‘Famous Atheist’ List Might Surprise You — ‘Religious Celeb List’ Might Surprise You More


Many atheists don’t advertise their rejection of religion, while some wear their atheist beliefs like a badge of honor. When it comes to celebrities, it’s the same thing. Some of them keep their beliefs quiet, and some shout it from the rooftops. However, the general public might be surprised at some of the celebrities who consider themselves atheists.

Morgan-Freeman1

Morgan Freeman

In a 2012 interview, Morgan Freeman was asked if he thought God was an invention according to Essence.

“Yes. Has anybody ever seen hard evidence? What we get is theories from our earlier prophets. Now, people who think that God invented us think that the Earth can’t be more than 6,000 years old. So I guess it’s a question of belief.”

Jodie Foster

Jodie Foster

In a 2007 interview with Entertainment Weekly, the legendary actress, director, and producer was very forthright about her beliefs.

“No, I’m an atheist. But I absolutely love religions and the rituals. Even though I don’t believe in God. We celebrate pretty much every religion in our family with the kids. They love it, and when they say, ‘Are we Jewish?’ or ‘Are we Catholic?’ I say, ‘Well, I’m not, but you can choose when you’re 18. But isn’t this fun that we do seders and the Advent calendar?”

Radcliffe

Daniel Radcliffe

Many fans of Harry Potter might be surprised that Harry himself is in fact an atheist — well, at least the actor who played him. And then again… maybe fans might not be that surprised. In 2012, Daniel was rather “militant” about his atheist views, according to TVNZ.

“I’m an atheist, and a militant atheist when religion starts impacting on legislation.”

However, Radcliffe backed off a bit in a later interview, according to The Telegraph.

“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. Anything he does on television, I will watch.”

Radcliffe seemed to know that even that comment was too much for most folks. Immediately after saying it, he said to himself in jest, “There we go, Dan, that’s half of America that’s not going to see the next ‘Harry Potter’ film on the back of that comment”.

Knightly

Keira Knightley

The Pirates of the Caribbean star has only one qualm about being an atheist, according to The Sun.

“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.”

Jolie

Angelina Jolie

Arguably the most famous woman in the world, Angelina Jolie is an atheist. However, Angelina considers herself a reluctant atheist, according to The Huffington Post.

“There doesn’t need to be a God for me. There’s something in people that’s spiritual, that’s godlike. I don’t feel like doing things just because people say things, but I also don’t really know if it’s better to just not believe in anything, either.”

For the record, her husband, Brad Pitt, considers himself 20 percent atheist and 80 percent agnostic.

A roundup up of other famous atheists includes Lance Armstrong, Billy Joel, Kevin Bacon, Emma Thompson, John Malkovich, Jack Nicholson, Ricky Gervais, Joe Rogan, Howard Stern, Julianne Moore, Joaquin Phoenix, Diane Keaton, Bjork, Stephen Soderbergh, Mickey Dolenz, and Seth Green.

A list of celebrities that call themselves very religious — ascribing themselves to not only Christianity, but Buddhism, Judaism, Mormonism or Scientology might surprise some fans as well. The list of religious celebrities includes Mark Wahlberg, Angus T. Jones, Stephen Baldwin, Mel Gibson, Prince, Patricia Heaton, Richard Gere, Madonna, Denzel Washington, Roma Downey, Tom Cruise, Tyler Perry, David Archuleta, and Jane Fonda.

[Images via We Got This Covered, Press Academy, JacarandaFM, PicPicX, NewsTag, Walruru, Draamandalima, Latin Post, CelebHealthy]

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