The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, Australia) has a gallery of 15 celebrity atheists [Christ-miss for atheist celebs]. My favorites are Katharine Hepburn and Jodie Foster.It is cause for billions of people to rejoice. But not these celebrity Grinches - sorry, atheists.What's significant about this list is not the fact that there are famous people who don't believe in God. That's been true for hundreds of years. And it's not the fact that some of them are very intelligent either—that's almost a given. (We'll ignore Angelina Jolie.)
They are the stars who do not believe three wise men followed a star to a baby in a manger more than 2000 years ago.
No, the important point is that atheism is entering the mainstream. Newspaper articles like this wouldn't have been printed ten years ago. The more people learn about life in the absence of religion, the more it will come to be seen as a perfectly normal way to behave. That's a good thing.
[Hat Tip: Hemant Mehta at Friendly Atheist (Merry Tuesday to These Celebrities)]
Meh, that's a pretty stupid puff-piece (but then "celeb news" almost always is). That it waves a few atheists around is nice, but it falls into the standard "atheists can't celebrate Christmas" trope.
ReplyDeleteMind you, seeing Bruce Lee on that list gives his old fight scenes with Chuck ("tattoo atheists on the forehead with 'In God we trust' ") Norris a little more depth.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why Angelina Jolie should be ignored when Bjork is by far the zaniest person on that list.
ReplyDeleteThe more people learn about life in the absence of religion, the more it will come to be seen as a perfectly normal way to behave.
ReplyDeleteBut atheism is not "absence of religion". It's a godless religion, but a religion all the same.
Yeah, Mats, just like baldness is a hair color.
ReplyDeleteDumbass.