Whos Who Among the Godless

Who's Who Among the Godless

Atheists, agnostics, freethinkers, Brights… no matter what you call them, non-believers are a growing segment of the U.S. population -- some estimate as high as 14%. They're also exerting more and more influence on public life. Atheism-themed books like "The End of Faith" now sit alongside "The Purpose-Driven Life" on bestseller lists, and atheist viewpoints are consistently represented in public debates over intelligent design, church-state separation, and other topics. Who's leading the charge? The ten men and women here represent the most prominent people in non-belief today, from academia to publishing to entertainment to activism.

Click through this gallery to see who's who among the godless.

2. Julia Sweeney

Actress Julia Sweeney may still be best known for her androgynous "Saturday Night Live" character Pat, but she is building a name for herself as the country's foremost atheist entertainer. Her funny and touching one-woman show, "Letting Go of God," chronicles her life from her Catholic upbringing to her wrestling with belief and the Bible during college, during tough moments in her career, while her brother was dying of cancer, and after her own cancer diagnosis. Sweeney eventually settled on atheism and opened her show about the journey in October 2004. She has been working on a memoir, "My Beautiful Loss of Faith Story," and will release a CD version of "Letting Go of God" in September.

3. Michael Newdow

It has been four years since the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Michael Newdow in his suit to take "under God" out of the Pledge of Allegiance, but he remains one of the country's most outspoken atheist activists. The case made its way--unsuccessfully--to the Supreme Court and made Newdow one of the most reviled men in the U.S. (His song "My God Is in My Soul" recounts some of the many death threats he received.) Newdow, a doctor and lawyer who argued his own case before the High Court, lost on a technicality (he didn't have custody of his daughter, on whose behalf he sued), but he has since filed another suit against the Pledge, as well as one to remove "In God We Trust" from federal currency.

4. Reginald Finley

Reginald Finley is known to his fans and others in the atheist community by the name of his popular online radio show, "The Infidel Guy." He hosts such eminent atheists and philosophers as Richard Dawkins, the Oxford evolutionary biologist, and Michael Ruse, the prominent critic of creationism. Recently, Finley spread the atheist gospel to a television audience when he and his wife, Amber, appeared on the ABC reality show, "Wife Swap," paired with a fundamentalist Christian couple. Once dubbed "America's most dangerous black atheist" by the parody website Landover Baptist Church, Finley also co-founded the Atheist Network and Freethought Media, collections of atheist-themed online radio shows and podcasts.

5. Ellen Johnson

Ellen Johnson has been President of American Atheists since 1995. A self-described New Jersey "soccer mom," Johnson heads what is often described as the most militantly anti-religion and activist atheist organization in the U.S. Johnson organized the Godless Americans March on Washington in 2002, which drew 2,000 atheists to protest increasing religious rhetoric in the public sphere, and she formed the Godless Americans Political Action Committee to endorse political candidates who believe in the separation of church and state. Johnson hosts the cable access show "The Atheist Viewpoint" and is a frequent guest on nationally-televised talk shows and news programs, where she debates religious leaders and politicians about church-state issues.

6. Daniel C. Dennett

Joining Sam Harris on many best-seller lists this year was Daniel C. Dennett, a professor of philosophy at Tufts University who specializes in the philosophy of science and of the mind. His controversial 2006 book "Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon" calls for a scientific investigation into the legitimacy of religious claims. Loyalty to religion, he says, often trumps what people really believe: more people believe in belief itself than believe in God. Dennett, who helped popularize the term "Bright" as a way to describe non-believers, told Beliefnet that with this book he reluctantly took on the role of "village atheist," encouraging his fellow non-believers to open up about their atheism.

8. Brian Flemming

Brian Flemming, an award-winning playwright and former Christian fundamentalist, gained notoriety in atheist circles for his movie, "The God Who Wasn't There." The documentary, which argues that the story of Jesus is a myth, had a limited run in theaters but gained attention through grassroots promotion of the DVD. Promotion materials for the film purport that viewers will discover that "contemporary Christians are largely ignorant of the origins of their religion" and that "God simply isn't there." Flemming is currently working on a feature film with a similar theme; titled "Danielle," the movie is about a young girl who accidentally finds evidence that the biblical Jesus didn't exist.

9. Mynga Futtrell and Paul Geisert

Mynga Futrell and Paul Geisert created a media firestorm in 2003 when they first presented the use of the term "Bright" to describe atheists, agnostics, non-believers, freethinkers, humanists, or anyone with a "naturalistic worldview." Since then the Brights movement has gained the support of atheist thinkers and authors including Daniel Dennett, Richard Dawkins, and Steven Pinker. The term, meant to offer a positive spin on atheism, did stir up a fair amount of controversy; many atheists and freethinkers found the term belittling or silly. But Futrell and Geisert, both former teachers who founded the site www.teachingaboutreligion.org, have pressed on; there is now an official Brights logo, Brights website, and Brights communities throughout the world.

10. Paul Kurtz

Paul Kurtz is the octogenarian founder of numerous humanist and scientific organizations, including the Council for Secular Humanism, the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, Free Inquiry magazine, and the Center for Inquiry International. Kurtz, who still speaks and writes widely on humanist topics, argues that secular humanism is different from atheism because of its emphasis on positive ethical values. His goal is to promote "living the good life without religion," he told Beliefnet in 2002. Kurtz also founded Prometheus Books, an independent publisher of books on humanism, science, philosophy, and through its newest imprint, science fiction.

Not Such a Bright Idea

Some nonbelievers are calling themselves 'Brights.' But is what they imply about religious people valid? Read next feature >