This list of converts to nontheism includes individuals who formerly identified with a religious affiliation but have since then openly rejected their former religion and theism and became nontheist. The list is organised by former religious affiliation and theism.

Former Buddhists

Name Country Notes
Khorloogiin Choibalsan Mongolia Communist revolutionary, politician, and leader of Mongolia.
Mao Zedong[1] China Communist revolutionary, politician and socio-political theorist and founding father of the People's Republic of China

Former Christians

See also: Christian atheism
Name Country Notes
John Abraham India Bollywood actor born to a Zoroastrian mother and a Marthomite Syrian Christian father; left Christianity and became an agnostic atheist.[2][3][4]
Amy Adams United States American actress; raised as a Mormon until her parents divorced in 1985 and left the church.[5][6]
Sami Aldeeb Switzerland Swiss lawyer and author of many books and articles on Arab and Islamic law born to a Palestinian Christian family; left Christianity and became a nontheist.[7]
Jacinda Ardern New Zealand Prime minister of New Zealand; raised Mormon, became agnostic.[8]
Javier Bardem Spain Actor; raised Catholic, became an agnostic.[9][10]
Dan Barker[11] United States Former preacher turned atheist activist and co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Ingmar Bergman[12] Sweden Film director whose father was a parson; stated he lost his faith at age 8, but did not fully come to terms with that until making Winter Light.
Napoleon Bonaparte[13] France Emperor of France from 1804 to 1815; was raised Catholic.[14]
Martin Bormann[15][16][17] Nazi Germany Nazi official and right-hand man of Adolf Hitler; raised Protestant.[18]
Bob Brown[19] Australia Australian senator and former Parliamentary Leader of the Australian Greens.
Dan Brown[20] United States American author, raised Episcopalian but gravitated away from religion.
Warren Buffett[21] United States American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist, who is the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is considered one of the most successful investors in the world[22][23] and has a net worth of US$88.9 billion as of December 2019, making him the fourth-wealthiest person in the world.[24] Was raised as a Presbyterian, but has since described himself as agnostic.[21]
Bart Campolo[25] United States Humanist chaplain and son of pastor Tony Campolo.
Fidel Castro Cuba Cuban communist revolutionary and politician; Prime Minister of Cuba (1959–1976), and President (1976–2008); baptized into the Roman Catholic Church at the age of eight; later became an atheist.[26]
Nikolay Chernyshevsky[27] Russia Revolutionary democrat, materialist philosopher, critic, and socialist.
Helen Clark New Zealand Prime Minister; raised Presbyterian, became an agnostic.[28]
George Clooney United States Actor; raised Catholic, became an agnostic.[29]
Pat Condell United Kingdom Writer, political commentator, comedian and atheist internet personality.[30]
Marie Curie Poland Physicist and chemist; raised Catholic, became an agnostic.[31]
Charles Darwin[32][33] United Kingdom British naturalist, geologist and biologist, best known for his contributions to the science of evolution; raised as a Unitarian, later became an agnostic.
Richard Dawkins United Kingdom British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author; was brought up as an Anglican until ceasing to believe in a deity in his teens, concluding that the theory of evolution was a better explanation for life's complexity.
Emily Deschanel United States American actress.[34]
Jerry DeWitt United States Former pastor of two evangelical churches; publicly converted to atheism in 2011 after twenty-five years of Christian ministry.[35] He has written a book based on his career and experiences entitled Hope After Faith.[36]
Matt Dillahunty United States Public speaker, raised Southern Baptist, considered becoming a minister. His religious studies, instead of bolstering his faith as he intended, led him to no longer believe in Christianity and then all religions.
Jonathan Edwards[37] United Kingdom Former British triple jumper; former Olympic, Commonwealth, European and World champion; formerly a devout Christian, and even presented episodes of the BBC Christian worship programme Songs of Praise.
Anthony Fauci[38][39][40] United States American physician-scientist and immunologist who served as the director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the chief medical advisor to the president, grew up Catholic, but then considered himself a humanist
Ricky Gervais United Kingdom Actor, abandoned Christianity at the age of eight.[41]
Julia Gillard Australia Prime Minister; brought up in the Baptist faith, then became an atheist[42][43]
Mikhail Gorbachev Soviet Union Ruler of the USSR; baptized Russian Orthodox, became an atheist.[44]
Hermann Göring[45] Nazi Germany Nazi official; raised by a Protestant father and a Catholic mother.
Bob Hawke[46] Australia Former politician who served as the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991.
Francois Hollande France French president, was raised Catholic, but became an agnostic later in life.[47] He now considers himself to be an atheist,[48] but still professes respect for all religious practices.[49]
Kim Il Sung[50][51] North Korea North Korean leader, was raised in a Presbyterian family.
Stephen King[52][53] United States American author, raised Methodist, but lost his belief in organized religion while in high school. While no longer religious, he says he chooses to believe in the existence of God.
Abraham Kovoor[54] India Indian professor and rationalist, noted for Abraham Kovoor's challenge.
Vladimir Lenin[55] Soviet Union Russian revolutionary, then ruler of the Soviet Union; was baptized into Orthodox Christianity but later renounced his belief in God.
Glenn Loury[56] United States American academic and scholar.
Emmanuel Macron France President of France, raised in a non-religious family, he was baptized a Roman Catholic at his own request at age 12.[57]
Karl Marx Germany Philosopher; baptised into the Lutheran Church.
Joseph McCabe[58] United Kingdom Ordained as "Father Antony", but left the Catholic priesthood and abandoned theism; then wrote The Totalitarian Church of Rome and stated that "Atheism will in this century be the common attitude of civilized people."
Jennette McCurdy[59] United States American singer-songwriter, filmmaker, and former actress; was raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but left the religion in her early adulthood, citing fundamental disagreements with church doctrine.
François Mitterrand France President of France; his family was devoutly Catholic,[60] became agnostic following an observation of Nazi concentration camps at the end of World War II.[61]
Benito Mussolini[62] Italy Italian politician, journalist and leader of the National Fascist Party, ruling the country as Prime Minister from 1922 to his ousting in 1943.
Friedrich Nietzsche[63] Germany German philosopher, poet, cultural critic and classical philologist.
Millosh Gjergj Nikolla Albania Albanian poet and writer; trained to be an Orthodox priest, but became an atheist.[64]
Nathan Phelps[65] Canada American Canadian author and LGBT rights activist; son of Fred Phelps.
Brad Pitt[66] United States Actor; raised as a Southern Baptist.
Alfred Rosenberg[15][67][68] Nazi Germany Leader of NSDAP Office of Foreign Affairs; raised Protestant.
Maikel Nabil Sanad[69] Egypt Egyptian political activist, blogger, and a former political prisoner.
Olaf Scholz[70] Germany Chancellor of Germany; raised in the Protestant Evangelical Church in Germany, but later left it.
Michael Shermer[71] United States American science writer, historian of science, founder of The Skeptics Society, and editor-in-chief of its magazine Skeptic.
Morgan Spurlock[72] United States American documentary filmmaker, humorist, television producer, screenwriter and playwright, raised Methodist but became agnostic later in life.
Joseph Stalin Soviet Union Russian revolutionary, then ruler of the USSR; studied to be an Orthodox priest but became an atheist after reading Karl Marx's books.[73]
Meryl Streep[74] United States American actress.
Chris Stuckmann[75][76][77] United States American film critic, filmmaker and YouTuber; raised as a Jehovah's Witnesses, but abandoned the faith around 2011, due of the faith's authority have been suppressing his hobby on film reviewing. And since referring himself as a areligious.
Julia Sweeney United States American actress, comedian and author.[78][79]
Charles Templeton Canada Co-founder of Youth for Christ; rejected Christianity for agnosticism after a struggle with doubts.[80]
Josip Broz Tito Yugoslavia Leader of the Yugoslav Partisans (Europe's most effective anti-Nazi resistance movement); revolutionary and statesman; Roman Catholic[81] who became an atheist.[82][83]
Michael J. Totten United States American journalist and author.[84]

