5 Famous American Atheists
Drew Miller
4 hours ago
You might think, given the recent publicity about the rise of atheism, that nonbelievers are new to the American story. (Spoiler: We're not.) And these five individuals are perfect proof. They come from different eras, regions, fields of study, political persuasions, and have each left their mark on America. What unites them, other than their fame, is their willingness to confront life with a critical eye instead of blind faith.
It is difficult to prove that a person was definitely an atheist for two reasons. Firstly, the nature of agnosticism and atheism are such that there are a multitude of skeptical philosophical positions short of absolute atheism. But to separate the "hard" atheists from the millions of other skeptics is to be completely disingenuous about the skeptic movement as a whole. Those who simply question the dogma of religion — without actually labelling themselves "atheists" — are equally important in cultivating an environment of free thought and critical thinking.
Secondly, the label "atheist" itself possesses a world of negative connotations, most of which find their roots in thousands of years of religious hostility. These two pressures make it difficult to "prove" that a person is or was an atheist, unless he or she declares so. These individuals may have considered themselves anything from atheist, to deist, to pantheist, to crypto-atheist, but at the very least, each of these famous Americans had significant doubts about faith, God, or organized religion.
This eclectic group of famous Americans might not agree on much if you were somehow able to get them in a room together, but on this they would agree: You alone get to decide what you believe.
http://www.policymic.com/articles/57067/5-famous-american-atheists
The five are Thomas Edison, Pat Tillman, Langston Hughes, Carl Sagan, and Ayn Rand.
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