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2000 Years of Disbelief by James A. Haught published by Prometheus Books

The English speaking world rarely acknowledges the many and varied gifts that "disbelievers" have bestowed upon humanity. Churchmen generally contend that great figures in history, such as America's founders, were conventional believers. But author James A. Haught demonstrates that this just isn't true. In 2000 Years Of Disbelief: Famous People With The Courage To Doubt, he offers a spirited collection of biographical sketches and choice quotations to set the record straight -- intelligent, educated people tend to doubt the supernatural. It is hardly surprising to find a high ratio of religious skeptics among major thinkers, scientists, writers, reformers,scholars, champions of democracy, and other world changers -- people called "great" in history. The advance of Western civilization has been partly a story of gradual victory over oppressive religion, and these brilliant doubters were men and women who didn't pray, didn't kneel at altars, didn't make pilgrimages, and didn't recite creeds. Included in this handy reference are such internationally famous figures as Isaac Asimov, W.E.B. DuBois, Will Durant, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Edward Gibbon, Langston Hughes, Thomas Jefferson, Omar Khayyam, Abraham Lincoln, James Madison, John Stuart Mill, Ayn Rand, Gene Roddenberry, Margaret Sanger, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Voltaire, and many others whose own words reveal their rejection of the supernatural. James A. Haught is editor of the Charleston Gazette and has received numerous awards as a journalist, including the Hugh L. Hefner First Amendment Award for his articles in defense of the separation of church and state. His previous books include Holy Horrors: An Illustrated History Of Murder And Madness, and Holy Hatred: Religious Conflicts Of The '90s. "I am confident that anyone who reads thiseven priests and preachers and deacons will get a refreshing rush of adrenalin from the candor on its pages even if they hate its conclusions." --Sunday Gazette-Mail "Bartlett's for the unbeliever." --Dallas Morning News "A unique contribution to reference collections." --Rettig on Reference "As a reference work for preachers, for article writers, for term papers and for debaters, Haught gets a lot of applause. . . Belongs on the bookshelf of everyone curious about the ever-changing roles of religion and churches in American life." --Small Press Magazine "An excellent presentation.The book is meticulously researched and annotated. The wealth of quotations insures its permanent value to readers as a reference work." --The Human Quest "There is no harm for spiritually-minded people to read this instructive and thoroughly enjoyable book. To the contrary, it may well be of benefit, for it can be refreshing to learn how others think. . . a valuable adjunct to esoteric literature. --The New Humanity

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