Former Hindus

See also: Atheism in Hinduism

Former Jews

See also: Jewish atheism
Name Country Notes
Jack Cohen United Kingdom Reproductive biologist; worked with science fiction writers; co-wrote books including Evolving the Alien; his grandfather was a rabbi; he attended synagogue for cultural reasons, but was an atheist[92]
Émile Durkheim France Sociologist descended from a long line of rabbis; had an interest in religion as a social phenomenon; wrote The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life; was an agnostic by adulthood;[93] besides an interest, he saw some value in religion, but stated, "We must discover the rational substitutes for these religious notions that for a long time have served as the vehicle for the most essential moral ideas."[94]
Rebecca Goldstein United States Novelist and professor of philosophy; born into an Orthodox Jewish family; has an older brother who is an Orthodox rabbi; in 2011 she was named AHA's Humanist of the Year,[95] and is an atheist[96]
Carlo Strenger Switzerland Swiss-Israeli psychologist who describes his transition from Orthodox Judaism to secular atheism as the defining experience of his life[97]
Mark Zuckerberg United States Computer programmer and internet entrepreneur; one of five co-founders of the social networking website Facebook; raised Jewish, had his bar mitzvah when he turned 13;[98] but has since described himself as an atheist[99][100][101]

Former Muslims

Javed Akhtar, Indian writer and lyricist.
Ismail Kadare. Albanian writer.
Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses[102]
Former Muslim and Dutch politician Ehsan Jami; one of the two founders of the Central Committee for Ex-Muslims.[103]

Former Shintos

Name Country Notes
Hideki Tojo[160] Japan Politician, military general, and Prime Minister of Japan.

