23 July 2015

Godless

Helen Butacova has an article about celebrities who do not believe in God:
Religion is a deeply personal topic, and, while most celebrities are not that outspoken about their religious views, we’ve found 29 who are:
1. Bruce Lee
Lee is opposed to the dogmas of organized religion, because he feels it goes against your being able to cultivate your own ways and beliefs.
2. Woody Allen
Allen has made his opinion of God very clear in his autobiographical movie, Stardust Memories, saying: “To you, I’m an atheist. To God, I’m the loyal opposition.” And another quote: “Not only is God dead, but just try to find a plumber on weekends.”
3. Alan Cumming
Quote from Cumming: ” I’m completely atheist. I don’t hold any beliefs about God and stuff. And I can’t do the church thing.”
4. Hugh Laurie
Hugh confirmed his atheism and said: “I don’t believe in God. But I have this idea that, if there were a God, or destiny of some kind looking down on us, that if he saw you taking anything for granted, he’d take it away.”
5. Jack Nicholson
Nicholson said: “I don’t believe in God now” but “I can still work up an envy for someone who has faith. I can see how that could be a deeply soothing experience.”
6. Björk
“The United Nations asked people from all over the world a series of questions. Iceland stuck out on one thing. When we were asked what do we believe, ninety percent said, ‘ourselves’. I think I’m in that group. If I get into trouble, there’s no God or Allah to sort me out. I have to do it myself.”
7. Julianne Moore
In an interview with Inside the Actor’s Studio, Moore was asked what she’d want God to say to her upon her arrival at the Pearly Gates, and she responded with: “Well, I guess you were wrong. I do exist.”
8. John Malkovich
Malkovich says: “I believe in people, I believe in humans, I believe in a car, but I don’t believe something I can't have absolutely no evidence of for millennia. And it's funny, people think analysis or psychiatry is mad, but they go to church.”
9. Keira Knightley
In 2012, Knightley was quoted as saying: “If only I wasn’t an atheist, I could get away with anything. You’d just ask for forgiveness and then you’d be forgiven. It sounds much better than having to live with guilt.”
10. Billy Joel
“I still feel very much like an atheist in the religious aspects of things. But there are spiritual planes that I'm aware of that I don't know anything about and that I can't explain.”
11. James Cameron
Cameron, who was raised in a Protestant household, famously stated: “I’ve sworn off agnosticism, which I now call cowardly atheism.” He even produced a documentary film entitled The Lost Tomb of Jesus in an attempt to prove that Jesus was actually just an ordinary human.
12. Angelina Jolie
“There doesn’t need to be a God for me. There’s something in people that’s spiritual, that’s god-like. I don’t feel like doing things just because people say things, but I also don’t really know if its better to just not believe anything, either.”
13. Brad Pitt
Pitt’s views are close in line with his wife’s, and Brad revealed that he considers himself twenty percent atheist, and eighty percent agnostic which actually sounds like a hundred percent agnostic.
14. Kathy Griffin
During her acceptance speech at the Emmy’s, the comedian let everyone know: “A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus. He didn’t help me a bit. So, all I can say is, suck it, Jesus. This award is my god now.”
15. Jodie Foster
Foster has a unique approach: “I absolutely love religions and the rituals. Even though I don’t believe in God, we celebrate pretty much every religion in our family with the kids.”
16. Katherine Hepburn
Even back in the day, Hepburn was not afraid to speak her mind: “I’m an atheist, and that’s it. I believe there’s nothing we can know except that we should be kind to each other and do what we can for each other.”
17. Emma Thompson
Thompson said this to The Australian: “I’m an atheist; I suppose you can call me a sort of libertarian anarchist. I regard religion with fear and suspicion. It’s not enough to say that I do not believe in God. I actually regard the system as distressing: I am offended by some of the things said in the Bible and the Quran, and I refute them.”
18. Daniel Radcliffe
Radcliffe made a bold statement about his beliefs to Esquire, saying: “I’m an atheist, but I’m very relaxed about it. I don’t preach my atheism, but I have a huge amount of respect for people like Richard Dawkins who do.”
19. Morgan Freeman
Freeman has definitely done his research, considering that he’s played the character of God several times on screen. When asked if he thought God was an invention, he responded with: “Yes. Has anybody ever seen hard evidence? What we get is theories from our earlier prophets. Now, people who think that God invented us think that the Earth can't be more than six thousand years old. So I guess its a question of belief.”
20. Kevin Bacon
“I think there is a puritanical wind that's blowing. I have never seen such a lack of separation between church and state in America. I don’t believe in God, but, if I did, I would say that sex is a God-given right. Otherwise it’s the end of our species.”
21. Lance Armstrong
Armstrong believes that, if there was a body or presence standing there to judge him, he hopes that he would be judged on whether he lived a true life, not whether he believed in a certain book, or whether he’d been baptized.22. Warren Buffett
Even as a child, Warren didn’t subscribe to his family’s religion, because he was too mathematical and too logical to make the leap of faith. He adopted his father’s ethical underpinnings, but not his belief in an unseen divinity.
23. Rodney Dangerfield
Dangerfield was raised Jewish but turned atheist, and announced his atheism to Howard Stern during an interview.
24. Joe Rogan
Rogan feels very strongly, saying that “Every single religion that has ever been on the face of the Earth, ever, is a cult. That’s all they are. Just a cult with millions of people in them. Meanwhile, they have a bunch of really bad stories that require more belief than an episode of I Dream of Jeannie.”
25. Howard Stern
Stern is sickened by all religions. He believes that religion has divided people, and says: “I don’t think there’s any difference between the Pope wearing a large hat and parading around with a smoking purse and an African painting his face white and praying to a rock.”
26. Joaquin Phoenix
“I don’t believe in God. I don’t believe in an afterlife. I don’t believe in soul. I don’t believe in anything. I think it’s totally right for people to have their own beliefs if it makes them happy, but to me it’s a pretty preposterous idea.”
27. Marlon Brando
While Brando admits to believing in God, he says he does not believe in the same way as others, so he would prefer not to swear on the Bible.
28. Uma Thurman
When Thurman was asked if she considered herself a Buddhist, she said: “The answer is, no, not really. But it’s more my religion than any other because I was brought up with it in an intellectual and spiritual environment. I don’t practice or preach it, however.”
29. Sean Penn
Penn was interviewed in the December 1998 issue of George magazine, during which he told the writer that he is an agnostic.
Rico says he doesn't either, so it's nice to see others on the bandwagon...

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