Atheist Quotes

Welcome to our collection of Atheist Quotes, where we delve into the thoughts and musings of individuals who challenge conventional beliefs and question the existence of a higher power. Atheism, the disbelief in the existence of deities, has a rich history filled with thinkers, philosophers, and writers who have expressed their skepticism and explored the complexities of faith and reason. These quotes encapsulate the essence of atheistic thought, ranging from witty observations to profound reflections on the nature of religion, morality, and the human experience.

In a world shaped by diverse religious traditions and spiritual practices, atheism offers a distinct perspective that encourages critical inquiry and free thought. Through the words of prominent atheists throughout history, we gain insight into the diversity of opinions, the courage to question established dogmas, and the pursuit of truth through reason and evidence. Whether you identify as an atheist, agnostic, or simply seek intellectual stimulation, this collection invites you to explore the rich tapestry of ideas that challenge conventional beliefs and celebrate the power of human intellect and curiosity. Discover inspiring, thought-provoking, and often controversial quotes from some of history’s most influential atheists below.

Now I have to say I’m a complete atheist, I have no religious views myself and no spiritual views, except very watered down humanistic spiritual views, and consciousness is just a fact of life, it’s a natural fact of life. David Chalmers

I am against the word ‘anti’ because it’s a little bit like ‘atheist,’ as compared to ‘believer.’ And an atheist is just as much of a religious man as the believer is. Marcel Duchamp

I was the black atheist kid in the all-white Catholic school run by nuns. Thandie Newton

I don’t believe in God, in prayer, in going to temples begging God to give me and my family happiness. I am not asking everyone to be an atheist, but good thoughts are not spent in a temple. Suhasini Maniratnam

For a while, I became an atheist; now that I’m grown up, though, I’m not hard-edged enough to be an atheist. Even though I live with a flaming atheist, I love going to temple. I love all the rituals. Padma Lakshmi

I’ve never met a happy atheist. John Cooper Clarke

When I was a young man, my mother said to me, ‘You can’t be a communist without being a militant atheist.’ So I had to be a militant atheist because I wanted to be a communist. Norman Finkelstein

We all dream. We dream vividly, depending on our nature. Our existence is beyond our explanation, whether we believe in God or we have religion or we’re atheist. Anthony Hopkins

I’m an atheist. Stephen Hawking

I’m an atheist, but I’m very relaxed about it. I don’t preach my atheism, but I have a huge amount of respect for people like Richard Dawkins who do. Daniel Radcliffe

A pious man is one who would be an atheist if the king were. Jean de la Bruyere

I’m a praying atheist. When I hear an ambulance siren, I ask for a blessing for those people in trouble, knowing that no one’s listening. I think it’s just a habit of mindfulness. Geraldine Brooks

To be an atheist requires an indefinitely greater measure of faith than to recieve all the great truths which atheism would deny. Joseph Addison

Our existence is beyond our explanation, whether we believe in God or we have religion or we’re atheist. Our existence is beyond our understanding. No one has an answer. Anthony Hopkins

I don’t mind if other people call me an atheist, but I call myself a naturalist. Atheism doesn’t tell you much about what I do believe in; the term naturalist opens up the discussion better. Greg Graffin

I’m your basic atheist that believes in maybe – I’m a spiritual atheist. Linda Ronstadt

By night an atheist half believes in a God. Edward Young

An atheist is a man who believes himself an accident. Francis Thompson

I’m an atheist, and the concept of god for me is all part of what I call ‘the last illusion.’ The last illusion is someone knows what is going on. Nearly everyone has that illusion somewhere, and it manifests not only in the terms of the idea that there is a god but that it knows what’s going on but that the planets know what’s going on. Brian Eno

I am an atheist and do not know the meaning of the ‘religious pain’ that is felt by believers of every cast when what they believe in is insulted. Tariq Ali

An atheist may be simply one whose faith and love are concentrated on the impersonal aspects of God. Simone Weil