References

  1. ^ Schram 1966, p. 20; Terrill 1980, p. 11; Pantsov & Levine 2012, pp. 14, 17.
  2. ^ I am a firm professor of self-belief: John Abraham. The Times of India. September 13, 2011
  3. ^ "10 Indian Celebs Who Are Proclaimed Atheists". MensXP.com. 28 January 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  4. ^ "My body is my religion: John Abraham". Test Sharma. CNN-IBN. July 20, 2012.
  5. ^ Bilmes, Alex (December 18, 2013). "Amy Adams Interview: Esquire Meets The Star Of 'American Hustle'". Esquire. Archived from the original on September 21, 2017. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  6. ^ Freeman, Hadley (November 5, 2016). "Amy Adams: 'I thought, if I can't figure this out, I can't work any more'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on August 18, 2017. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  7. ^ "Centre de droit arabe et musulman مركز القانون العربي والإسلامي". Centre de droit arabe et musulman مركز القانون العربي والإسلامي.
  8. ^ "The politics of life: The truth about Jacinda Ardern". The New Zealand Herald. 29 January 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  9. ^ "Javier Bardem: 'People watch me. I feel absurd' – Profiles – People". The Independent. 16 January 2011. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
  10. ^ "Religious Backgrounds of Latino & Latina Hollywood Celebrities". www.latina.com. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  11. ^ Grauvogl, Ann (December 18, 2009). "Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor are happily God-free". Isthmus The Daily Page. Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
  12. ^ [The Films of Ingmar Bergman, by Jesse Kalin, 2003, pg. 193]
  13. ^ "Revue des Deux Mondes – 1867 – tome 71, p.386" (in French). Fr.wikisource.org. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
  14. ^ E. Hales, "Napoleon and the Pope", (London:1962) pg 114
  15. ^ a b "Within the NSDAP (as in the German völkisch movement in general) there existed from the outset a group of old Hitler partisans who in contrast to the 'atheists' Alfred Rosenberg, Martin Bormann and others, believed in a union of National Socialism and Protestant Christianity." Martin Broszat, The Hitler State, p. 223
  16. ^ "From 1938 Martin Bormann, head of the Party Chancellery and a prominent party atheist, took a leading role in trying to sever all state financial support for the churches, and to limit their legal status and activities, but the need to mobilize church support for the war effort from September 1939 led, as it did in the Soviet Union after 1941, to a limited political truce between Church and state." Richard Overy, The Dictators: Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia, p. 286
  17. ^ "Bormann, an atheist, waged a particularly fanatical fight against the Christian Church." Karl Wilhelm Krause, Herbert Döhring, Anna Plaim, Kurt Kuch, Living with Hitler: Accounts of Hitler's Household Staff, p. 273
  18. ^ "Bormann lost the belief in God that his pious, fat Lutheran mother had drummed into him throughout his youth; he started to hate the soft, easygoing 'mealymouthed' bourgeois world into which he had been born." Charles Whiting, The Hunt for Martin Bormann: The Truth, p. 45
  19. ^ "Q: What do these MPs have in common? A: They are out and proud atheists". Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  20. ^ Kaplan, James (September 13, 2009). "Life after 'The Da Vinci Code'". Parade.
  21. ^ a b Wired article Faces of the New Atheism: The Scribe published November 2006. Retrieved November 10, 2009.
  22. ^ "Ten great investors". Incademy Investor Education. Harriman House Ltd. Archived from the original on November 20, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  23. ^ Farrington, Robert (April 22, 2011). "The top 10 investors of all time". The College Investor. The College Investor, LLC. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  24. ^ "Warren Buffett". Forbes. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  25. ^ Oppenheimer, Mark (29 Dec 2016). "The Evangelical Scion Who Stopped Believing". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  26. ^ Bourne 1986, pp. 29–30; Coltman 2003, pp. 5–6; Castro and Ramonet 2009, pp. 59–60.
  27. ^ [Ana Siljak, Angel of Vengeance, page 58]
  28. ^ Young, Audrey (16 March 2004). "Insults get personal between Clark and Brash". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2007.
  29. ^ Waxman, Sharon (16 March 2004). "George Clooney, Uncowled". Washington Post. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  30. ^ Hay, Malcolm (3 November 2006). "Pat Condell: interview". Time Out London. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2010. Condell's 56. He was born an Irish Catholic but educated in Church of England schools.
