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| == Notable antireligious people == | | == Notable antireligious people == |
| ;Intellectuals
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| *[[:en:Thomas Paine]] (1737–1809), English-American author and [[:en:Deism|deist]] who wrote a scathing critique on religion in ''[[:en:The Age of Reason]]'' (1793-4). "All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish [i.e. Muslim], appear to me no other than human inventions set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit".<ref>[[q:Thomas Paine]]</ref>
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| *[[:en:Karl Marx]] (1818–1883), German philosopher, social scientist, socialist. He is well known for his antireligious views. He said religion was "[[:en:The opium of the people|the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness.]]".<ref>Marx, K. 1976. ''[https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1843/critique-hpr/intro.htm Introduction to A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right]''. [[Marx/Engels Collected Works|Collected Works]], v. 3. New York.</ref>
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| *[[:en:Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche]] (1844–1900), German philosopher, cultural critic, poet, composer, and Latin and Greek scholar. He wrote several critical texts on religion, morality, contemporary culture, philosophy, and science, displaying a fondness for metaphor and irony.
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| *[[:en:John Dewey]] (1859–1952), an American [[:en:Pragmatism|pragmatist]] philosopher, who believed neither religion nor [[:en:metaphysics]] could provide legitimate moral or social values, though scientific [[:en:empiricism]] could (see [[:en:science of morality]]).<ref>"Dewey felt that science alone contributed to 'human good,' which he defined exclusively in naturalistic terms. He rejected religion and metaphysics as valid supports for moral and social values, and felt that success of the scientific method presupposed the destruction of old knowledge before the new could be created. ... (Dewey, 1929, pp. 95, 145) "William Adrian, [https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15363750590925929 TRUTH, FREEDOM AND (DIS)ORDER IN THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY], ''Christian Higher Education', 4:2, 145-154</ref>
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| * [[:en:Bertrand Russell]] (1872–1970), English logician and philosopher who believed that authentic philosophy could only be pursued given an atheistic foundation of "unyielding despair". In 1948, he famously debated the [[:en:Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] priest and [[:en:History of philosophy|philosophical historian]] Father [[:en:Frederick Copleston]] on the [[:en:existence of God]].<ref>''"I think all the great religions of the world{{spaced ndash}}[[:en:Buddhism]], [[:en:Hinduism]], [[:en:Christianity]], [[:en:Islam]] and [[:en:Communism]]{{spaced ndash}}both untrue and harmful. It is evident as a matter of logic that, since they disagree, not more than one of them can be true. ... I am as firmly convinced that religions do harm as I am that they are untrue."'' Bertrand Russell in "My Religious Reminiscences" (1957), reprinted in ''The Basic Writings of Bertrand Russell'' [http://russell.cool.ne.jp/beginner/DBR-K1E.HTM]</ref>
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| * [[:en:Ayn Rand]] (1905-1982), Russian-American novelist and philosopher, founder of [[:en:Objectivism (Ayn Rand)|Objectivism]].
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| *[[:en:Richard Dawkins]] (born 1941), English biologist, one of the "four horsemen" of [[:en:New Atheism]]. He wrote ''[[:en:The God Delusion]]'', criticizing [[:en:Theism|belief in the divine]], in 2006.<ref>''Many of us saw religion as harmless nonsense. Beliefs might lack all supporting evidence but, we thought, if people needed a crutch for consolation, where's the harm? September 11th changed all that. Revealed faith is not harmless nonsense, it can be lethally dangerous nonsense. Dangerous because it gives people unshakeable confidence in their own righteousness. Dangerous because it gives them false courage to kill themselves, which automatically removes normal barriers to killing others. Dangerous because it teaches enmity to others labelled only by a difference of inherited tradition. And dangerous because we have all bought into a weird respect, which uniquely protects religion from normal criticism. Let's now stop being so damned respectful!'' The Guardian, 2001-10-11 "[http://books.guardian.co.uk/writersreflections/story/0,1367,567546,00.html Has the world changed?]." ''The Guardian''. Accessed 2006-01-29.</ref>
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| *[[:en:Christopher Hitchens]] (1949-2011), English-American author and journalist, one of the "four horsemen" of [[:en:New Atheism]]. He wrote ''[[:en:God Is Not Great]]: How Religion Poisons Everything'' in 2007.<ref name=hitchensobit>{{cite web|work=New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/16/arts/christopher-hitchens-is-dead-at-62-obituary.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|title=Christopher Hitchens, Polemicist Who Slashed All, Freely, Dies at 62|last=Grimes|first=William|date=16 December 2011|accessdate=15 February 2015}}</ref>
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| *[[:en:Madalyn Murray O'Hair]] (1919-1995), American atheist activist, founder of American Atheists organization.
