Christopher Hitchens. That man knew how to think! He had an answer for everything that boiled the subject down to undeniable bitesized pieces that anyone could swallow, except the religious zealots who instead choked on his words by design. He was poetry to watch in a debate. Never missed a beat, and above all, he was poignantly funny and humorously poignant.

There are no gods,
no devils, no angels,
no heaven or hell.
There is only
our natural world.
Religion is but
myth and superstition
that hardens hearts
and enslaves minds

-Anne Nicol Gaylor, President, Freedom From Religion Foundation

Ms. Murray-O'Hare, I suppose--so I ought at least learn to spell her name.

Sir David Attenborough....he is the single person in the world that I most admire, regardless of the fact that he is atheist.

Ricky Gervais

Dave Allen: not a great philosopher or academic but a jester who could see through the emperors new clothes of religion and point out the comic absurdities of said same so brilliantly.

I was about to say Elon Musk because of his vision, but he's kind of a self-centered jerk, so I'll say Neil DeGrasse Tyson instead. He's a great guy and is so good at explaining complex things.

Epicurus, the Greek philosopher that came up with what is known as the Epicurean Paradox: "God, he says, either wishes to take away evils, and is unable; or He is able, and is unwilling; or He is neither willing nor able, or He is both willing and able. If He is willing and is unable, He is feeble, which is not in accordance with the character of God; if He is able and unwilling, He is envious, which is equally at variance with God; if He is neither willing nor able, He is both envious and feeble, and therefore not God; if He is both willing and able, which alone is suitable to God, from what source then are evils? Or why does He not remove them?" One of the greatest arguments against gods and religions.

Douglas Adams for the joy he brought to so many with his writings. The fact that it got you questioning god? That was just a plus!

Issac Asimov for his ability to tell a great story or teach complex issues.

Stephen Fry. He is brilliant, funny and cleaver.

Frederick Douglas , Robert Ingersoll, Bertrand Russell

Hitchens . . . .

i don't know the religious or irreligious bent of every single person i admire; i do know that of some, but not of others. it is a factor but not the only factor determining my admiration and would not alone be the determining factor. so there maybe someone i neglect to mention simply because i don't know. however, i very much admire carl sagan, and we know not only that he was an atheist but, because he was sufficiently famous and influential, all those other things about him, so i need not describe him. i suspect that hypatia was also irreligious and i much admire her as well.

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Christopher Hitchens. I wish he were still here.

Charles Darwin . He DID something about religion. Not just talked or wrote.

C. Hitchens

Dr. Gregory House.

Carlin, for sure. He not only makes sense but is HILARIOUS when it comes to making his point.

Stephen Fry

Grouch Marx.

Thomas Hardy. Went from son of a clergyman to agnostic through his own study of Darwin, Huxley, Mill etc. and become one of the greatest English authors.

Like this poem where he muses over how God should be addressed

A Philosophical Fantasy

”Such I ask you, Sir or Madam
(I know no more than Adam,
Even vaguely, what your sex is,
Though feminine I had thought you
Till seers as ‘Sire’ besought you;
– And this my ignorance vexes
Some people not a little,
And, though me not one tittle,
It makes me sometimes choose to
Call you ‘It’, if you’ll excuse me?)…”

probably sri ramakrishna ... who said "Knowledge leads to unity; ignorance to diversity.”

Karl Marx … Good analyst of society and social dynamics. Questioning the validity of capitalism.

Sam Harris. He’s not a ranter like Hitchens or Dawkins. It’s a struggle for me not get frustrated or angry with the nonsense of the theists, so I appreciate Harris’s calm, matter-of-fact way of engaging with them. I would like to emulate his demeanor, though since I’m already 69 years old, the horse may have already left the barn on that aspiration.