  31. ^ Robert William Reid (1974). Marie Curie. New American Library. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-00-211539-1. Retrieved 15 March 2016. Unusually at such an early age, she became what T.H. Huxley had just invented a word for: agnostic.
  32. ^ "Darwin Correspondence Project – Belief: historical essay". Archived from the original on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
  33. ^ Letter 12041 – Darwin, C. R. to Fordyce, John, 7 May 1879
  34. ^ DeSalvo, Robert (May 4, 2012). "Q&A: Emily Deschanel on Playing a 'Perfect' Catholic Lesbian". nextmovie.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  35. ^ "Jerry DeWitt". Huffington Post. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  36. ^ McKeon, Melissa (March 29, 2013). "Former evangelist-turned-atheist to speak April 9 at UU Church". Telegram.
  37. ^ The Times
  38. ^ Gallin, John I. (October 1, 2007). "Introduction of Anthony S. Fauci, MD". Journal of Clinical Investigation. 117 (10): 3131–3135. doi:10.1172/JCI33692. PMC 1994641. PMID 17909634.
  39. ^ Fauci, Anthony (March 7, 1989). "Fauci89: Transcription of oral history interview" (PDF) (Interview). Interviewed by Victoria Harden. NIH. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 9, 2016.
  40. ^ Fauci, Anthony (January 8, 2015). "Q&A with Dr. Anthony Fauci". C-SPAN (Interview). Interviewed by Brian Lamb. Archived from the original on June 15, 2020. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  41. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Desert Island Discs, Ricky Gervais". BBC.
  42. ^ Wright, Tony (30 June 2010). "PM tells it as she sees it on the God issue". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  43. ^ Weymouth, Lally (3 March 2013). "Lally Weymouth interviews Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  44. ^ Rodriguez, Alex (23 March 2008). "Gorbachev a closet Christian?". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  45. ^ Leon Goldensohn, The Nuremberg Interviews: An American Psychiatrist's Conversations with the Defendants and Witnesses, p. 132
  46. ^ "ENOUGH ROPE with Andrew Denton - episode 176: Elders Part 5 - Bob Hawke (14/07/2008)". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 2017-08-25. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  47. ^ "Prince et chanoine : les nouveaux métiers de Hollande". Direct Matin. Archived from the original on 6 January 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  48. ^ Duchemin, Rémi (23 January 2014). "François Hollande, un athée très discret". Europe1.fr (in French). Europe 1. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  49. ^ Elkaïm, Olivia (5 April 2012). "François Hollande : des origines protestantes hollandaises". La Vie (in French). Retrieved 3 February 2013. ("En décembre dernier, François Hollande confiait à La Vie : 'Je n'ai aucune pratique religieuse. Mais je respecte toutes les confessions. La mienne est de ne pas en avoir.'")
  50. ^ Kimjongilia – The Movie – Learn More Archived 18 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  51. ^ Byrnes, Sholto (7 May 2010). "The Rage Against God, By Peter Hitchens". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 12 May 2010.
  52. ^ Images, Getty (21 September 2019). "The Secret Jewish History Of Stephen King". The Forward. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
  53. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". StephenKing.com. Archived from the original on August 7, 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
  54. ^ "Dr.Abraham Kovoor - the Rationalist of Indian Subcontinent". Archived from the original on 2006-09-09. Retrieved 2012-06-26.
  55. ^ Fischer 1964, p. 9; Service 2000, pp. 50–51, 64.
  56. ^ "The Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed - the Glenn Show: What Explains Persistent Racial Inequality? (Glenn Loury & Laurence Kotlikoff)".
  57. ^ "La jeunesse très catholique des candidats à la présidentielle". La Croix. April 10, 2017 – via www.la-croix.com.
  58. ^ Huberman, Jack (March 3, 2008). The Quotable Atheist: Ammunition for Nonbelievers, Political Junkies, Gadflies, and Those Generally Hell-Bound. PublicAffairs. ISBN 9781568584195 – via Google Books.
  59. ^ McCurdy, Jennette (September 23, 2020). "growing up mormon". Empty Inside. Retrieved November 16, 2020 – via YouTube.
  60. ^ Tiersky, Ronald. François Mitterrand: A Very French President. 2003, Rowman and Littlefield. pp. 38–42.
  61. ^ Tiersky, Ronald (1 January 2003). François Mitterrand: A Very French President. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780742524736 – via Google Books.
  62. ^ D.M. Smith 1982, pp. 2–3
