Discusses the ideas and impact of 27 atheists, agnostics, and secularists
whose ideas have shaped society over the last 200 years.

Never before has atheism and agnosticism been so prevalent in American
society, as testified by the simultaneous appearance of 2 atheist volumes
on the bestseller lists: Richard Dawkins's The God Delusion and Sam
Harris's Letter to a Christian Nation.

In the opinion of many critics and philosophers, we are entering an age
of atheism marked by the waning of Christian fundamentalism and the
flourishing of secular thought. Through alphabetically arranged entries
written by expert contributors, this book profiles 27 iconic figures of
unbelief whose ideas have shaped American society over the last 200 years.
Included are entries on influential figures of the past, such as Albert
Einstein and Voltaire, as well as on such contemporary figures as Richard
Dawkins and Sam Harris. Each entry discusses the ideas and lasting
significance of each person or group, provides sidebars of interesting
information and illuminating quotations, and cites works for further
reading. The volume closes with a selected, general bibliography. Students
in social studies and history classes will welcome this reference as
a guide to the ideas central to the American separation of Church and
State and to many of the political debates at the heart of society today.

Each entry discusses the ideas and lasting significance of the person or
group, provides sidebars of interesting information and quotations, and
closes with a list of works for further reading. The volume ends with
a selected, general bibliography. Students in history and social studies
classes will welcome this reference as a guide to the American separation
of Church and State and to the ideas central to contemporary political
debates.

Features:

Included are alphabetically arranged entries on 27 iconic figures of
unbelief, such as:

Charles Bradlaugh
Richard Dawkins
Daniel C. Dennett
Albert Einstein
The Existentialists
The Founding Fathers
Sigmund Freud
Sam Harris
Robert G. Ingersoll
Friedrich Nietzsche
Madalyn Murray O'Hair
Mark Twain
Voltaire

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