There is an immediate payoff to intelligent design: it destroys the atheistic legacy of Darwinian evolution. Intelligent design makes it impossible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist. William A. Dembski

I’m often asked – and occasionally in an accusatory way – ‘Are you atheist?’ And it’s like, ‘You know, the only ‘ist’ I am is a scientist, all right?’ I don’t associate with movements. I’m not an ‘ism.’ I just – I think for myself. Neil deGrasse Tyson

Lincoln said you cannot be President without spending some item on your knees. I have repeated that and a bunch of Atheists got all over me. Wait a minute. Does that mean that you cannot be President if you are an Atheist? I say yea that does mean that. George H. W. Bush

I think everything I write is from an atheist perspective. I mean, it’s partly from an atheist perspective because I’m an atheist, and I’m just not really interested in religious-based questions. Alex Garland

A man cannot become an atheist merely by wishing it. Napoleon Bonaparte

The atheist has no hope. James Freeman Clarke

I’m actually an evangelical atheist, but there is something I recognise about religion: that it gives people a chance to surrender. Brian Eno

Everyone – pantheist, atheist, skeptic, polytheist – has to answer these questions: ‘Where did I come from? What is life’s meaning? How do I define right from wrong and what happens to me when I die?’ Those are the fulcrum points of our existence. Ravi Zacharias

I am not an atheist; I believe in God. But my religion ends there. I have my own personal belief system that is so strong it allows me to do what I do. I don’t have to worry about going to Hell because of Slayer, you know? Everyone has a personal belief system and believes in life somehow. Tom Araya

I believe in believing. My coach John Kavanagh is a big atheist, and he is always trying to persuade people to his way of thinking, and I think, ‘What a waste of energy.’ If people want to believe in this god or that god, that’s fine by me; believe away. But I think we can be our own gods. I believe in myself. Conor McGregor

I’m an atheist and I thank God for it. George Bernard Shaw

To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist by scripture. Thomas Paine

The Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation. If I were an atheist, and believed blind eternal fate, I should still believe that fate had ordained the Jews to be the most essential instrument for civilizing the nations. John Adams

An Atheist believes that a hospital should be built instead of a church. An atheist believes that deed must be done instead of prayer said. An atheist strives for involvement in life and not escape into death. He wants disease conquered, poverty vanished, war eliminated. Madalyn Murray O’Hair

I think that if you are a resolute, unswerving atheist, you have that sense that you are conscious of the God-shaped hole that has been left in the wake of any religious belief, and in a way, one is much more drawn to articulate why it is that certain places, or certain experiences, have a kind of power. Geoff Dyer

Being an atheist means you have to realise that when you die, that really is it. You’ve got to make the most of what you’ve got here and spread as much influence as you can. I believe that you only live through the influence that you spread, whether that means having a kid or making music. Matt Bellamy

The worst moment for the atheist is when he is really thankful and has nobody to thank. Dante Gabriel Rossetti

An atheist is a man who has no invisible means of support. James Buchan

The new soft totalitarianism that is advancing on the left wants to have a state religion It is an atheist, nihilistic religion – but it is a religion that is obligatory for all. Rocco Buttiglione

When I told the people of Northern Ireland that I was an atheist, a woman in the audience stood up and said, ‘Yes, but is it the God of the Catholics or the God of the Protestants in whom you don’t believe? Quentin Crisp

Everything I do is somehow rooted in humanity. It’s always about people; it’s always about ego. It’s always about desperation. It’s quite existential. You know, ‘Am I leading a good life?’ That might be because I’m an atheist, and I think this is all we’ve got, so you better be nice. And have fun. Ricky Gervais

My father was an atheist, absent. He was a salesman; I was four years old when he told me that the end of life was death. Alejandro Jodorowsky

I’m an atheist, and I don’t believe in ghosts. Ram Gopal Varma

It’s our culture, Christian history, that’s what formed me. Even as an atheist, I believe. We’re just built that way. Gerhard Richter

