List of former atheists and agnostics
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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 AfterlifeScript error: No such module "Unsubst".
- Plutarco Elías Calles former president of Mexico who was an atheist but became a spiritist later in lifeScript error: No such module "Unsubst".
- 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]
Former agnostics
See also
- List of atheists
- List of converts to nontheism
- Lists of former Christians
- List of former Jews
- List of former Muslims
References
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Wall Street Journal Article about John
- ↑ Goel, Sita Ram, "How I became a Hindu" Template:Webarchive
- ↑ ABC Australia.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ 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."
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
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- ↑ Christianity Today
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Three Brilliant Atheists Became Christians|accessdate=2023-01-18
- ↑ 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."
- ↑ Village Voice Template:Webarchive
- ↑ Sun Comics
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".