  63. ^ Nietzsche, Letter to His Sister (1865). Archived from the original on 2012-11-24.
  64. ^ Bédé, Jean Albert; Edgerton, William Benbow (May 23, 1980). Columbia Dictionary of Modern European Literature. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231037174 – via Google Books.
  65. ^ "The Topeka Capital-Journal". Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2012-06-26.
  66. ^ Gina Salamone (July 23, 2009). "Brad Pitt: 'I'm probably 20 percent atheist and 80 percent agnostic'". Daily News (New York). Retrieved January 19, 2010.
  67. ^ Leon Goldensohn, The Nuremberg Interviews: An American Psychiatrist's Conversations with the Defendants and Witnesses, p. 75
  68. ^ "Apart from [Rosenberg] giving his name and replying 'No' to a question as to whether he had anything to say, this atheist did not utter a word. Despite his disbelief in God he was accompanied by a Protestant chaplain, who followed him to the gallows and stood beside him praying." Hitler's Third Reich: A Documentary History, p. 613
  69. ^ "An Egyptian Blogger's 'Crimes'". Haaretz.
  70. ^ Forster, Joel (22 September 2021). "Germany election: Christians not exempt from falling into polarisation". Evangelical Focus. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  71. ^ "Michael Shermer Interview". The Best Schools. Archived from the original on 2019-04-02. Retrieved 2017-12-26.
  72. ^ Logan, Michael (April 11, 2014). "Morgan Spurlock is CNN's Inside Man, Tracking Kardashians, UFOs and More". TV Guide. Retrieved December 2, 2021. Spurlock: I was raised Methodist but as I grew up and traveled the world and met more and more people from various religions, I have become much more of an agnostic.
  73. ^ Vladislav Zubok; Constantine Pleshakov. Inside the Kremlin's Cold War: From Stalin to Khrushchev. pp. 4. ISBN 0674455312. Zubok and Pleshakov further state, "Many would later note, however, that his works were influenced by a distinctly Biblical style" and "his atheism remained rooted in some vague idea of a God of nature."
  74. ^ Brown, Mick (December 4, 2008). "Meryl Streep: mother superior". The Week. London. Archived from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved December 4, 2008.
  75. ^ @Chris_Stuckmann (January 11, 2021). "Thank you for the outpouring of support I've received since discussing my past as an #EXJW. I was nervous about sha…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  76. ^ @Chris_Stuckmann (January 9, 2021). "I was raised Jehovah's Witness. I want to thank Korey Coleman for giving me the opportunity to get that off my ches…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  77. ^ "CHRIS STUCKMANN INTERVIEW | Double Toasted - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  78. ^ Miller, David Ian; Gate, Special to SF (August 15, 2005). "FINDING MY RELIGION / Julia Sweeney talks about how she became an atheist". SFGate.
  79. ^ "The Seattle Times".
  80. ^ "Billy Graham Movie Prepares for Oct. 10 Release". The Christian Post. 29 July 2008.
  81. ^ Richard West, Tito and the Rise and Fall of Yugoslavia, p.211, Carroll & Graff, 1996 ISBN 0-7867-0332-6
    "In one of his talks with Church officials, Tito went so far as to speak of himself 'as a Croat and a Catholic', but this comment was cut out of the press reports on the orders of Kardelj."
  82. ^ Nikolaos A. Stavrou (ed.), Mediterranean Security at the Crossroads: a Reader, p.193, Duke University Press, 1999 ISBN 0-8223-2459-8
  83. ^ Vjekoslav Perica, Balkan Idols: Religion and Nationalism in Yugoslav States, p.103, Oxford University Press US, 2004 ISBN 0-19-517429-1
  84. ^ Totten, Michael J. (April 6, 2004). "Fighting Dirty". World Affairs Journal. American Peace Society. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015. I'm not a Christian anymore, but I know if I were I would think it a desecration.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  85. ^ Vijayasarathy, R G (2008). "Dasavathaaram is spectacular". Rediff.com. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
  86. ^ "Introduction to "We Become Atheists" at Positive Atheism". Archived from the original on July 17, 2012.
  87. ^ "Article". Archived from the original on January 23, 2014. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  88. ^ Nandy, Ashis (2003). Time Warps: The Insistent Politics of Silent and Evasive Pasts. Delhi: Orient Longman. p. 71. ISBN 978-81-7824-071-8. OCLC 49616949.
  89. ^ Kumar, Pramod (1992). Towards Understanding Communalism. Chandigarh: Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development. p. 348. ISBN 978-81-85835-17-4. OCLC 27810012. VD Savarkar was publicly an atheist. Even when he was the Hindu Mahasabha leader he used to publicly announce and advertise lectures on atheism, on why god is not there and why all religions are false. That is why when defining Hindutva, he said, Hindutva is not defined by religion and tried to define it in a non-religious term: Punyabhoomi.