There are no atheists in foxholes, they say, and I was a foxhole atheist for a long time. But after going through a midlife crisis and having many things change very quickly, it made me realize my mortality. And when you start to think about death, you start to think about what’s after it. And then you start hoping there is a God. Peter Steele

I’m an agnostic trending toward atheist and resist, in particular, Christian interpretations and imagery. Jeff Vandermeer

When I started law school in 2010, I would have called myself an atheist. When I graduated law school in 2013, I was exploring my faith again. A lot changed in those three years. J. D. Vance

What you should do is to say to outsiders that a Christian has neither more nor less rights in our association than an atheist. Susan B. Anthony

You can be a Christian. You can be Jew. You can be a Muslim. You can be atheist. This is your own choice. But the law, the constitution, the law of the people is above God’s law. So when somebody arrives in Europe, people need to accept those rules. Charles Michel

I consider myself spiritual and I’m married to a man who is both an atheist and a humanist, and my kids have been raised with the traditions of different religions, but they do not go to church or temple. My feeling is that everyone should be able to believe what they want or need to believe. Jodi Picoult

For all the creationists out there, Darwin’s just an atheist. But he was actually agnostic. Henry Ian Cusick

If you want to turn out an atheist child, unconditional love constantly is a good way to do it. Penn Jillette

For years, I was quite a militant atheist. I wanted to burn down all the churches or turn them into second-hand record emporiums. Michel Faber

I’m an atheist. I don’t have a religion. Aleister Black

I’m constantly claimed by atheists. I find this intriguing. In fact, on my Wiki page – I didn’t create the Wiki page, others did, and I’m flattered that people cared enough about my life to assemble it – and it said, ‘Neil deGrasse is an atheist.’ Neil deGrasse Tyson

He was an embittered atheist, the sort of atheist who does not so much disbelieve in God as personally dislike Him. George Orwell

I am a daylight atheist. Brendan Behan

My father is an atheist. My mother is Buddhist. They encouraged my siblings and me to take the best part of other religions to make our own belief system. Winona Ryder

Now, I’m an atheist. I really don’t believe for a moment that our moral sense comes from a god. Ian Mcewan

According to my definition of God, I’m not an atheist. Because I think God is everything. Whenever I open my eyes, I’m looking at God. Whenever I’m listening to something, I’m listening to God. Pete Seeger

I say again that I am an atheist. I do not believe in God. Mikhail Gorbachev

To you I’m an atheist; to God, I’m the Loyal Opposition. Woody Allen

I kind of call myself an atheist, I suppose – although quite a spiritual atheist, I hope. Danny Boyle

I am atheist in a very religious mould. I’m always asking myself the big questions. Where did we come from? Is there a meaning to all of this? When I find myself in church, I edit the hymns as I sing them. Mark Haddon

As an atheist, I am angry that we live in a society in which the plain truth cannot be spoken without offending 90% of the population. Sam Harris

I am a born-again atheist, so there isn’t going to be a funeral. I will be buried in a linen wrap in a cardboard coffin in my forest with an oak tree planted on my head. Felix Dennis

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. Jean-Paul Sartre

I am an absolute atheist. Mahesh Bhatt

I am an atheist. Vivek

It’s surprising to me how many of my friends send Christmas cards, or holiday cards, including my atheist and secular friends. Christopher Hitchens

Few would argue that Richard Dawkins is the world’s most famous atheist, especially now that his friend and rival for the title, Christopher Hitchens, has now gone to meet his Maker. Ray Comfort

You know, for a long time I became almost atheist. I believed in nothing. And it was tough for me to believe in anything at all because I had believed so strongly. And I divorced myself of spirituality, I think. Dustin Lance Black

I don’t believe in God, though I’m not prepared to call myself an atheist either. You know the old phrase: ‘There are no atheists in foxholes.’ I’ve never been in a foxhole, and if I ever find myself in a foxhole, I’ll let you know if I believe in God or not. Ed Asner