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| *[[:en:Steven Pinker]] (born 1954), Canadian-American cognitive scientist who believes religion incites violence.<ref>"[T]he Bible, contrary to what a majority of Americans apparently believe, is far from a source of higher moral values. Religions have given us stonings, witch-burnings, crusades, inquisitions, jihads, fatwas, suicide bombers, gay-bashers, abortion-clinic gunmen, and mothers who drown their sons so they can happily be united in heaven." [http://pinker.wjh.harvard.edu/articles/media/2004_10_29_religion.htm The Evolutionary Psychology of Religion], presentation by Steven Pinker to the annual meeting of the [[:en:Freedom from Religion Foundation]], [[:en:Madison, Wisconsin]], October 29, 2004, on receipt of “The Emperor’s New Clothes Award.â€Â</ref>
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| ;Politicians
| | See en-wiki for a maintained version of this §. |
| *[[:en:Enver Hoxha]], Albanian communist leader between 1944 and 1985 who banned religion in Albania.
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| *[[:en:Nikita Khrushchev]], Soviet leader in 1953-64, who initiated, among other measures,<ref name="Ibiblio">http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/soviet.exhibit/anti_rel.html</ref><ref>{{cite journal |jstor=150643 |pages=374–386 |last1=Grossman |first1=J. D. |title=Khrushchev's Anti-Religious Policy and the Campaign of 1954|volume=24|issue=3|journal=Soviet Studies |year=1973 |doi=10.1080/09668137308410870}}</ref> the [[USSR anti-religious campaign (1958–1964)|1958-1964 Soviet anti-religious campaign]].
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| * [[Vladimir Lenin]], Soviet leader from 1917 until 1924, who, like most [[Marxist]]s{{cn|date=October 2016}}, believed all religions to be "the organs of bourgeois reaction, used for the protection of the exploitation and the stupefaction of the working class".<ref>''"Religion is the [[opium of the people]]: this saying of [[Marx]] is the cornerstone of the entire ideology of Marxism about the religion. All modern religions and churches, all and of every kind of religious organizations are always considered by Marxism as the organs of bourgeois reaction, used for the protection of the exploitation and the stupefaction of the working class."''{{cite web |url=http://www.psylib.ukrweb.net/books/maenl01/txt17 |last=Lenin |first=V. I. |title=About the attitude of the working party toward the religion |accessdate=2006-09-09 |work=Collected works, v. 17, p.41}}</ref>
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| *[[Pol Pot]], was a [[Cambodia]]n [[politician]] and [[revolutionary]] who led the [[Khmer Rouge]], who banned religion in Cambodia.
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| *[[Periyar E. V. Ramasamy]], Tamil politician, between 1938-73, who propagated the principles of rationalism, self-respect, women’s rights and eradication of caste in South India.
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| *[[Mao Zedong]], Chinese communist leader.
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| ;Others
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| * [[Bill Maher]], who wrote and starred in ''[[Religulous]]'', a 2008 documentary criticizing and mocking religion.
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| *[[Marcus Brigstocke]], British comedian.
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| * [[James Randi]], former magician, professional "debunker" of psychics, outspoken atheist and founder of the [[James Randi Educational Foundation]].<ref>http://www.randi.org/</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.randi.org/jr/072503.html |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2013-10-09 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20091007191524/http%3A//www%2Erandi%2Eorg/jr/072503%2Ehtml |archivedate= 2009-10-07 |df= }}</ref>
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| * [[Philip Roth]], contemporary Jewish-American novelist.<ref>"I'm anti-religious ... It's all a big lie ... I have such a huge dislike [of] the miserable record of religion." The Guardian, 2005-12-14 " ''The Guardian''. [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/dec/14/fiction.philiproth 'It no longer feels a great injustice that I have to die']</ref>
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| *[[Matt Dillahunty]], Host of [[The Atheist Experience]] and former president of the Atheist Community of Austin, engages in debates with apologists.
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| == See also == | | == See also == |
