List of former atheists and agnostics

For lists of atheists who converted to Christianity, Islam, or Judaism see the following links:

• List of converts to Christianity from nontheism
• List of converts to Islam from nontheism
• List of converts to Judaism from non-religious backgrounds

All other former atheists and agnostics that have been listed so far are below.

Former atheists

Atheists who converted to Hinduism

• John Dobson - became a believer in Vedanta – astronomer and telescope designer ^{[1] [2]}
• Sita Ram Goel - Indian commentator, writer and Hindu activist ^[3]

Atheists who became an unspecified/uncertain form of theism or deism

• Eben Alexander - neurosurgeon, author, teaching physician. Author of Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife^{[ citation needed ]}
• Plutarco Elías Calles former president of Mexico who was an atheist but became a spiritist later in life^{[ citation needed ]}
• Gabrielle Carey - Australian co-author of Puberty Blues who was raised atheist but converted to Catholicism and then explored other theologies. ^{[4] [5]}
• Antony Flew - philosopher and respected atheist thinker of the 20th century, became a deist. ^[6]
• Moses Hess - Socialist philosopher and Left Hegelian who first influenced Karl Marx in his criticism of religion, but who later tried to combine the pantheism of Baruch Spinoza with Hegelianism. ^[7]
• Jordan Peterson - Canadian clinical psychologist, former atheist and former materialist, ambiguous beliefs ^{[8] [9]}
• William Luther Pierce - American white supremacist and political activist who created Cosmotheism ^[10]
• Anne Rice - best-selling American author of Gothic and religious-themed books. ^[11] She returned to Catholicism, and remained as such for many years, but has since announced that although she still believes in God and in Christ she no longer considers herself a Christian. ^{[12] [13]}
• Allan Sandage - Astronomer known as the Father of Observational Cosmology discovered the universe was not cyclical and therefore the Big Bang was a one-time event which persuaded him that God existed. He later became a Christian. ^[14]
• J. Neil Schulman - Libertarian science fiction writer who states he met, or experienced, God and that this ended his atheism. The first such experience would have occurred when he was 35. That stated he remains skeptical of "the church" and does not belong to any religion. ^[15]
• Dave Sim - comics writer and anti-feminist. He converted to, or created, his own mixture of Abrahamic religions. ^{[16] [17]}
• Ted Turner - media mogul who stated that he is no longer an atheist or an agnostic. He has not embraced any specific religion. ^[18]
• Mark Zuckerberg - Facebook founder and philanthropist ^[19]

See also

• List of atheists
• List of converts to nontheism
• Lists of former Christians
  • List of former Catholics
  • List of former Protestants
  • List of former or dissident LDS
• List of former Jews
• List of former Muslims

References

1. "John Dobson: Amateur Astronomy's Revolutionary". space.com. Archived from the original on 2006-04-09.
2. Wall Street Journal Article about John
3. Goel, Sita Ram, "How I became a Hindu" Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
4. ABC Australia.
5. "The Australian". Archived from the original on 2009-09-19. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
6. BBC Interview Quote: "What I was converted to was the existence of an Aristotelian God, and Aristotle's God had no interest in human affairs at all."
7. "Moses Hess: The Holy History of Mankind and other writings" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-05-13. Retrieved 2013-08-07.
8. Peterson, Jordan (April 4, 2022). "Speech About Religion and The Bible | I'm NOT an ATHEIST". YouTube. Retrieved June 4, 2024. I'm not an atheist, anymore. Because I don't look at the world that way anymore. I'm not a materialist anymore. I don't think the world's made out of matter. I think it's made out of what matters. It's made out of meaning.
9. Am I Christian? – Timothy Lott and Jordan B. Peterson (video). 1 August 2017. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2017– via YouTube.
10. Morris, Travis (2016-12-14). Dark Ideas: How Neo-Nazi and Violent Jihadi Ideologues Shaped Modern Terrorism. Lexington Books. ISBN   9780739191057.
11. Christianity Today
12. "Quick Takes: Anne Rice quits Christianity". Los Angeles Times . 2010-07-30. Archived from the original on 2010-07-31.
13. Baltimore Sun: My faith in Christ is central to my life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn't understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is crucial to me. But following Christ does not mean following His followers. Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been or might become.
14. Three Brilliant Atheists Became Christians|accessdate=2023-01-18
15. Interview with Schulman: "After a thorough analysis of my previous life's experiences, and later experiences that lent validation, I concluded that the reality was that what had happened to me were really encounters with God -- therefore proving God's existence to me."
16. Village Voice Archived 2008-06-13 at the Wayback Machine
17. Sun Comics
18. "Ted Turner apologizes, joins churches' $200M malaria fight". USA Today. Associated Press. 2008-04-01. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
19. Julie Zauzmer (December 30, 2016). "Mark Zuckerberg says he's no longer an atheist, believes 'religion is very important'". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 30, 2016.