I want three words: Woman, Atheist, Anarchist. That’s me. Madalyn Murray O’Hair

I think the neoatheists have set atheism back a few decades. And I’m a self-described atheist. Matt Stone

Corbyn, like me, is a republican and an atheist. How then can we possibly be expected to sing along to an anthem which begins with the words ‘God save our gracious Queen?’ Julia Hartley-Brewer

Whether they are Jewish, Muslim, Christian, or atheist, everybody has a place in this society. Frans Timmermans

I think being an atheist is something you are, not something you do. Christopher Hitchens

I talk about the gods, I am an atheist. But I am an artist too, and therefore a liar. Distrust everything I say. I am telling the truth. Ursula K. Le Guin

The easiest way to get a reputation is to go outside the fold, shout around for a few years as a violent atheist or a dangerous radical, and then crawl back to the shelter. F. Scott Fitzgerald

You give up a lot being an atheist. Ricky Gervais

I used to be an atheist, but I’ve chilled out a bit on that. Stephen Moyer

I know of no wars started by anyone to impose lack of religion on someone else. We have lethal Sunni v Shia, Catholic against Protestant, but no agnostic suicide bombers attack crowded atheist pubs. Simon Hoggart

In theory I am an agnostic, but pending the appearance of rational evidence, I must be classed, practically and provisionally, as an atheist. H. P. Lovecraft

Isn’t an agnostic just an atheist without balls? Stephen Colbert

Religion features more now in my life than it did when I was a kid – my dad rejected the Catholic church as a young man. I had no religious upbringing, but certainly, Dad was a kind of secular humanist. I don’t know if he was an atheist or agnostic. I regret I didn’t talk to him about it. Paul Giamatti

I am an atheist, and I believe that religion should not be in the classrooms; it has to be in the churches. In the classrooms, you have to form citizenship, not people with religious beliefs, that corresponds to the private sphere. Pedro Sanchez

A young man who wishes to remain a sound atheist cannot be too careful of his reading. C. S. Lewis

The atheist is cheating whenever he makes a moral judgment, acting as though it has an objective reference, when his philosophy in fact precludes it. William A. Dembski

If only I wasn’t an atheist, I could get away with anything. You’d just ask for forgiveness and then you’d be forgiven. It sounds much better than having to live with guilt. Keira Knightley

I became an atheist because, as a graduate student studying quantum physics, life seemed to be reducible to second-order differential equations. Mathematics, chemistry and physics had it all. And I didn’t see any need to go beyond that. Francis Collins

I’m not an atheist. How can you not believe in something that doesn’t exist? That’s way too convoluted for me. A. Whitney Brown

I consider myself a spiritual atheist. I certainly believe there are forces bigger than ourselves, and that we should be searching, individually, for meaning in our lives. But I don’t believe there’s a supreme being, an intelligence that created everything. Alan Lightman

I once wanted to become an atheist, but I gave up – they have no holidays. Henny Youngman

I’m a very hard-line, angry atheist. Yet I am fascinated by the concept of devotion. Joss Whedon

People are always surprised when I say that I’m an atheist. Jodie Foster

The making of an Atheist implies a mental stimulation and training which brings into play the primary factors of social progress. Joseph McCabe

I’m not saying that atheists can’t act morally or have moral knowledge. But when I ascribe virtue to an atheist, it’s as a theist who sees the atheist as conforming to objective moral values. The atheist, by contrast, has no such basis for morality. And yet all moral judgments require a basis for morality, some standard of right and wrong. William A. Dembski

Even Helen Keller, who was born blind and deaf, could see God. No doubt, in her silent darkness, every fragrant flower, every ray of the warm sun, every taste that touched her tongue told her that there was a God who created all things. Jodie Foster shouldn’t therefore be surprised that people are surprised that she’s an atheist. Ray Comfort

Anton Usov
Anton Usov
I am Anton Usov, an educator with a passion for quotes that resonate with the human experience. Over many years, I have curated a collection that reflects wisdom and emotions across time. Join me in exploring the power of words to inspire and enlighten our paths.
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