  90. ^ "BBC News".
  91. ^ Rajeev Khandelwal and S. Shanthi (10 June 2008). "I AM: Rajeev Khandelwal". Times of India. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  92. ^ The Jewish Chronicle 6 July 2005 "Not only connections"
  93. ^ "Durkheim The Person from Masters of Sociological Thought".
  94. ^ "Emile Durkheim's HomePage". www.faculty.rsu.edu.
  95. ^ "AHA site". Archived from the original on January 14, 2013.
  96. ^ "Proud atheists". Salon. October 15, 2007.
  97. ^ Carlo Strenger (2002) From Yeshiva to Critical Pluralism, Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 22: 534–558. http://www.pep-web.org/document.php?id=pi.022.0534a
  98. ^ Burrell, Ian (July 24, 2010). "Mark Zuckerberg: He's got the whole world on his site". The Independent. UK. Retrieved November 6, 2010.
  99. ^ Vara, Vauhini (November 28, 2007). "Too Much Information?". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
  100. ^ Kirkpatrick, David (2010). The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting the World. New York City: Simon & Schuster. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-1-4391-0211-4. Retrieved November 9, 2010.
  101. ^ Alef, Daniel. Mark Zuckerberg: The Face Behind Facebook and Social Networking, Titans of Fortune Publishing (2010)
  102. ^ a b Interview with Rushdie by Gigi Marzullo; Sottovoce, RAIUNO, March 31, 2006.
  103. ^ "A New Brand of Nonbelievers". Abcnews.go.com. September 17, 2007. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  104. ^ The Angry Arab News Service comments from her blog
  105. ^ Between disparate worlds: On California State University professor As'ad AbuKhalil Archived 2008-03-21 at the Wayback Machine (1: "...who is also an atheist..." 2: "My Sunni family of my mother taught me how to pray")
  106. ^ John Carlin (August 5, 2005). "Zackie's story: The man who took on Mbeki – and won". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved August 27, 2007. A homosexual, an atheist, and a militant anti-apartheid campaigner whose political ideas were forged on an intense reading of Marx, Lenin, and Trotsky...
  107. ^ Re-drawing the line Archived 2012-10-23 at the Wayback Machine – Al Ahram Weekly, August 9, 2000
  108. ^ "Founder of ex-Muslim group threatened". United Press International. February 23, 2007. Archived from the original on July 9, 2008.
  109. ^ "Eye on England". Telegraphindia.com. 15 July 2012. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  110. ^ "Ахундов Мирза-Фатали". Mirslovarei.com. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  111. ^ "Dutch article link: 'Ik geloof niet meer'". Elsevier.nl. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  112. ^ Europe since 1945: An encyclopedia, Bernard A Cook, Taylor & Francis, 2001, ISBN 0-8153-4057-5, p. 31
  113. ^ Kareem Amer. (2006). “تنويه هام جدا بخصوص موقع الأقباط متحدون ومقالى الأخير” (A Very Important Notice Regarding the Copts United Web Site and My Last Article) كريم عامر (Kareeem Amer’s Arabic blog). Retrieved January 28, 2007.
  114. ^ Abdelkareem Nabil Soliman (Kareem Amer), Political prisoner Archived 2012-03-20 at the Wayback Machine Submitted on Mon, 2007-01-29
  115. ^ Reşat Kasaba, "Atatürk", The Cambridge history of Turkey: Volume 4: Turkey in the Modern World, Cambridge University Press, 2008; ISBN 978-0-521-62096-3 p. 163; accessed 27 March 2015.
  116. ^ Political Islam in Turkey by Gareth Jenkins, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008, p. 84; ISBN 0230612458
  117. ^ Atheism, Brief Insights Series by Julian Baggini, Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2009; ISBN 1402768826, p. 106.
  118. ^ Islamism: A Documentary and Reference Guide, John Calvert John, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2008; ISBN 0313338566, p. 19.
  119. ^ ...Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the secular Turkish Republic. He said: "I have no religion, and at times I wish all religions at the bottom of the sea..." The Antipodean Philosopher: Interviews on Philosophy in Australia and New Zealand, Graham Oppy, Lexington Books, 2011, ISBN 0739167936, p. 146.
  120. ^ Phil Zuckerman, John R. Shook, The Oxford Handbook of Secularism, Oxford University Press, 2017, ISBN 0199988455, p. 167.
  121. ^ Tariq Ramadan, Islam and the Arab Awakening, Oxford University Press, 2012, ISBN 0199933731, p. 76.
  122. ^ "Atatürk İslam için ne düşünüyordu? - Türkiye Haberleri - Radikal". July 22, 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-07-22.
  123. ^ On 1 November 1937, his speech in parliament he said:

    It is known by the world that, in our state administration, our main program is the Republican People's Party program. The principles it covers are the main lines that illuminate us in management and politics. But these principles should never be held equal to the dogmas of books that are assumed to have descended from the sky. We have received our inspirations directly from life, not from sky or unseen. (Atatürk'ün Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi'nin V. Dönem 3. Yasama Yılını Açış Konuşmaları, in Turkish)
  124. ^

    Even before accepting the religion of the Arabs, the Turks were a great nation. After accepting the religion of the Arabs, this religion, didn't effect to combine the Arabs, the Persians and Egyptians with the Turks to constitute a nation. (This religion) rather, loosened the national nexus of Turkish nation, got national excitement numb. This was very natural. Because the purpose of the religion founded by Muhammad, over all nations, was to drag to an including Arab national politics. (Afet İnan, Medenî Bilgiler ve M. Kemal Atatürk'ün El Yazıları, Türk Tarih Kurumu, 1998, p. 364.)
  125. ^ "Dr. Humayun Azad laid to rest". Mukto-mona.com. Archived from the original on March 21, 2009. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  126. ^ Bangladesh: Protecting the Human Rights of Thought, Conscience, and Religion: U.A.B. Razia Akter Banu Prepared Testimony Archived 2007-12-24 at the Wayback Machine – ("Dr. Azad is a Muslim by birth and by name ... He is an atheist.")
  127. ^ Kranenberg, Annieke (August 11, 2007). "Als dit niet werkt, beledig ik Wilders wel" (in Dutch). De Volkskrant. Retrieved May 9, 2008. Quote: (Translation) "In interviews he calls himself an atheist, but until now 'I have been left alone by the beardmonkeys (referring to Muslim fundamentalists). Perhaps I have to make myself heard just a little bit better, I should be more explicit in my aversion to Islam and religion in general." (Dutch) "In interviews noemt hij zichzelf atheïst, maar tot nog toe 'ben ik ongemoeid gelaten door de baardapen. Misschien moet ik een hardere toon aanslaan en wat explicieter zijn in mijn afkeer van de islam en religies in het algemeen.'"
  128. ^ "Pelin Batu "Kısa Devre" yaptı!". Haber Türk (in Turkish). November 2, 2008. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  129. ^ Pelin Batu – "Bayrak taşır gibi din taşımıyorum, ateistim" (in Turkish)
  130. ^ Humanistische Omroep, Link to video interview with Hafid Bouazza Quote: (Translation) "Believers live behind a fence, and non-believers live in a pasture and they know there are believers out there behind the fence." "It [religion] is a matter of conditioning, of brainwashing." "I know that when I die, it's over with me." (Dutch) "Gelovigen leven achter een hek, en ongelovigen in een weiland, waarin ze weten dat er gelovigen zijn die achter hekken wonen." "Het [religie] is een kwestie van conditionering, van hersenspoeling" "Ik weet dat het moment dat ik ter aarde word besteld, dat het afgelopen is met mij."
  131. ^ Verdonschot, Leon (May 8, 2008). ""Ik kan niet leven zonder roes." Interview met Hafid Baouzza, gepubliceerd in Dif nr.1" (in Dutch). Leonverdonschot.nl. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2008. Quote: (Translation) "Look, I'm an atheist. I believe God does not exist, I do not believe in an afterlife. How terrible it may be: Hitler isn't in hell getting pinched in his ass with a trident. I'm fine with the fact there are people who do believe that and get comfort from it, like my mother. I just hope the influence of religion on policy makers will diminish, because my freedom is precious to me." (Dutch) "Kijk, ik ben atheïst. Ik geloof niet dat God bestaat, ik geloof niet dat er een hiernamaals is. Hoe gruwelijk ook: Hitler wordt op dit moment niet in de hel met een drietand in zijn reet geprikt. Dat er mensen zijn die dat wél geloven en daar troost uit putten, mensen als mijn moeder: prima. Als de invloed van religies op beleidsmakers maar steeds kleiner wordt, want mijn vrijheid is me dierbaar."
  132. ^ Darabi, Parvin Rage Against the Veil: The Courageous Life and Death of an Islamic Dissident ISBN 1-57392-682-5
