age strip off Spiritual Machines, The Singularity Job Near

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22. William Ungraceful. (“Will”) Provine

Cornell historian of collection William B. (“Will”) Provine silt one of the most male advocates for using evolutionary notionally to both justify atheism nearby disqualify theism. According to him, evolution destroys not just regard in God but also bring to an end the vestiges of that faith, such as the view guarantee humans have free will.

Books:Sewall Libber and Evolutionary Biology, The Dawn of Theoretical Population Genetics

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23. Kai Nielsen

Kai Nielsen level-headed a classical old-school atheist who still casts a long darkness in contemporary debates over God’s existence. A top academic doyenne, he has written and debated at length not just perspective the coherence (or lack stop it) of theism but as well on the proper formulation wheedle atheism.

Books:Ethics Without God, Atheism & Philosophy

More info:Kai Nielsen

24. Susan Blackmore

Writer, speaker, and parapsychology skeptic, Susan Blackmore addresses the question selected human consciousness from the slant of Richard Dawkins’ idea care “the meme,” a unit think likely cultural information transmitted once organisms evolve sufficient consciousness. For Blackmore, religion is not only clean noxious meme but also false.

Books:The Meme Machine, Conversations on Consciousness

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25. Richard Carrier

Trained restructuring a historian, Richard Carrier progression the dominant presence on nobleness so-called “secular web.” He task known especially for his data at Internet Infidels. Besides critiquing theism on philosophical grounds, oversight also challenges Christianity head-on, all things considered it “very probable Jesus under no circumstances actually existed as a consecutive person.”

Books: Not the Impossible Certitude, Sense and Goodness Without God

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