Rod Serling-creator of the TV series The Twilight Zone.

read Yuval Harari's "Sapiens"

Dawkins,Harris and Hitchins are all good and I would recommend "In defence of Atheism" by Michel Onfray

LIVING WITHOUT RELIGION: EUPRAXOPHY BY PAUL KURTZ

[ifarus.com]

Growing up Godless : a parent's guide to raising kids without religion
Author: Deborah Mitchell

[worldcat.org]

I was brought up in a religious family and attended a Baptist grade school. I figured it out myself as a young teenager. Lived in the rain forest in Kona Hawaii for most of my middle age and didn't really hear of the great Agnostics like Robert Ingersoll, George Carlin or Richard Dawkins and so many more until I was in my fifties. They didn't influence me by then it was just nice to know I wasn't alone and wasn't wrong.

Hitchens for sure! I'd say stick to the four horsemen for alot of answers, then branch out to others like Seth Andrews, AaroRa, David Silverman, people like that. Bill Nye and Carl Sagan are great also... I hope this helps.

Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion".

He was not so much influential in me becoming an atheist (that happened 30 years previously), but I found his perspective enlightening.

I don't know about influential, but I like Dan Barker and Dave Barry.

Hitchens!

The lectures of Robert Green Ingersoll, as read by Michael Scott Earl (http://reasonworks.com). Ingersoll was a brilliant orator and forward thinker, and Mike Earl's readings of his speeches, and The Age of Reason by my avatar, as well as some of his own essays, opened and then completely blew my mind.

Robert Heinlein, hands down. It’s difficult to pick a single book, but Stranger in a Strange Land is up there. The most influential for me was Starship Troopers. And Friday. And most of the things he wrote.

Person for me. . . I fgured out faith based assertions (religion) was BS when I was young (before reading books that supported my observation) but I'll agree with the list noted in the 50 comments below. I enjoy most all of those noted.

To add to the list I would include Edware Tarte. He spent 5 years as a Catholic priest then came to the conclusion religion was BS.

To find his videos youtube edward tarte catholic and you will find the play list. . . rather informative. Good to see things from both sides of the fence.

Example:

After a long back and forth with a Catholic who I was de-converting. . . His last argument to retain his fear of hell was his belief that Catholic priests are ordained by god so there must be a god. Edward's videos were the straw that finally broke his faith over fact camel's back. He thanked me many times from allowing him to sleep at night and no longer awake in fear of burning in hell. . .. that and be able to enjoy the diversity of people his church had conditioned him to fear. Edward is most helpful. I have used his advice (e-mailed him) to clarify a rather insidious Catholic vs reason point.

Well. Since I was never a believer. I was not brought up in a religious home.
I never really had a 'Champion' so to speak to look up to in my non- belief.
Most of the people I look up to are more about Science. Hawking, Newton, Dawkins, etc.

But. I've had plenty that I've admired for putting things in a perspective about non- belief. Hitch, Dawkins, DarkMatter2525, Harris, Carlin. and quite a few more.

YouTube star Darkmatter2525 for all his interesting and thought provoking reasons as to why a Gid cannot exist, and convey this in a consumable format.

But also Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking because they have both provided irrefutable scientific evidence of not requiring a God to explain the universe, and are able to explain this to laypeople.

"The Center for Inquiry " has alot of Info about over all belief systems. Most " famous people " are products of thier Time and the battles they were forced to wage to get the message they believe TRUE and UP TO DATE to the public. That's the way it works- a simple fact . So the newer and more relavent info is being acted on NOW by a wide variety of
disciplines and specialties of education.
Cognitive scientists ; philosophers; physicists; and phsycolgists- are all arriving at some ground changing conclusions about about the human condition.
That said : I listen to more science based revelations about what we know now , being Athiest is a step down a road that
allows a JOURNEY to take place!!! They compliment each other; saying there is no god - but leaving out the context is empty to me / I want to know why I faced the culture I was born into.
CarlSagan ; Dawkins; Neil Degrass Tyson;Brian Greene; Sam Harris & Anna Harris and the list GROWS WEEKLY.
THANKS !!!

Darwin's Bulldog.

Hitchens, Hawkins, Harris, Dawkins, Dennett. Maybe I should have stated with Carl Sagan. Today I identify with many atheists around the world including Bertrand Russell. I remember a time that I cut my teeth on things like "Our Haunted Planet" by John A. Keel.

You got a good list there, should keep you in reading for a while. But since all the best ones have been mentioned a couple of times at least, I will add just a couple of outfielders. Andre Comte-Sponville, THE BOOK OF ATHEIST SPIRITUALITY, and H. G. Wells, THE OUTLINE OF HISTORY, for a secular overview of history and especially its religions.

I'm going with Kurt Vonnegut Jr. He taught me that intelligence is an evolutionary mistake and will kill us. He alleviated me of my death fear, for if it's inevitable then one must get comfy with it, and making me laugh while doing it. To be serious, I feel that I know humans much better than I would have without reading him.

Alan Watts!

My friend Jenny from Seventh grade who was the first person who ever talked to me about the reasons she questioned the belief in a God .This opened up my mind like never before and I stoped blindly believing in things without logically thinking about what I was being told.

Hitch set forth the most convincing arguments. Seth Andrews and Matt Dillahunty were the most inspiring and demonstrated the most courage, as both were dyed in the wool religious

I can't say that I truly identify with any specific atheist or agnostic. I arrived at my absence of religious belief on my own.

AronRa. Watch his videos. He covers everything in full detail.

Sagan for a start and then deep dive on the 4 horsemen.