  133. ^ "Turan Dursun Website". Turandursun.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  134. ^ Craig Whitlock (November 11, 2005). "For Public Figures in Netherlands, Terror Becomes a Personal Concern". The Washington Post.
  135. ^ Kamm, Henry (1993, June 10). 'Hallelujah' is heard in the arch-atheist's temple. The New York Times (Late Edition (East Coast)), p. A4. Retrieved August 27, 2007, from National Newspaper Abstracts
  136. ^ Muslim Identity and the Balkan State,Hugh Poulton, Suha Taji-Farouki, 1997, ISBN 1-85065-276-7, google print p. 133.
  137. ^ "Sarmad, the mystic poet". Crda-france.org. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  138. ^ "Hazrat Sarmad Shaheed: The Naked Sufi Martyr". Chowk.com. July 23, 2005. Archived from the original on April 13, 2010. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  139. ^ Freethought Traditions in the Islamic World Archived 2012-02-14 at the Wayback Machine by Fred Whitehead
  140. ^ "interview with Lounès Matoub". Archived from the original on September 29, 2007.
  141. ^ (www.dw.com), Deutsche Welle. "'I have to help the people of Bangladesh' | Globalization | DW | 22.04.2014". DW.COM. Retrieved 2017-06-01.
  142. ^ "Pakistan: Appeasing the Mullahs". Mail-archive.com. September 13, 2006. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  143. ^ "The Communalisation of Kargil". Archived from the original on December 6, 2008.
  144. ^ "It's time to take a stand against Islam and Sharia". timesonline.co.uk. January 27, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  145. ^ Wolinsky, David. "Kumail Nanjiani | Comedy | Interview | The A.V. Club Chicago". Avclub.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  146. ^ "I was born in a Muslim family, but I became an atheist." For freedom of expression, Taslima Nasreen, November 12, 1999 – Taslima Nasreen took the floor during Commission V of UNESCO's General Conference, as a delegate of the NGO International Humanist and Ethical Union (Accessed December 23, 2006).
  147. ^ "Aziz Nesin of Turkey Dies at 80; Writer Escaped Militants' Arson". New York Times. July 7, 1995. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  148. ^ Obama, Barack (October 16, 2006). "My Spiritual Journey". TIME. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2008. My father was almost entirely absent from my childhood, having been divorced from my mother when I was 2 years old; in any event, although my father had been raised a Muslim, by the time he met my mother he was a confirmed atheist, thinking religion to be so much superstition.
  149. ^ "I'm no Mossad spy, says Jewish journalist who interviewed Raisi, worked for Iran TV". The Times of Israel. March 13, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022. Five years after her interview with the Iranian leader [Ebrahim Raisi], Perez-Shakdam has become an atheist and reconnected with her long-discarded Jewish identity.
  150. ^ On Ibn al-Rawandi, from the Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1971, Volume 3, E J Brill, Leiden, p 905
  151. ^ Lyall, Sarah (January 12, 2007). "Swedish politician's advice to immigrants? Try to fit in – Europe – International Herald Tribune". The New York Times.
  152. ^ "Ninety and spunky". Archived from the original on December 5, 2008.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  153. ^ The Rushdie Affair: The Novel, the Ayatollah, and the West by Daniel Pipes, Pg. 283
  154. ^ Younus Shaikh Archived 2007-04-30 at the Wayback Machine- short biography
  155. ^ "Comoros & Mayotte". Statraveluk.lonelyplanet.com. Archived from the original on August 19, 2006. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  156. ^ Time Magazine- Interview with Wafa Sultan
  157. ^ There is No Clash of Civilizations but a Clash between the Mentality of the Middle Ages and That of the 21st century Feb. 2006
  158. ^ "Six Degrees of Barack Obama". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  159. ^ "Warraq, 60, describes himself now as an agnostic..." Dissident voices, World Magazine, June 16, 2007, Vol. 22, No. 22.
  160. ^ "Tojo had entered 'Shinto' as his religion, but he had probably done so because he thought an entry of some kind was expected, and, anyway, Shinto was more a national feeling than a religion." Walt Sheldon, The Honorable Conquerors: The Occupation in Japan, 1945-1952, pp. 167-168

Works cited

Categories